Modern Pokémon Card Rarities Explained (Double Rare to Hyper Rare)
What Double Rare, Ultra Rare, Illustration Rare, Special Illustration Rare, Hyper Rare, ACE SPEC and Shiny rarities mean, and how to tell them apart on the card.
By the PullMeter team · 6 min read · Updated October 23, 2026
Starting with Scarlet & Violet, Pokémon cards moved to a new rarity system with distinct symbols. Here's what each rarity name in our set tables means, from most common to rarest.
Common, Uncommon and Rare
A circle marks a Common, a diamond an Uncommon, and a star a Rare. Since Scarlet & Violet, Rares in booster packs are foil.
Double Rare
Usually the regular version of a Pokémon ex, marked with two black stars.
Ultra Rare
Full-art versions of Pokémon ex and Supporter cards. These are textured, edge-to-edge artwork cards.
Illustration Rare
Alternate artwork of a regular Pokémon, extending across the whole card, marked with a single gold star. These are popular with art collectors and include some of the most valuable cards from non-ex Pokémon.
Special Illustration Rare
Full scene artwork for Pokémon ex and Supporters, marked with two gold stars. These are usually the chase cards of a set.
Hyper Rare
Gold-etched cards, marked with three gold stars. They're scarce, but they're not always the most valuable, because collectors often prefer illustration artwork.
ACE SPEC, Shiny, and special-set rarities
ACE SPEC Rare marks powerful one-per-deck Trainer cards. Some special sets add Shiny Rare and Shiny Ultra Rare cards. Newer series introduce their own names, which you'll see exactly as the data source reports them on each set page.
How rare is rare?
Official odds aren't published. TCGplayer has published measured pull rates for some sets from thousands of opened packs, such as Scarlet & Violet and 151. Our pull-rate simulator uses those figures where available, and asks you for assumptions everywhere else.
General information only. It's not professional, financial or legal advice.