Pokémon illustration rares explained, set by set

An illustration rare is a full-art foil card that gives a common, uncommon or rare Pokémon a new picture, and it carries one gold star. A special illustration rare does the same for a Pokémon ex or a Supporter card, and it carries two gold stars. Both tiers began with the Scarlet & Violet expansion in March 2023. Both are numbered above the set’s printed total, with the illustration rares first in line. By Rip.fan’s arithmetic, 21 English expansions from Scarlet & Violet to 30th Celebration hold 430 illustration rares and 219 special illustration rares between them, and the split varies widely from set to set.

What is the difference between the two tiers?

The card underneath the new art. Illustration rares go on common, uncommon and rare Pokémon, in full-art foil pictures that often show the character’s personality or surroundings. Special illustration rares go on Pokémon ex or Supporter cards, with the same full-art foil look.

Pokémon introduced both marks in an article dated March 30, 2023, which called them brand-new rarities for the Scarlet & Violet Series. For 30th Celebration, Pokémon picked Shinji Kanda’s Magikarp from Paldea Evolved as an example. That card is 203/193 on Rip.fan’s Paldea Evolved page, and Rip.fan’s 30th Celebration: Classic Collection page lists a Magikarp illustration rare under the same number.

Why do some cards look like a story?

Some sets draw a whole evolution line in one style. Jiro Sasumo drew a series of cards in which Ralts grows up with its Trainer’s family, through Kirlia to Gardevoir. On Rip.fan’s Scarlet & Violet page, Ralts (211) and Kirlia (212) are illustration rares, and Gardevoir ex (245) is a special illustration rare. The final stage is a Pokémon ex, so it lands in the higher tier.

The same Pokémon can also sit at several tiers in one set. Scarlet & Violet lists Gardevoir ex three times: a double rare at 086, an ultra rare at 228 and the special illustration rare at 245. Each is a separate card with its own number and price.

Illustration Rare

• Ralts 211/198 Scarlet & Violet
• Kirlia 212/198 Scarlet & Violet
• Magikarp 203/193 Paldea Evolved
• Magikarp 203/193 30th Celebration: Classic Collection

Special Illustration Rare, Scarlet & Violet series

• Gardevoir ex 245/198 Scarlet & Violet
• Venusaur ex 198/165 151
• Charizard ex 199/165 151
• Blastoise ex 200/165 151

Images from Scrydex.

Where do illustration rares sit in a set?

Above the printed total, in blocks. On Rip.fan’s set pages for most expansions, the cards numbered above the total run in the same order:

1. Illustration rares, starting at the printed total plus one.
2. Ultra rares, with two silver stars.
3. Special illustration rares.
4. The top tier: hyper rares in most Scarlet & Violet sets, black white rares in Black Bolt and White Flare, and Mega hyper rares in the Mega Evolution Series.

So in Mega Evolution, with a printed total of 132, the illustration rares run from 133 to 154 and the special illustration rares from 177 to 186.

Four sets break the pattern:

• Paldean Fates puts 120 shiny rares and 12 shiny ultra rares first, from 092 to 223. Its 3 illustration rares follow at 224 to 226.
• Prismatic Evolutions has no illustration rares. Its ultra rares come first, then 32 special illustration rares.
• Ascended Heroes adds 7 Mega attack rares between its ultra rares and its special illustration rares.
• 30th Celebration lists no ultra rares, so its special illustration rares follow straight on from its illustration rares, and 2 futuristic rares come after them.

Our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols covers every tier in this list, and how to read a Pokémon card shows where the number and symbol sit.

How many does each set have?

The table counts the cards each Rip.fan set page labels with the two rarities, with the number runs they occupy. Numbers are written without the printed total.

These are counts of cards on a list. They are not card rates, which describe how often a tier turns up in packs, and the table says nothing about those.

Why do some sets have so many, or none?

The set’s theme decides it.

• Black Bolt and White Flare. Pokémon says in Japanese that every Pokémon in the two sets has a card with special artwork, and in English that nearly every Pokémon of the Unova region comes back as an illustration rare or a special illustration rare. Black Bolt lists 69 illustration rares on Rip.fan’s page, the longest run in the table.
• Prismatic Evolutions. The set is packed with special illustration rares, including art for Eevee ex and its Evolutions, and a Palafin ex drawn by manga artist Tetsuo Hara. It has no illustration rare tier at all.
• Paldean Fates. This set is built around Shiny Pokémon, with shiny rare and shiny ultra rare tiers of its own. Pawmi, in Shiny form, is one of its illustration rares, at 226/091 on Rip.fan’s page.
• Ascended Heroes. At 295 cards, the largest set in the table, it carries 22 special illustration rares, second only to Prismatic Evolutions.

Two Mega Evolution expansions released in 2026 look alike. Perfect Order, in March, and Chaos Rising, in May, each list 11 illustration rares and 6 special illustration rares.

How do you tell the two apart in your hand?

Read three things, in order:

1. The stars. One gold star is an illustration rare. Two gold stars is a special illustration rare. Two silver stars is an ultra rare, a different tier, so check the color as well as the count.
2. The number. It should fall inside the run in the table for that set.
3. The Pokémon’s name. An illustration rare shows a common, uncommon or rare Pokémon, so by Pokémon’s own definition its name does not end in ex. A full-art card whose name does end in ex belongs to a higher tier, and the stars decide which.

CGC notes that collectors also call illustration rares alt art cards, and it files both tiers under secret rares because their numbers run past the printed total. Our guide to Pokémon card finishes explains how full art and alternate art differ, and the glossary entry for secret rare covers how that term has drifted.

What about Japanese cards?

Japanese cards print letter codes instead of stars. A Japanese retailer’s guide, updated October 2, 2026, matches AR to the English illustration rare and SAR to the special illustration rare. Our guide to Japanese and English Pokémon cards has the full code table, and our guide to Japanese Pokémon sets explains how the sets pair up.

Does the tier tell you what a card is worth?

No. CGC says a rare card’s value cannot be read from its rarity symbol alone, and that printed rarity does not always match how scarce a card is. The price follows the exact card and its condition, so two cards in the same tier and set can sit far apart.

To check one, open the set’s page on Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, filter the table by Illustration Rare or Special Illustration Rare, and sort by card number to match the runs above. The card price lookup finds a single card by name. Condition matters most on full-art foil, so read our guide to card condition grades before you buy one raw. If you are collecting every illustration rare in a set, our guide to completing a Pokémon set shows how to track the gaps, and the Pokémon hub collects the rest of our coverage.

Frequently asked questions

Which illustration rare has the highest price?

Paldea Evolved Magikarp (203/193), which had a Near Mint market price of $339.44 on October 21, 2026, the highest of any illustration rare, ahead of Black Bolt Seismitoad (105/086) at $206.30.

Which special illustration rare has the highest price?

Prismatic Evolutions Umbreon ex (161/131), which had a Near Mint market price of $1,232.76 on October 21, 2026, ahead of Paldean Fates Mew ex (232/091) at $860.37.

Is an illustration rare a secret rare?

Not in Pokémon's own terms. Its Scarlet & Violet rarities of March 2023 gave the name hyper rare to the tier previously known as secret rare, marked with three gold stars and gilded borders.