GlossaryUpdated May 17, 2026

Pokemon card glossary.

67+ Pokemon TCG terms defined in plain English — abbreviations, condition codes, grading vocabulary, marketplace slang, and the era / set shorthand collectors actually use.

Rarity & variants

SAR(Special Art Rare): A Scarlet & Violet era rarity tier. Special Art Rares use full-bleed art that extends past the standard frame, with a distinctive sub-frame look. Pulled rarer than Ultra Rares but more common than SIRs.
SIR(Special Illustration Rare): The Scarlet & Violet era version of an alternate art. Full-bleed, character-focused illustration with extended background. The chase rarity in modern English Pokemon — typically 1-per-case pull rates.
ALT / AA(Alternate Art): A card with an alternate full-art illustration distinct from the standard print. Used informally for SIRs and Sword & Shield alt-art Vs. Often the chase card of the set.
FA(Full Art): A card where the Pokemon art extends across the entire card surface, replacing the standard frame. Began with Black & White era; standard rarity tier for Vs, GXs, and exs.
RH(Reverse Holofoil): A variant where the holo pattern is applied to the card frame and background instead of just the art window. Available for most commons / uncommons / non-holo rares in modern English sets.
Holo(Holofoil): A card with a metallic / shimmery holographic finish on the art window. Older sets call these 'Holo Rare'; modern sets use various shimmer patterns (cosmos, ripple, etched).
Promo: A card distributed outside booster packs — through events, packaging, prerelease tournaments, or partnerships. Promos vary enormously in scarcity, from common ETB inserts to trophy cards.
V / VMAX / VSTAR: Sword & Shield era mechanics (2020–2022). V cards replaced GX cards; VMAX and VSTAR were power-up evolution variants. All three carry full-art versions used as chase cards.
ex: The dominant Scarlet & Violet era mechanic. Lowercase 'ex' on the card. Powerful Pokemon with a knock-out penalty. ex cards have multiple rarity tiers including SAR and SIR variants.
GX: Sun & Moon era mechanic (2017–2019). GX cards allowed one game-ending attack per match. The era's full-art and rainbow rare variants are now collected as vintage modern.
Trainer Gallery / TG: Special Sword & Shield era subset (sets like Brilliant Stars, Lost Origin, Astral Radiance) featuring trainer-themed alternate art on Pokemon cards. TG numbering uses a separate sequence (e.g., TG01/TG30).
Secret Rare: A card whose collector number exceeds the printed set total (e.g., 152/151 in a 151-card set). Always a rarer pull than the base cards. Often gold-bordered or rainbow-bordered.
Gold Rare: A secret rare with a gold-foil treatment across the card. Standard chase pattern in modern English Pokemon — usually 1 per booster box.
Rainbow Rare: A secret rare with rainbow holofoil applied across the entire card surface. Standard in Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield eras; replaced by hyper-rares and SARs in Scarlet & Violet.
1st Edition: Cards from the very first print run of an English Wizards of the Coast Pokemon set (1999–2003), marked with an 'Edition 1' stamp left of the Pokemon's portrait. Generally 5–20× the value of Unlimited copies.
Shadowless: Base Set cards (2nd print run) printed before Wizards added a drop shadow under the Pokemon portrait. No 1st Edition stamp, no shadow. Sits between 1st Edition and Unlimited in value.
Unlimited: Standard Wizards-era print run — no 1st Edition stamp, with a drop shadow under the portrait. The cheapest of the three Wizards-era variants, though still vintage and collectible.
Error / misprint: A card with a factory defect — miscut, off-center extreme, ink color shift, holo bleed, missing text. Most reduce value; a few visually striking and verifiable errors carry premiums of 5–50×.
Miscut: A card cut off-grid at the factory, showing parts of adjacent cards on its surface. Extreme miscuts on chase cards can sell for 2–10× the standard price.

