How to tell if a Pokémon card is fake

The surest check for a fake Pokémon card that leaves it unharmed is a side-by-side look at its back and the back of a card you know is real. Then read every word on the front, match the front to a reference picture of the same card, and compare the feel, edges and foil with a genuine card from the same set. TCGplayer, which checks cards in its own authentication center, says no single test is conclusive: some fakes pass a test, and some real cards have print quirks that look wrong. Use several checks together. The rip test is never needed.

Why check the back first?

TCGplayer rates the back comparison as its most reliable test, and it is the first one its own staff run. Apart from a few documented exceptions, every English Pokémon card has the same back design, whether it was printed in 1999 or 2021. Counterfeiters rarely copy all of its detail.

Hold the suspect card’s back beside a real one and look for two things:

• Border bleed. On a real card, the dark blue border stands clearly apart from the other blues in the design. On many fakes the colors run into each other.
• Washed-out color. A fake back often looks paler or flatter than the real one.

If you are buying online, ask the seller for a photo of the back. Without one, you can’t run this check at all.

What should you read on the front?

Read every word, slowly. The signs to look for:

• “Pokémon” printed without the accent over the e. That is a near-certain sign of a fake.
• Another name for the creatures, such as Pocket Monster.
• Spelling or grammar mistakes.
• HP or attack damage of 1,000 or more. TCGplayer notes that as of 2026 no Pokémon card has more than 380 HP.
• Text left over from a different card, or a Basic Pokémon shown evolving from another Pokémon.
• A 2nd edition mark. Cardmarket notes that there is no such thing: Pokémon cards come as 1st Edition or Unlimited prints.

Don’t lean on this check alone. TCGplayer rates it as low reliability, because many fakes copy their text word for word from real cards. A few very old genuine cards also carry printing errors, which are well recorded among collectors.

How do you compare the front with a reference picture?

Find the exact card in a reference. TCGplayer suggests Pokémon’s official card database. Rip.fan’s Pokémon card price pages also list every card in an English set by number and rarity, with a picture of the card where one is available, and the card price lookup finds a card by name. Make sure you match the same set, the same number and the same printing, since many cards exist in more than one version.

Then compare, point by point:

• the set symbol and the card number
• the foil: shine on a card that should be plain is a sign, and so is a plain finish where the real card shines
• the printed figures: HP, attack damage, weakness, resistance and retreat cost
• the Energy symbols, which on fakes often look oversized, sit off center or differ in color strength
• the typeface and its size

Use the number and the rarity symbol together

The number and the symbol should agree. In the two recent Mega Evolution sets covered in our rarity guide, every card marked with silver or gold stars is numbered above the set’s printed total, as in 101/84. A gold-star card with a number inside the main list does not match those sets. Our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols has the counts and the full list of symbols.

What does the physical card tell you?

Now compare the card in your hand with a real one of the same set, rarity and type of foil. TCGplayer rates this as a highly reliable test once you know what to look for. Look and feel for:

• Weight and stiffness. A large weight difference, or card stock that feels too thin or too weak, is a sign. Your fingers can judge stiffness without bending the card.
• Foil texture. Some foil styles have a texture you can feel. A flat, smooth foil on a card that should be textured is a warning, and Cardmarket notes that fakes rarely copy the texture of GX cards.
• Gloss. Cardmarket shows fakes printed on glossy stock that throws glare.
• Edges. A real card’s edges are straight and clean, with no cardboard residue along them.
• Borders. A border much wider than normal suggests a fake. Real cards can be miscut and show a slightly wider border, but not by a large margin.
• Color. Compare the whole card. Fakes often look duller or simply different from the genuine copy.

Does the light test work?

The light test, where you shine a lamp behind a card to judge how much light passes through, has a following among collectors. TCGplayer does not recommend it. Real Pokémon cards vary too much: two different companies have published them since 1999, using foil methods that each react to light in their own way. Lighting varies too, so a lamp in one room can give a different result from a lamp in another.

The result, in TCGplayer’s view, is too many false positives. It suggests comparing the text or the feel of two cards over judging how see-through they look.

What about the rip and bend tests?

Skip both. The rip test means tearing a card in half to look for a black layer between its two sheets of card stock, which real cards have. It destroys the card, and TCGplayer says it has never checked whether the test is reliable and never will. The bend test damages the card too, and your fingers can judge the stock without it.

How do you check a graded Pokémon card?

A slab can be faked as well as a card. Look up the cert number printed on the label on the grading company’s own site. CGC’s lookup, for example, confirms the card’s description and grade, and it helps confirm a holder is genuine and has not been tampered with. Check that the result matches the card and the label in front of you.

Where do fakes turn up?

TCGplayer singles out flea markets as full of fake product. It also warns about sealed Pokémon product priced far below what Pokémon Center lists, and about buying from unknown sources. It suggests buying only where the platform has strong buyer protection.

If you open a pack full of rare cards that face different ways, TCGplayer treats it as almost certainly fake, and a rare as the very first card of a normal set is worth a careful check. Our guide to spotting a resealed Pokémon pack covers the checks for sealed product. Buying in person? See our guide to your first card show. The counterfeit card entry in our glossary sums up the main signs.

Frequently asked questions

Does The Pokémon Company recommend the light test?

It does. The Pokémon Company says counterfeit cards are often easy to see through when held up to a bright light, and it suggests a local shop that specializes in trading cards as a second opinion on a doubtful card.

Why do fake Pokémon cards often look washed out?

On a fake Test Print Blastoise in December 2023, CGC found weaker blacks and a red tinge, and said the faker likely had no original art files and started from a photo, which costs color saturation.

Are Pokémon Test Print Blastoise cards real?

A few are. CGC certified four genuine Test Print Blastoise cards in 2020 and two more by December 2023, and that month it caught a fake one printed on a genuine Magic card back.

Can Japanese or Chinese Pokémon cards be authenticated by a grader?

Yes. TAG grades Pokémon cards in English, Japanese, and Traditional and Simplified Chinese, the Chinese ones since September 25, 2025, but no other languages, and every card must be the standard 2.5 by 3.5 inch size.