Pokémon promo cards: how they are numbered and released
What makes a Pokémon card a promo, how each era's Black Star Promo series is numbered, and which products and events hand promo cards out today.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 5 min read
A promo card is a Pokémon card released outside the booster packs of a set. It comes packed with a product, such as an Elite Trainer Box, or handed out at an event. The mark that identifies one is a black star with the word PROMO. Each era has its own Black Star Promo series, numbered apart from that era’s sets. The numbers started plain, picked up era letters from DP01 to SWSH001, and went back to plain three-digit numbers with Scarlet & Violet.
What makes a card a promo?
How it reaches you. Promos are not sold in regular booster packs. They are given away for events, such as movie releases, or sold as part of boxed products.
Look for the black star. The star with PROMO is one of the rarity symbols, alongside the circle, diamond and star of set cards, and it sits where a set symbol would normally go. It tells you the card belongs to a promo series, not to a set. Our promo card entry and our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols show where it fits.
How are promo cards numbered?
Each series numbers its own cards from the start, separate from the sets released alongside it. The format changed shape three times.
| Series | Era it began | Number format | First number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wizards Black Star Promos | Wizards of the Coast, 1999 | Plain number | 1 |
| Nintendo Black Star Promos | EX series, 2003 | Plain number | 001 |
| DP Black Star Promos | Diamond & Pearl, 2007 | DP plus number | DP01 |
| HGSS Black Star Promos | HeartGold & SoulSilver, 2010 | HGSS plus number | HGSS01 |
| BW Black Star Promos | Black & White, 2011 | BW plus number | BW01 |
| XY Black Star Promos | XY, 2013 | XY plus number | XY01 |
| SM Black Star Promos | Sun & Moon, 2017 | SM plus number | SM01 |
| SWSH Black Star Promos | Sword & Shield, 2019 | SWSH plus number | SWSH001 |
| SVP Black Star Promos | Scarlet & Violet | Three-digit number | 001 |
| MEP Black Star Promos | Mega Evolution, 2025 | Three-digit number | 001 |
Only the first series came from Wizards of the Coast, which handed out the first promo cards through the Pokémon League and with tickets to Pokémon movies.
Images from Scrydex.
Why do listings say SVP when the card does not?
Scarlet & Violet promos carry a plain three-digit number with no letter prefix on the card. Collector references still name the series SVP, so a seller may write a card as SVP 001 while the card itself reads 001. Search by the series name and the number together.
Where do promo cards come from today?
In the recent sets checked, from boxed products.
| Product | Promo cards inside | Sets checked |
|---|---|---|
| Elite Trainer Box | 1 full-art foil promo, with 9 booster packs | Pitch Black, Perfect Order, Chaos Rising, Ascended Heroes |
| Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box | 2 full-art foil promos, one with a Pokémon Center logo, with 11 booster packs | Pitch Black, Perfect Order, Chaos Rising, Ascended Heroes |
| 40-card deck box | A ready-to-use deck that includes 1 of 4 foil promo cards, with 4 booster packs | Pitch Black, Perfect Order, Chaos Rising |
| Collections | 1 foil promo card, with booster packs | Ascended Heroes collections |
The two Pokémon Center promos are the same card in two versions. One carries the store’s logo and one does not, so they are separate items to a buyer. The First Partner Collection also holds promo cards. Our guide to Pokémon sealed products lists what else each box holds.
What about event promos?
Tournament promos, which are given out only at Pokémon events, carry a stamp somewhere on the card naming the tournament and its year. Older promos came through the Pokémon League. An early example: Mew was missing from the English Fossil set and went out instead as Wizards promo 8, a non-holo card given through the League from January 8, 2000. A holo version followed as promo 9 from April 2000.
Are all promotional cards Black Star Promos?
No. There are promotional runs outside the Black Star series too. The POP Series ran from 2004 to 2009 as nine sets, each with 17 cards. Other runs include Pokémon Rumble in 2009, the Kalos Starter Set in 2013 and Pokémon Futsal in 2020. The McDonald’s collections run year by year as well.
Box toppers are another route. Each Legendary Collection booster box, in 2002, carried one of four oversized reverse holo cards on top of its packs, numbered S1 to S4. Those numbers sit outside the set’s 110-card list.
Rip.fan’s Pokémon card price pages list each Black Star Promo series as its own set, from Wizards to Mega Evolution. They also list the POP Series sets, the McDonald’s collections and the trainer kits.
How do you identify and price a promo?
- Find the black star with PROMO, which confirms the card belongs to a promo series.
- Read the number, and use the table above to place the series by its format.
- Check for a stamp or logo, such as a Pokémon Center logo or an event stamp, since each makes a different version.
- Look the card up by series and number on Rip.fan’s price pages, or by name with the card price lookup. Rip.fan’s card pages list stamped versions as printings of their own, where the price data has them.
Ask a seller which product or event a promo came from before you pay. A plain promo and a stamped one can look alike in a small photo. For graded promos, look up the cert number on the grader’s site and check the label names the same version. Our guides to Pokémon card finishes and vintage Pokémon sets cover the other details that set two copies of a card apart.
Frequently asked questions
Which Black Star Promo has the highest price?
Wizards promo 40, Pokémon Center, which had a Near Mint market price of $1,199 on October 21, 2026. On that date, the top Scarlet & Violet promo, Pikachu with Grey Felt Hat (085), had a Near Mint market price of $991.38.
Which promo series has the most cards?
The SWSH Black Star Promos, with 307 cards, ahead of SM at 251 and Scarlet & Violet at 225. The Wizards series holds 53 and the HGSS series only 25.
Which POP Series card has the highest price?
Chimecho δ from POP Series 4 (1/17), which had a Near Mint market price of $750 on October 21, 2026, ahead of the top card of POP Series 5, Lugia (2/17), at $357.41.