What are Pokémon Illustration Rare Cards?

This page introduces Pokémon Illustration Rare Cards and explains the difference between Illustration Rare Cards and Special Illustration Rare Cards.

Pokémon Illustration Rare cards were first introduced in 2023 with the launch of the Scarlet and Violet series. There are two different types – Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare cards, both of which are full art holographic cards. Illustration Rare cards are indicated with a single gold star ★, while Special Illustration Rare cards have two gold stars ★★.

The Dolliv card 200/198 is an Illustration Rare, while Gardevoir 245/198 is a Special Illustration Rare card. They replace the Secret Rare cards and both types of card bear numbers higher than the set number The artwork for both cards resembles the artwork used for the Trainer Gallery cards of 2022 and the Galarian Gallery cards released as part of the Crown Zenith set. Pokémon are depicted in ‘real-world’ settings, often with highly detailed artwork which makes them highly collectible and likely to feature heavily as Chase cards for sets in which they appear.

Where can Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare cards be found?

As with all Pokémon Trading cards, these new cards can be found in Pokémon Booster Packs. However, the Scarlet and Violet series sees a change to the contents of a booster pack and the slots where these cards will be found.

Over the last series booster packs contained 5 Common cards, 3 Uncommon cards, 1 Non-Holo Rare card, 1 Reverse Holo, 1 Basic Energy card and 1 Online Code card. Regular art cards, as well as Ultra and Secret Rare cards took the place of the Non-Holo Rare card.

The Scarlet and Violet series sees the contents of booster packs change to 4 Common cards, 3 Uncommon cards, 2 Reverse Holo cards, 1 Holo card, 1 Basic Energy and 1 Online Code card. Illustration Rare cards and Special Illustration Rare cards will take the place of 1 Reverse Holo card. Other art cards will be in the Holo card slot.