Grading & condition

PSA(Professional Sports Authenticator): The dominant Pokemon grading company. PSA 10 carries the highest market premium of any grader. ~70% market share among Pokemon collectors.
CGC(Certified Guaranty Company): The fastest-growing Pokemon grader. Cheaper than PSA, faster turnaround. Pristine 10 (with sub-grades) is the chase grade.
BGS(Beckett Grading Services): Pokemon grader with sub-grades displayed on every slab (surface, edges, corners, centering). Black Label and Pristine 10 trade above PSA 10 for select cards.
SGC(Sportscard Guaranty Corporation): Cheapest of the four major graders. Strong for vintage (1999–2003 Pokemon). Tuxedo-design slab has a dedicated collector base.
Slab: A graded card encased in a third-party grading company's tamper-evident plastic case. Carries a numeric grade (1–10) and authentication. Standard storage for cards worth $200+.
Raw: An ungraded card — not in a third-party slab. Raw cards trade at a discount to graded equivalents because the buyer takes on grading risk.
Pop / pop report(Population report): Public data from a grading company showing how many of each card+grade combination they've slabbed. Low PSA 10 pop = scarcer card = higher premium. PSA publishes pop reports at psacard.com/pop.
NM(Near Mint): The condition tier collectors expect for new / well-stored cards. Minor centering tolerance, no visible whitening at arm's length. NM market price is what most retailers list as the headline price.
LP(Lightly Played): Subtle wear only visible under close inspection. Sells at 80–90% of NM. Typical for a card removed from a binder but never played.
MP(Moderately Played): Wear visible at arm's length: edge whitening, soft corners, surface scratches. Sells at 50–70% of NM. Common for tournament-played cards.
HP(Heavily Played): Significant wear — rounded corners, heavy whitening, possible creasing. 25–40% of NM. Functional for play, not collection-grade.
DMG(Damaged): Major defects: water damage, creases, tears, ink marks, glue residue. 10–25% of NM. Often shorthanded as 'DM' in pricing data.
Centering: The ratio of border thickness on opposite sides of the card. 55/45 is the common cutoff for PSA 10 eligibility on modern; older cards have more tolerance. Measured front and back.
Whitening: White cardstock visible at the card's edges, caused by friction, age, or impact. The single most common condition issue. Heavy whitening usually caps grades at PSA 7 or 8.
Sub-grades: Numeric scores (typically 1–10) for surface, edges, corners, and centering — the four components grading companies assess. BGS always displays sub-grades; PSA and CGC only display on certain labels.
BGS Black Label: A BGS 10 where all four sub-grades are also 10. The rarest BGS designation. Black Label Charizards routinely sell above PSA 10s.
Perfect 10 / CGC Pristine: CGC's top grade — equivalent to BGS Black Label. Sub-grades all show 10. Marked with a special label on the slab.

Marketplace & slang

TCGPlayer: The largest US Pokemon card marketplace. 'TCGPlayer market price' is the rolling average sale price of recent listings — the de facto US headline price for any card.
CardMarket: The largest EU Pokemon card marketplace. EU equivalent of TCGPlayer. Prices in euros; useful for European collector reference.
Comp(Comparable sale): A recent sold listing used as a reference price for a card. 'What are the comps?' = what have similar cards sold for recently.
PSA 10 comp: A recently-sold PSA 10 example of the same card, used as the price benchmark for grading-submission decisions.
FMV(Fair Market Value): What a card would sell for between informed buyer and seller in an arms-length transaction. The 'true' market price, distinct from headline retail asks.
Moonbreon: Collector nickname for the Umbreon VMAX alternate art (Evolving Skies, 215/203). Among the most valuable modern English cards; PSA 10 trades $1,500+.
Ripping: Opening sealed product (booster packs, boxes, ETBs) — typically on stream. Distinct from 'cracking' which is mostly used for slabs (cracking a slab = breaking the case).
Hit: A rare pull from a booster pack. 'I hit a Charizard ex SIR' = pulled one from a pack.
Binder: Both the physical storage product and slang for 'mid-tier playable collection' — 'a binder card' is one worth keeping but not worth grading.
Chase card: The most valuable card collectors target in a given set. Usually the Charizard SIR, the alt art, or the secret rare. 'Box's chase' = the most likely cards to make a box hit.
Tag Team: Sun & Moon era mechanic where two Pokemon shared a single card. Examples: Reshiram & Charizard-GX, Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Most carry premium prices.

Sets & eras

WOTC(Wizards of the Coast): The publisher of English Pokemon cards from 1999–2003 — Base Set through Skyridge. The vintage era. WOTC-era cards include all 1st Edition / Shadowless / Unlimited variants.
Vintage: Pokemon cards from 1999 through approximately 2003 — the Wizards of the Coast era (Base Set through Skyridge) plus first few Nintendo-published sets. Used loosely to mean 'pre-Diamond & Pearl.'
Modern: Pokemon cards from approximately 2010 onward — Black & White era through current. Distinct from 'vintage' (WOTC era) and 'mid-modern' (Diamond & Pearl through HeartGold/SoulSilver).
Neo era: Wizards-era sets from 2000–2001: Neo Genesis, Neo Discovery, Neo Revelation, Neo Destiny. Introduced Generation 2 Pokemon (Johto). Home of 1st Edition Lugia and Crystal Pokemon.
e-Card era: Wizards-era sets from 2002–2003: Expedition, Aquapolis, Skyridge. Featured holos with crystal-card hyper-rares. Last sets before Nintendo took over Pokemon TCG publishing.
151: Scarlet & Violet 3.5 set (2023), reprinting the original 151 Kanto Pokemon. Massive collector demand drove ETB and booster box prices to $400+ at peak.
Evolving Skies: Sword & Shield era set (2021) home to Moonbreon (Umbreon VMAX alt art), Rayquaza VMAX alt art, and other modern grails. The most printed modern set with chase-tier values.
Mega Evolution era: The active 2026 chase block — Scarlet & Violet — Mega Evolution sets (ME1, ME2, ME3). Reintroduced Mega Evolution mechanic from XY era.

