Vivid Voltage and its Amazing rares explained
Pokémon's Vivid Voltage: the set that began Amazing rares, all six by number, Pikachu's four cards, how Pokémon's counts compare, and the 18 cards above 185.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
Vivid Voltage is an expansion in Pokémon’s Sword & Shield series, released November 13, 2020, and it is where Amazing rare cards begin. It introduced Amazing Pokémon as a new kind of card, and the set has six of them, all numbered inside the printed total. The set holds 203 cards: 185 inside the printed total and 18 above it. Its structure is simpler than that of Chilling Reign or Fusion Strike: each Pokémon V has one full-art card and each VMAX one rainbow card, with no second full-art or second VMAX versions.
When did Vivid Voltage come out?
The set was released around the world on November 13, 2020. Pokémon announced it on August 28, 2020, singling out three VMAX cards: Pikachu, Orbeetle and Coalossal. Zarude made its first appearance on a card here, and its only cards are Zarude V, at 022 and 167.
Rip.fan’s price pages give it the code VIV. CGC dates Pokémon V and VMAX cards to the Sword & Shield expansion, and Vivid Voltage has both. Our guide to Pokémon card eras places the series in the longer history.
What are Amazing rare cards?
Amazing Pokémon cards show a Legendary or Mythical Pokémon on a rainbow background running outside the frame, with foil and etched details and a rarity symbol of their own. Vivid Voltage has six, and none of the six Pokémon has any other card in the set:
| Number | Amazing rare | Illustrator |
|---|---|---|
| 009 | Celebi | 5ban Graphics |
| 050 | Raikou | Hideki Ishikawa |
| 082 | Zacian | Shin Nagasawa |
| 102 | Zamazenta | aky CG Works |
| 119 | Jirachi | Sanosuke Sakuma |
| 138 | Rayquaza | 5ban Graphics |
Unlike the rainbow and gold cards, they carry ordinary numbers inside the main run. Each comes in holo only, with no reverse holofoil version. Three more Amazing rares came in Shining Fates, which came out February 19, 2021: Reshiram (017), Kyogre (021) and Yveltal (046).
How many cards are in Vivid Voltage?
- The first 165 numbers are the main run, before the ultra rare block: cards 001 to 145 are Pokémon, 146 to 161 are Trainer cards and 162 to 165 are Special Energy cards. By tier, with the Holo Rare V and Holo Rare VMAX tiers shown as Pokémon V and Pokémon VMAX:
| Tier | Cards | Numbers | What they are |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | 44 | Within 001 to 143 | Pokémon |
| Uncommon | 46 | Within 002 to 165 | 27 Pokémon, 15 Trainer cards and the 4 Special Energy |
| Rare | 33 | Within 003 to 145 | Pokémon |
| Holo rare | 19 | Within 015 to 154 | 18 Pokémon and the Supporter Leon |
| Amazing rare | 6 | 009 to 138 | Pokémon |
| Pokémon V | 11 | Within 020 to 140 | One card each for 11 Pokémon |
| Pokémon VMAX | 6 | Within 021 to 141 | One card each for 6 Pokémon |
| Ultra rare | 20 | 166 to 185 | 13 full-art Pokémon V and 7 full-art Supporters |
| Secret rare | 18 | 186 to 203 | 6 VMAX, 6 Supporters, 2 other Pokémon and 4 Trainer cards |
The marks for the first three tiers are a black circle for common, a black diamond for uncommon and a black star for rare. A card numbered above the printed total is a secret rare.
Which Pokémon V and VMAX are in the set?
Thirteen Pokémon V, on 24 cards. The table maps every one:
| Pokémon | Pokémon V | Full-art V | VMAX | Rainbow VMAX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orbeetle | 020 | 166 | 021 | 186 |
| Zarude | 022 | 167 | None | None |
| Talonflame | 029 | 168 | None | None |
| Galarian Darmanitan | 036 | 169 | 037 | 187 |
| Pikachu | 043 | 170 | 044 | 188 |
| Ampharos | 049 | 171 | None | None |
| Alakazam | None | 172 | None | None |
| Coalossal | 098 | 173 | 099 | 189 |
| Galarian Sirfetch’d | None | 174 | None | None |
| Drapion | 106 | 175 | None | None |
| Steelix | 115 | 176 | None | None |
| Aegislash | 126 | 177 | 127 | 190 |
| Togekiss | 140 | 178 | 141 | 191 |
So each of the six VMAX Pokémon has four cards, more than any other Pokémon in the set, and Pikachu is one of them. Alakazam V and Galarian Sirfetch’d V have no card in the main run, so a listing for either from this set is a full-art ultra rare. Pikachu has no plain Pikachu card here, only its V and VMAX.
