So how do rookie cards in Pokémon work? Would it be English first tcg so base set? Or Japanese no rarity? Or Cardas cards which are technically cards but not tcg? What does efour consider as rookie cards?
Also happy holidays efour! 
First English TCG Printing
No one cared about JP in the west once English came out from what I heard (I could be totally wrong)
Rookie cards don’t exist in pokemon.
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they dont. The rookie term comes from Sports card collecting and doesnt really have any relevance or added value for Pokemon
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In Pokémon (and other TCGs), based on what I’ve read and heard, the term “Rookie” is replaced with the term “First Appearance” and I think that’s pretty appropriate, From there subjective opinion comes into play in terms of what people would consider a true first appearance whether it be TCG vs non TCG, or Japanese vs English.
TL;DR: The term “Rookie” is replaced by “First Appearance” and it’s not as much of a thing as it is in sports cards.
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Totally agree with this!
To me the first appearance is the first Japanese TCG card for each Pokémon, but I’m sure others see it differently.
For example, for Pikachu it would be the Corocoro 1996 Glossy promo, and for Charizard it would be no rarity JP base
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There’s another thread where we were sharing our favourite “rookie” pokemon cards
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But when you say “rookie card” in the context of Pokémon I think people still get what you are trying to say.
At the end of the day it means whatever you want it to mean I guess. Some people think Japanese matter, some people don’t. Some people want to consider other types of cards, others only want to talk TCG. You just have to specify which whenever you want to talk about it.
In sports cards, can there be multiple “rookie cards”? I would think that would refer to any card for that player from their first year in whichever league it is, not necessarily the first card that featured them.
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Reminds me of this guy in IG who’s been going on and on about the Pokemon rookie set, all in the name of the gains 
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japanese cards have the best arts and many are unique and japanese releases only. trophy cards, vending series, corocoro promos. so…no