Pokémon card rarities explained: from Double Rare to Mega Hyper Rare
What the little symbol in the corner of a Pokémon card means, from the black stars of a Double Rare to the gold of a Hyper Rare, and how to tell which cards are the hard pulls.
Look at the bottom corner of any modern Pokémon card and you’ll find a card number and a small symbol. That symbol is the card’s rarity, and it tells you a lot about how hard it was to pull and why two cards of the same Pokémon can be worth very different amounts. Here’s how to read it.
The everyday rarities
- ● Common, ◆ Uncommon, ★ Rare: the backbone of every set, marked with a black circle, diamond and star. Most of every pack is commons and uncommons, with a rare (or better) in the rare slot.
- ★★ Double Rare: two black stars. This is where you find the regular-art Pokémon ex and, in the Mega Evolution era, the regular-art Mega ex. They turn up every few packs.
The secret rares
Cards numbered higher than the set’s total (a 232 in a set of 217, say) are secret rares. They’re the hits, and they use white and gold symbols:
- ☆☆ Ultra Rare: two silver stars. Full-art Pokémon ex and full-art Trainers, often with a textured finish you can feel.
- ⭐ Illustration Rare: one gold star. A Pokémon in a full-bleed scene, painted by one of a wide range of artists. Many collectors build whole binders from these.
- ⭐⭐ Special Illustration Rare: two gold stars. A Pokémon ex or a Supporter in a full scene, often telling a little story. These are usually the cards everyone’s chasing.
- ⭐⭐⭐ Hyper Rare: three gold stars. Gold-foil cards: Pokémon ex, Trainers and Energy.
The Mega Evolution era adds the Mega Hyper Rare: a gold version of one Mega ex, usually just one card per main set and the hardest pull in it. Perfect Order’s is Mega Zygarde ex; Pitch Black’s is Mega Darkrai ex.
The ladder, in cards
Here’s the same idea with cards in stock right now, from an Ultra Rare up to a Hyper Rare:
Shopping by rarity
Every rarity is a filter in the shop, so you can browse just the ones you collect:
Special sets sometimes add rarities of their own. 30th Celebration has 30 Pikachu cards, one in every pack, which we list as Pikachu Rares, and some sets have Cosmos Holo versions of everyday cards, like this Chikorita from Ascended Heroes:
Rarity isn’t everything
A higher rarity usually means a higher price, but not always. A popular Pokémon’s Illustration Rare can cost more than a little-loved Special Illustration Rare, and condition matters just as much as the symbol: see our guide to card condition. For a set-by-set look at the cards to chase, start with our Ascended Heroes guide.