What sits above 185?
Eighteen cards, in three blocks:
- 186 to 191, rainbow VMAX. One rainbow card for each of the six VMAX, in the same order as the main run.
- 192 to 197, rainbow Supporters. Rainbow versions of six of the seven full-art Supporters. Pokémon Center Lady, at 185, is the one without.
- 198 to 203, gold. Galarian Obstagoon, Oranguru and four Tool cards. Galarian Obstagoon, Oranguru and the Tool Cape of Toughness have no other card in the set.
CGC lists rainbow rare and gold rare cards among its kinds of secret rare.
How do the Supporters with three cards differ?
Six of the seven full-art Supporters have three cards each: Allister, Bea, Beauty, Leon, Nessa and Opal, each with a main-run card, a full-art card at 179 to 184 and a rainbow card at 192 to 197. Pokémon Center Lady has only the full-art card, at 185. The full-art and rainbow cards of each of the six carry the same illustrator credit, and the main-run card carries a different one for all but Beauty. Leon’s main-run card, at 154, is also the only Trainer card in the holo rare tier; the other five are uncommon.
In card number order. Images from Scrydex.
What products hold Vivid Voltage packs?
The set came in booster packs, Elite Trainer Boxes and special collections, among other products. Check the printed contents on the box or the seller’s listing for pack counts and contents. Our guides to Elite Trainer Boxes, booster boxes and Pokémon sealed products explain the formats. For a box from 2020, our guide to spotting resealed Pokémon packs covers what to look at.
How do you check Vivid Voltage card prices?
Vivid Voltage has its own page in Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, listing its cards with number, rarity and NM market price. For one card, the card price lookup searches by name, set or number and shows which printing a price is for, and the price changes page compares prices between Rip.fan’s weekly checks.
If you plan to grade, our guide to deciding whether to grade a card covers the costs, and the centering checker turns border measurements into a centering split.
What should you check before buying?
- The number. Pikachu VMAX is 044 in the main run and 188 in rainbow foil. Match the card number to the version a listing describes.
- Amazing or not. Each Amazing rare is the only card of its Pokémon in this set, so a Vivid Voltage Rayquaza is always 138.
- The finish. Every main-run card except the V, VMAX and Amazing rare cards has a reverse holofoil version. Charizard (025) and Drednaw (039) also come in a cracked-ice holo version, and Zapdos (048) and Duraludon (129) in a cosmos-pattern holo version, so match a listing’s photos to the finish you want.
- Genuine cards. See our guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards, and our guide to Pokémon card finishes for how foils differ.
The Pokémon hub has the rest of our coverage, and our guides to Darkness Ablaze, Shining Fates and Chilling Reign cover more Sword & Shield sets the same way.
Frequently asked questions
Which Vivid Voltage card has the highest price?
Pikachu VMAX (188/185), a Rare Rainbow, led Vivid Voltage on October 21, 2026, with a Near Mint market price of $169. Pikachu V (170/185) followed at $42.80.
Which Vivid Voltage Amazing Rare costs the most?
It was Rayquaza (138/185), at a Near Mint market price of $22.83 on October 21, 2026.
Which Rare Ultra in Vivid Voltage has the highest price?
Pokémon Center Lady (185/185) had the highest Near Mint market price among the Vivid Voltage cards marked Rare Ultra on October 21, 2026, at $19.23.
What do the Pikachu VMAX cards in Vivid Voltage cost?
Vivid Voltage has 2 Pikachu VMAX cards, and on October 21, 2026, their Near Mint market prices were $12.37 for 044/185 (Rare Holo VMAX) and $169 for 188/185 (Rare Rainbow).