Brilliant Stars and its Trainer Gallery explained
Pokémon's Brilliant Stars: the first set with VSTAR cards, its 186-card list and 30-card Trainer Gallery, every VSTAR by number, and the gold Galarian birds.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
Brilliant Stars is an expansion in Pokémon’s Sword & Shield series, released February 25, 2022, and it is where VSTAR cards begin. It has four VSTAR Pokémon, Arceus, Charizard, Shaymin and Whimsicott, and they are the only ones in the set. The set comes in two lists: a main list of 186 cards, 172 inside the printed total and 14 above it, and a Trainer Gallery of 30 cards numbered TG01 to TG30.
When did Brilliant Stars come out?
On February 25, 2022. Among Pokémon’s expansions, Brilliant Stars follows Fusion Strike (November 12, 2021) and comes before Astral Radiance (May 27, 2022). On March 4, 2022, Pokémon said the set had launched and was available at participating retailers around the world.
Rip.fan’s price pages give both lists the code BRS. Our guide to Pokémon card eras places the Sword & Shield series in the longer history.
How many cards are in Brilliant Stars?
186 in the main list, plus the 30-card Trainer Gallery. The first 151 numbers are the main run, before the ultra rare block: cards 001 to 128 are Pokémon, 129 to 150 are Trainer cards and 151 is a Special Energy card. Counted by tier, with the V, VMAX and VSTAR cards sorted by name:
| Tier | Cards | Numbers | What they are |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 42 | Within 001 to 127 | Pokémon |
| Uncommon | 46 | Within 002 to 151 | 25 Pokémon, 20 Trainer cards and the Special Energy |
| Rare | 26 | Within 004 to 126 | Pokémon |
| Holo rare | 10 | Within 008 to 147 | 8 Pokémon and 2 Supporters |
| Pokémon V | 20 | Within 013 to 128 | One card each for 20 Pokémon |
| Pokémon VMAX | 3 | 029, 069, 097 | Kingler, Mimikyu and Aggron |
| Pokémon VSTAR | 4 | 014, 018, 065, 123 | Shaymin, Charizard, Whimsicott and Arceus |
| Ultra rare | 21 | 152 to 172 | 15 full-art Pokémon V and 6 full-art Supporters |
| Secret rare | 14 | 173 to 186 | 5 VSTAR, 3 Pokémon V, 4 Supporters and 2 other Trainer cards |
Commons carry a black circle, uncommons a black diamond and rares a black star. A reverse holofoil version exists for 124 of the 151 main-run cards; the 27 without one are all the V, VMAX and VSTAR cards. A card numbered above the printed total is a secret rare.
How many different Pokémon V does Brilliant Stars have?
Counted by name, the main list has 24 different Pokémon V: 20 main-run cards, one per Pokémon, plus Pikachu V, whose only card here is a full-art Pikachu V at 157, and three that appear only above the printed total. The 15 full-art Pokémon V cards sit at 152 to 166 and show 11 Pokémon, and the 6 full-art Supporters sit at 167 to 172.
Which Pokémon have VSTAR cards?
Four, and between them they have nine VSTAR cards. Each also has a Pokémon V in the main run and at least one full-art Pokémon V:
| Pokémon | Pokémon V | Full-art V | VSTAR | Rainbow VSTAR | Gold VSTAR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shaymin | 013 | 152 | 014 | 173 | None |
| Charizard | 017 | 153, 154 | 018 | 174 | None |
| Whimsicott | 064 | 160 | 065 | 175 | None |
| Arceus | 122 | 165, 166 | 123 | 176 | 184 |
Arceus is the only one with a gold VSTAR, which makes six Arceus cards in the main list, more than any other Pokémon has there. The three VMAX cards sit beside their own Pokémon V in the main run (Kingler at 028 and 029, Mimikyu at 068 and 069, Aggron at 096 and 097), and none of the three has a full-art or secret rare card in the main list.
Which Pokémon V have two full-art cards?
Charizard (153, 154), Lumineon (155, 156), Honchkrow (161, 162) and Arceus (165, 166). In all four pairs, the lower number is credited to the same illustrator as the main-run Pokémon V and the higher number to someone else, so the two cards show different artwork, which is called alternate art. Ten Pokémon V have no full-art card at all, among them Zarude, Entei, Raikou and Drampa.
What sits above 172?
Fourteen cards, in two blocks:
- 173 to 180, rainbow. The four VSTAR cards, then rainbow versions of four of the six full-art Supporters.
