Pokémon card eras: the English series in order
The English Pokémon card series in order, from the Wizards of the Coast sets to Mega Evolution, with the borders, codes and name labels that date each card.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 8 min read
English Pokémon cards fall into 14 main series, by the headings on Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, which also carry headings for Special sets, POP and NP. Base came first, with Base Set in January 1999. Mega Evolution is the newest, from September 2025. Each series leaves marks on its cards. The border was yellow until the Scarlet & Violet Series turned it gray in 2023. A picture symbol named the set until Scarlet & Violet replaced it with a printed code. A one-letter regulation mark has appeared since 2020, and name labels such as ex, LV.X, GX and V each belong to particular years.
What are the English eras, in order?
The series names, years and first and last sets follow Rip.fan’s price pages.
| Series | Years | First and last expansion | Labels to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | 1999 to 2000 | Base Set to Team Rocket | 1st Edition stamps; Dark Pokémon, from Team Rocket |
| Gym | 2000 | Gym Heroes and Gym Challenge | A Gym Leader’s name in front of the Pokémon’s, as in Erika’s Jigglypuff |
| Neo | 2000 to 2002 | Neo Genesis to Neo Destiny | Shining Pokémon; Light and Dark Pokémon |
| E-Card | 2002 to 2003 | Expedition Base Set to Skyridge | e-Reader dot codes; Crystal Type |
| EX | 2003 to 2007 | EX Ruby & Sapphire to EX Power Keepers | ex in lower case; Star cards; Delta Species |
| Diamond & Pearl | 2007 to 2008 | Diamond & Pearl to Stormfront | LV.X |
| Platinum | 2009 | Platinum to Arceus | LV.X; SP cards, with letters such as G, GL and C |
| HeartGold & SoulSilver | 2010 to 2011 | HeartGold & SoulSilver to Call of Legends | Prime; LEGEND |
| Black & White | 2011 to 2013 | Black & White to Legendary Treasures | EX in capitals; full art; ACE SPEC |
| XY | 2014 to 2016 | XY to Evolutions | EX, including Mega Evolution Pokémon-EX; BREAK |
| Sun & Moon | 2017 to 2019 | Sun & Moon to Cosmic Eclipse | GX; TAG TEAM; Prism Star |
| Sword & Shield | 2020 to 2023 | Sword & Shield to Crown Zenith | V, VMAX and VSTAR; Radiant |
| Scarlet & Violet | 2023 to 2025 | Scarlet & Violet to Black Bolt and White Flare | ex in lower case; Tera Pokémon ex |
| Mega Evolution | 2025 on | Mega Evolution to 30th Celebration, so far | Mega Evolution Pokémon ex |
Where did each label begin? The ex label began with EX Ruby & Sapphire and LV.X with Diamond & Pearl. Capital EX began with Next Destinies, GX with Sun & Moon, V and VMAX with Sword & Shield, and VSTAR with Brilliant Stars. Star cards began with EX Team Rocket Returns and ACE SPEC with Boundaries Crossed. BREAK began with BREAKthrough, Prism Star with Ultra Prism and TAG TEAM with Team Up. Trainer’s Pokémon, the cards with an owner’s name, first appeared in Gym Heroes.
Rip.fan’s set pages carry some of these labels in their rarity column too. The Diamond & Pearl page tags cards Rare Holo LV.X, HeartGold & SoulSilver tags them Rare Prime and LEGEND, and Astral Radiance has Radiant Rare. Our guide to Pokémon set release dates lists the 2026 sets in order.
Images from Scrydex.
Which marks date a card at a glance?
Most of the clues sit in the border and the bottom line of small print.
| Mark | What it dates |
|---|---|
| A 1st Edition stamp | A first print run from Base Set to Neo Destiny; Base Set 2 had none |
| No set symbol at all | Base Set |
| An e-Reader dot code | Expedition Base Set into the first EX sets |
| The label Pokémon Power | Vintage cards; the EX era split it into Poké-Power and Poké-Body |
| The label Ability | 2011 on |
| A Fairy type symbol | The XY era until 2020 |
| A yellow border | Usually a series before Scarlet & Violet; reprints can copy old designs, so check the set mark |
| A one-letter regulation mark | Sword & Shield on, from 2020 |
| A gray border | Scarlet & Violet on |
| A printed set code with EN, such as SCR | Scarlet & Violet on, in place of the picture symbol |
| Colored rarity stars | Scarlet & Violet on; before that, the premium tiers shared the single black star |
The border change was announced on March 30, 2023. Pokémon said the classic yellow borders would give way to the gray border used in Japan, and that new rarity symbols would arrive with the series. The new borders are also called silver; the two names describe the same change.
Which regulation letter goes with which years?
