Pokémon ex, EX, GX, V, VMAX and VSTAR cards explained
How to tell Pokémon ex, EX, GX, V, VMAX, VSTAR and Mega ex cards apart: the years of each label, how it is printed, and where each version sits in a set.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
Pokémon ex, EX, GX, V, VMAX and VSTAR are name labels, and each one belongs to particular years. Lowercase ex marks cards from the EX sets of 2003 to 2007 and from Scarlet & Violet in 2023 on. Capital EX marks the Black & White and XY sets from 2012, GX the Sun & Moon sets from 2017, V and VMAX the Sword & Shield sets from 2020, and VSTAR those from 2022. The label also tells you where to look in a set’s numbering. In the older sets, the ultra rare version of a labeled card sits inside the printed total; in Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution it sits above it.
Which label belongs to which years?
The last column shows the rarity tag Rip.fan’s price pages give the standard card.
| Label | How the name reads | Began with | Released | Tag on Rip.fan’s price pages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ex | Mewtwo ex | EX Ruby & Sapphire | July 1, 2003 | Rare Holo EX |
| EX | Mewtwo-EX | Next Destinies | February 8, 2012 | Rare Holo EX |
| GX | Umbreon-GX | Sun & Moon | February 3, 2017 | Rare Holo GX |
| V | Snorlax V | Sword & Shield | February 7, 2020 | Rare Holo V |
| VMAX | Snorlax VMAX | Sword & Shield | February 7, 2020 | Rare Holo VMAX |
| VSTAR | Arceus VSTAR | Brilliant Stars | February 25, 2022 | Rare Holo VSTAR |
| ex, again | Gardevoir ex | Scarlet & Violet | March 31, 2023 | Double Rare |
| Mega ex | Mega Venusaur ex | Mega Evolution | September 26, 2025 | Double Rare |
The first run of ex lasted until EX Power Keepers, released February 2, 2007. Two more labels sit inside these eras. The capital EX cards of the XY sets tie to Mega Evolution, and on Rip.fan’s XY page M Venusaur-EX and M Blastoise-EX appear beside their plain EX cards. Tag Team Pokémon are a special card type; on Rip.fan’s Team Up page they read as two Pokémon joined by an ampersand, such as Pikachu & Zekrom-GX. Our guide to Mega Evolution cards separates the old M EX cards from the new Mega ex ones.
Images from Scrydex.
How is each label printed on the card?
- The spelling. On Rip.fan’s set lists, lowercase ex follows the name after a space, capital EX and GX are joined with a hyphen, and V, VMAX and VSTAR follow a space. CGC describes the V as a stylized graphic after the name. Search with the exact spelling, because Mewtwo ex and Mewtwo-EX are cards from different decades.
- No flavor text. Special cards such as Pokémon ex drop the short Pokédex-style line that standard cards carry, because the space goes to a rules box.
- The Tera look. Terastal Pokémon have a crystalline look and an ornate jewel on the head, and Tera Pokémon on cards wear the same jewel.
- Mega forms. The XY cards read M, the Pokémon, then a hyphen and EX. The cards from 2025 spell out Mega and end in lowercase ex.
- The rarity mark. Until Scarlet & Violet, all the premium cards carried one black star, the same mark as a plain rare, so V, VMAX, full-art and rainbow cards were told apart by style, not symbol. From Scarlet & Violet on, the standard ex, Tera ex and Mega ex carry two black stars (double rare) and their full-art foil versions two foil stars (ultra rare). Two gold stars mark a special illustration rare and three a hyper rare.
So the tags on Rip.fan’s older set pages, such as Rare Ultra and Rare Rainbow, are catalog names. A Sword & Shield V card carries the same single black star as a plain rare. Our guide to rarity symbols shows each mark.
Where does each version sit in its set?