- 181 to 186, gold. Galarian Articuno V, Galarian Zapdos V and Galarian Moltres V, the gold Arceus VSTAR, a Stadium card and an Item card.
The three Galarian Pokémon V have no other card in Brilliant Stars, so a listing for any of them from this set is a gold secret rare. Rainbow rare and gold rare cards are both kinds of secret rare.
What is in the Trainer Gallery?
The 30 gallery cards show artwork of fan-favorite Trainers and Pokémon. The gallery runs in four blocks:
| Numbers | Cards | What they are |
|---|---|---|
| TG01 to TG12 | 12 | Pokémon that are not V cards, from Flareon to Oranguru |
| TG13 to TG23 | 11 | 6 Pokémon V and 5 Pokémon VMAX |
| TG24 to TG28 | 5 | Supporter cards |
| TG29 and TG30 | 2 | Two Urshifu VMAX, recorded as holo with no foil pattern named |
Only 8 of the 30 share a name with a card in the main list: Dusknoir, Dedenne and Alcremie from the first block, Mimikyu V and Mimikyu VMAX, and three Supporters. The other 22 appear in Brilliant Stars only in the gallery. They include Eevee, Flareon, Vaporeon and Jolteon, Sylveon and Umbreon as both V and VMAX, and Urshifu, which has six gallery cards in its two forms and none in the main list. Our Lost Origin guide compares the four Sword & Shield Trainer Galleries side by side, and our guide to completing a Pokémon set shows how to check for subset pages like this one.
Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery
In card number order. Images from Scrydex.
What products hold Brilliant Stars packs?
In March 2022, Pokémon listed booster packs, Elite Trainer Boxes and special collections, plus a Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box for shoppers in the US, Canada and the UK, which holds additional booster packs and accessories. Check the printed contents on the box or the seller’s listing for pack counts. Our guides to Elite Trainer Boxes, booster boxes and Pokémon sealed products explain the formats.
How do you check Brilliant Stars card prices?
The main list and the Trainer Gallery have separate pages in Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, each with number, rarity and NM market price. Sort the main page by number and Arceus’s cards sit at 122, 123, 165, 166, 176 and 184. For one card, the card price lookup searches by name, set or number, and the price changes page compares prices between Rip.fan’s weekly checks.
One number needs care. Rip.fan’s page for the 2026 30th Celebration: Classic Collection lists an Arceus VSTAR under 123/172, the same number as the Brilliant Stars card, so pick the right set when you search. Our 30th Celebration guide explains that reprint subset.
If you plan to grade, our guide to deciding whether to grade a card covers the costs.
What should you check before buying?
- The number. Charizard is five cards (017, 018, 153, 154 and 174). Match the card number to the version a listing claims.
- Main list or gallery. A TG number marks a Trainer Gallery card. Mimikyu V and VMAX appear in both lists, at 068 and 069 and at TG16 and TG17.
- The finish. Every main-run card except the V, VMAX and VSTAR cards has a reverse holofoil version, and three cards have a cosmos-pattern foil version: Moltres (021), Empoleon (037) and Boss’s Orders (132).
- Wormadam. Three different Wormadam cards sit in the main run, at 010, 077 and 098, each with its own type and illustrator.
- Sealed product and genuine cards. See our guides to spotting resealed Pokémon packs and spotting fake Pokémon cards, and our guide to Pokémon card finishes for how foils differ.
The Pokémon hub has the rest of our coverage, and our guides to Astral Radiance, Silver Tempest and Celebrations cover more Sword & Shield sets the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Which Brilliant Stars card has the highest price?
Charizard V (154/172), a Rare Ultra, led Brilliant Stars on October 21, 2026, with a Near Mint market price of $271.54. Charizard VSTAR (174/172) followed at $63.24.
Which Brilliant Stars Rare Secret costs the most?
It was Galarian Moltres V (183/172), at a Near Mint market price of $21.78 on October 21, 2026.
Which Rare Rainbow in Brilliant Stars has the highest price?
Arceus VSTAR (176/172) had the highest Near Mint market price among the Brilliant Stars cards marked Rare Rainbow on October 21, 2026, at $14.79.
How much is Charizard V from Brilliant Stars?
On October 21, 2026, the 3 Charizard V cards in Brilliant Stars had Near Mint market prices of $7.97 for 017/172 (Rare Holo V), $31.52 for 153/172 (Rare Ultra) and $271.54 for 154/172 (Rare Ultra).
What is the most valuable card in Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery?
On October 21, 2026, Umbreon VMAX (TG23/TG30) had the highest Near Mint market price in Brilliant Stars Trainer Gallery, at $96.61.