Hey!
I came across 2 Hitokage 004 prisms with the same flame/ink mark that I couldn’t find on any other copies (checked around 30). PSA codes are 98134113 and 94960370
Looks like a little flame, it’s in the exact same spot on the 2 cards above, but it seems like it’s probably just an ink smudge.
Any ideas? Here are some pictures with and without the mark
What exactly is the question? Errors happen and most aren’t one-off
I was hoping someone knew something a little more. I like errors and like to learn about them from others with a similar appreciation. It was recommended I post this here, so that may have been the wrong recommendation.
You came to the right place! pfm’s reply comes off a little too grumpy 
, but I assure you that it was well-intentioned.
I would say that this is probably a printer hickey (ink splotch) error. I wouldn’t call it a “flame ink variation” or attach any increased value to it. As pfm noted, errors occur in batches and most are unremarkable to the average collector.
If you like it, you should buy it. But I wouldn’t get too carried away with naming a new variant or feeling as though you hit the lottery.
I also checked quite some listings of the Charmander Sealdass card for reference but did not observe any with this ink error. Probably a batch issue as stated by pfm.
Cheers!
Yeah “variant” was the wrong word to use here (esp in a context that can include actual variants). There are replicated errors in the TCG sets, like base set 2 blue dot poliwrath, where every card with the error has the error in the same spot, so I had that on the mind. Even those aren’t much more valuable, but they’re cool. I’ve seen a lot of the subculture of people who pop in thinking they have the new rarest error card lol, no worries there.
I bought this thinking it was a scuff on the surface, so it being an ink blotch that looks like ember from the game boy games was an awesome surprise. Then seeing another card with the exact same blotch got me interested in potentially known bandai card errors - I just started buying them and don’t know enough yet.
Sorry if I came off harsh, I was just trying to figure out what your actual question was it so I could attempt to help.
This article is good if you are starting off and want to learn about errors. CGC has a good one similar to this
In the ink error section it mentions hickeys:
Printer Hickey:
When a small particle or piece of debris/dust get attached to one of the print blankets, we get a small error known as a printer hickey. Hickeys can come in many different shapes, sizes, and colors and are most notably identified by a miscolored blot with a miscolored ‘halo’ around its edges. While there’s no definitive guide on how large a hickey has to be to be desirable (yet) anything smaller than a mana symbol probably won’t yield any interest.
Most if not all hickeys will be repeated because every sheet that goes through while the debris its on the roller will get it.
