Holofoil
A holofoil card has a shiny foil finish over its picture that scatters light as you tilt it. Pokémon prints many of a set's rarer cards this way, in patterns that change from series to series.
Also called Holo.
In more detail
The foil sits on the picture, and its shine moves as the card tilts. Most promotional cards and cards at Rare or above in a set are holofoil, and some Trainer and Energy cards are too.
The pattern has changed over the years. Base Set, Jungle and Fossil used a starlight pattern of starbursts in different sizes, and later series moved to patterns that collectors call cosmos, tinsel and sheen.
Holofoil is not the same as reverse holofoil, where the foil covers the card apart from its picture. Check that a listing says which printing it means, since a holofoil and a non-foil copy of one card are different items to a buyer.
Related terms
Where Rip.fan covers it
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