Each set has a printed total, the number after the slash. Cards numbered past it are the set’s secret rares. The table counts the labeled cards on Rip.fan’s price page for one set from each era; Forbidden Light stands in for the Sun & Moon series and Brilliant Stars for the Sword & Shield series. The third column counts the versions tagged Rare Ultra, or Ultra Rare from Scarlet & Violet on, the tier where CGC says most full-art cards sit.
| Set and release | Standard labeled cards | Ultra rare versions | Labeled versions above the printed total |
|---|---|---|---|
| EX Ruby & Sapphire, July 2003 | 8 ex, numbered 96 to 103 of 109 | None | None |
| Next Destinies, February 2012 | 6 EX, such as Mewtwo-EX at 54/99 | 6, numbered 94 to 99 of 99 | None; the four cards at 100 to 103 are other Pokémon |
| XY, February 2014 | 8 EX, including M Venusaur-EX at 2/146 | 6, numbered 141 to 146 of 146 | None |
| Forbidden Light, May 2018 | 8 GX, such as Greninja-GX at 24/131 | 9, numbered 119 to 127 of 131 | 9 GX tagged Rare Rainbow, at 132 to 140 |
| Brilliant Stars, February 2022 | 20 V, 3 VMAX and 4 VSTAR, such as Arceus VSTAR at 123/172 | 15 V, numbered 152 to 166 of 172 | 4 VSTAR tagged Rare Rainbow, at 173 to 176; 3 V and 1 VSTAR tagged Rare Secret, at 181 to 184 |
| Scarlet & Violet, March 2023 | 12 ex, such as Gardevoir ex at 086/198 | 12, numbered 223 to 234 of 198 | All 12 ultra rares, plus 6 special illustration rares at 243 to 248 and 2 hyper rares at 253 and 254 |
| Mega Evolution, September 2025 | 10 Mega ex, such as Mega Venusaur ex at 003/132 | 10, numbered 155 to 164 of 132 | All 10 ultra rares, plus 6 special illustration rares at 177 to 182 and 2 Mega hyper rares at 187 and 188 |
What patterns show in the numbers?
- The ultra rare moved past the total. In the four sets before Scarlet & Violet in the table that have them, the ultra rare versions sit near the end of the main list, inside the printed total. Only the Rare Rainbow and Rare Secret versions go past it. In Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution, the standard ex is the only labeled version inside the total. So 152/172 is a Brilliant Stars ultra rare inside the list, while 223/198 is a Scarlet & Violet ultra rare above it.
- Pairs sit side by side. Brilliant Stars numbers Arceus V at 122 and Arceus VSTAR at 123, and Kingler V at 028 beside Kingler VMAX at 029.
- Not every labeled card gets every version. Brilliant Stars has 20 standard V cards but 15 ultra rare V. Scarlet & Violet gives all 12 of its ex an ultra rare, but only 6 a special illustration rare. In Mega Evolution, all 10 Mega ex have an ultra rare and 6 have a special illustration rare.
- The first ex cards had one version. In EX Ruby & Sapphire, the 8 ex sit at 96 to 103, just before the set’s Basic Energy cards, and none comes again.
These patterns hold for the sets counted here. Check any other set against its own list before you rely on a number.
How do you work out which card you have?
- Read the label. The spelling places the card in an era, using the first table.
- Read the bottom line. The set code with EN replaced the picture symbol from Scarlet & Violet on, and regulation letters began on English cards in 2020. Our guide to reading a Pokémon card labels each part, and our guide to card eras covers the borders and symbols.
- Set the number against the printed total. Inside or above tells you which version you have, using the second table.
- Look it up by set and number. One Pokémon can be three or four cards in one set, so a name search is not enough. Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages list each priced card with its number and rarity tag, and the card price lookup finds a card by name, set or number.
- Check that it is genuine. Our guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards covers checks that leave the card unharmed.
For the art-led versions of these cards, see our guide to illustration rares. The glossary explains card numbers and holofoil, and the Pokémon hub collects the rest of our Pokémon coverage.
Frequently asked questions
How does a Tera Pokémon ex card look different from other ex cards?
Its foil runs across the whole card, with a textured surface. Other double rare ex cards have a foil border with a star-like sheen instead.
Which lower-case ex card has the highest price?
Lugia ex from Unseen Forces (105/115), from the first ex era. It had a Near Mint market price of $2,500 on October 21, 2026, the highest of any lower-case ex card on Rip.fan's pages.
How much do the versions of one ex card differ in price?
A great deal. Prismatic Evolutions Umbreon ex had a Near Mint market price of $8.47 on October 21, 2026 as the double rare (060/131), against $1,232.76 as the special illustration rare (161/131).