Marks first appeared on English cards in 2020, starting with D. The first set for later letters was E with Battle Styles in 2021, F with Brilliant Stars in 2022, G with Scarlet & Violet in 2023, H with Temporal Forces in 2024, I with Journey Together in 2025 and J with Ascended Heroes in 2026. Pokémon said in April 2021 that cards from one expansion do not always share the same letter. So a letter narrows a card to a span of a year or two, not to one set.
What changed in each stretch?
Base to E-Card, 1999 to 2003
These are the sets Wizards of the Coast printed. CGC says English 1st Edition stamps marked first print runs for about three years, ending with Neo Destiny. Base Set has no set symbol, and the E-Card sets carry dot codes for the e-Reader. Our guide to vintage Pokémon sets covers all 16 sets, and 1st Edition and Shadowless cards explains the stamps.
EX to HeartGold & SoulSilver, 2003 to 2011
EX Ruby & Sapphire changed the English card layout to match the Japanese one. Pokémon ex debuted in EX Ruby & Sapphire and stayed until EX Power Keepers in 2007. The Diamond & Pearl and Platinum sets brought LV.X, and Platinum added SP cards marked with letters such as G, for Team Galactic. HeartGold & SoulSilver sets carry Prime and LEGEND cards.
Black & White to Sun & Moon, 2011 to 2019
Full art cards arrived with Black & White, and N, from Noble Victories in 2011, was the first full-art Supporter. Capital EX began in Next Destinies and carried into XY, where it tied into Mega Evolution. Sun & Moon brought GX cards, which look much like the EX cards before them.
Sword & Shield, 2020 to 2023
The regulation mark arrived, along with V, VMAX and VSTAR cards, and the borders stayed yellow to the end of the series. Several Sword & Shield subsets have their own pages on Rip.fan, such as the Trainer Gallery sets, so a card from one is listed apart from its main set.
Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution, 2023 on
Gray borders, printed set codes and colored rarity stars all date from Scarlet & Violet. CGC says the series brought back Pokémon ex, along with Tera Pokémon ex. Mega Evolution Pokémon ex are double rares, and two more rarities are built around them: the Mega attack rare and the Mega hyper rare. Our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols shows each mark.
Which labels came back in a later era?
A few, so the label alone can mislead.
| Label | First era | Later era | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|---|---|
| ex in lower case | EX, 2003 to 2007 | Scarlet & Violet, 2023 on | Yellow border and picture symbol on the first; gray border, set code and regulation letter on the second |
| Mega Evolution | XY, as Mega Evolution Pokémon-EX | Mega Evolution, as Mega Evolution Pokémon ex | Capital EX against lower case ex |
| An owner’s name, such as Erika’s | Gym, 2000 | Journey Together and Destined Rivals, 2025 | Yellow border and picture symbol on the first |
| Shining | Neo, 2001 to 2002 | Shining Legends, 2017, which brought it back | The set symbol and the copyright year |
Reprints work the same way. 30th Celebration packs include classic cards such as Base Set Charizard with a new foil treatment, so check the set mark before you trust the picture.
Why do references split the eras differently?
Three references draw the lines in different places.
On Rip.fan’s price pages, sets sit under 17 headings: 14 main series plus Special sets, POP and NP. E-Card sets have a heading of their own, Southern Islands and Legendary Collection sit under Special sets, and Diamond & Pearl to HeartGold & SoulSilver are three separate series.
None of these changes what a card is. When a listing names an era, go by the set and number instead.
How do you use the era to look a card up?
- Read the border color and the bottom line: set symbol or code, number and any regulation letter.
- Match the series in the first table, then find the set under that heading on Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages.
- Find the card by number on the set page, or by name with the card price lookup.
Our guide to how to read a Pokémon card labels every part of the small print, and how to look up a Pokémon card’s value covers the next step. For a printing from Japan, see our guide to Japanese Pokémon sets. The Pokémon hub collects the rest of our coverage, and the glossary explains what makes a set.
Frequently asked questions
When did the Scarlet & Violet era begin?
On March 31, 2023, with the Scarlet & Violet set. That came 70 days after Crown Zenith, released January 20, 2023, closed the Sword & Shield Series.
When did the Mega Evolution era begin?
On September 26, 2025, with the Mega Evolution set. Black Bolt and White Flare had closed the Scarlet & Violet Series 70 days earlier, on July 18, 2025.
Which era has the most sets?
Sword & Shield, with 24 sets on Rip.fan's price pages once its subsets and promos are counted. XY follows with 23, Sun & Moon has 20, and the Gym era has only 2.
What does a Mega attack rare look like?
It shows a Mega Pokémon in full art with large kanji lettering, and its rarity mark is 2 pastel stars, one pink and one green.