Sealed product

ETB(Elite Trainer Box): A boxed Pokemon TCG product containing 8–10 booster packs, energy cards, sleeves, dice, and dividers. ETB price is a common market signal — sealed ETBs from popular sets often trade above their MSRP.
Booster box: A sealed case of 36 booster packs from a single set. The standard wholesale unit; opening one is the bulk-rip benchmark.
Case: A sealed case of 6 booster boxes — 216 booster packs total. The unit distributors ship to game stores. 'Case hit' = a card pulled at case-rate odds (~1 per case).
Blister: A retail-format package with 3–5 booster packs plus a promo card, sealed in plastic on cardboard backing. Common at Target / Walmart / Costco.
Premium Collection: Themed boxed Pokemon TCG product — typically 5–8 booster packs plus jumbo card and promos centered on a specific Pokemon (e.g., Charizard ex Premium Collection).

Storage & shipping

Penny sleeve: A soft plastic sleeve, $0.01 each. The first layer of card protection — friction and fingerprint protection. Always pair with a toploader for transport.
Toploader: A 3×4 inch rigid PVC sleeve. The standard ship protector for any card worth more than a few dollars. Use Ultra Pro or CardboardGold; off-brand toploaders are noticeably thinner.
Magnetic one-touch: Two-piece magnetic display case. UV-protected, dust-sealed. Standard storage for $50+ raw cards. Sized by point thickness — 35pt modern, 55pt thick holos, 75pt+ for Card Saver inserts.
Card Saver 1: A semi-rigid PVC sleeve required (or strongly preferred) by every major grading company for submission. Slightly more flexible than a toploader — graders can slide cards out without forcing them.
Team bag: A resealable cellophane bag sized for one toploader. Holds the toploader closed without tape (which can leave residue). Adds water resistance.
PWE(Plain White Envelope): The cheapest shipping method — a card in penny sleeve + toploader + paper folder inside a #6 envelope. No tracking. USPS sorting machines crush PWEs ~20% of the time. Only safe for cards under $20 between trusted traders.
BMWT(Bubble Mailer With Tracking): The standard tracked shipping method — penny sleeve + toploader + team bag + #00 bubble mailer with USPS Ground Advantage. Default for any card worth $20+. About $4–7 all-in.

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Rarity & variants

SAR(Special Art Rare)

A Scarlet & Violet era rarity tier. Special Art Rares use full-bleed art that extends past the standard frame, with a distinctive sub-frame look. Pulled rarer than Ultra Rares but more common than SIRs.

SIR(Special Illustration Rare)

The Scarlet & Violet era version of an alternate art. Full-bleed, character-focused illustration with extended background. The chase rarity in modern English Pokemon — typically 1-per-case pull rates.

ALT / AA(Alternate Art)

A card with an alternate full-art illustration distinct from the standard print. Used informally for SIRs and Sword & Shield alt-art Vs. Often the chase card of the set.

FA(Full Art)

A card where the Pokemon art extends across the entire card surface, replacing the standard frame. Began with Black & White era; standard rarity tier for Vs, GXs, and exs.

RH(Reverse Holofoil)

A variant where the holo pattern is applied to the card frame and background instead of just the art window. Available for most commons / uncommons / non-holo rares in modern English sets.

Holo(Holofoil)

A card with a metallic / shimmery holographic finish on the art window. Older sets call these 'Holo Rare'; modern sets use various shimmer patterns (cosmos, ripple, etched).

V / VMAX / VSTAR

Sword & Shield era mechanics (2020–2022). V cards replaced GX cards; VMAX and VSTAR were power-up evolution variants. All three carry full-art versions used as chase cards.

The dominant Scarlet & Violet era mechanic. Lowercase 'ex' on the card. Powerful Pokemon with a knock-out penalty. ex cards have multiple rarity tiers including SAR and SIR variants.

Sun & Moon era mechanic (2017–2019). GX cards allowed one game-ending attack per match. The era's full-art and rainbow rare variants are now collected as vintage modern.

Trainer Gallery / TG

Special Sword & Shield era subset (sets like Brilliant Stars, Lost Origin, Astral Radiance) featuring trainer-themed alternate art on Pokemon cards. TG numbering uses a separate sequence (e.g., TG01/TG30).

Secret Rare

A card whose collector number exceeds the printed set total (e.g., 152/151 in a 151-card set). Always a rarer pull than the base cards. Often gold-bordered or rainbow-bordered.

Gold Rare

A secret rare with a gold-foil treatment across the card. Standard chase pattern in modern English Pokemon — usually 1 per booster box.

Rainbow Rare

A secret rare with rainbow holofoil applied across the entire card surface. Standard in Sun & Moon and Sword & Shield eras; replaced by hyper-rares and SARs in Scarlet & Violet.

1st Edition

Cards from the very first print run of an English Wizards of the Coast Pokemon set (1999–2003), marked with an 'Edition 1' stamp left of the Pokemon's portrait. Generally 5–20× the value of Unlimited copies.