Common, Uncommon, Rare, Double Rare, Ultra Rare, Illustration rare, special illustration rare, and hyper rare. Can someone explain the differences? (Ik some are a given but like plz)
note: the english rarity system changed at the start of the Scarlet and Violet era.
as of now they are as follows:
Common:
JP designation: C
Uncommon:
JP designation: U
Rare
Japan designation: R
Double Rare
Japan designation: RR
Ultra Rare (English/TPCi name)/SR (Super Rare - Japan/TPC name)
- note: these are often referred to as “Full Arts” which include a homogenized pokemon illustration with a generic background as well as Supporter cards (trainers) with portrait style illustrations of the character, typically in some sort of pose
Japan designation: SR
Hyper Rare (English/TPCi)/UR (Ultra Rare - Japan/TPC)
- note: gold cards
Japan designation: UR
As for before Scarlet and Violet, the above is basically the same, except english did not have the updated star system for cards beyond “ultra rares”
Also, the Japan “HR” or Hyper Rare rarity referred mostly to Rainbow cards. I don’t remember what English called these. I want to say they were literally called “Rainbow Rares”
Special Arts (IR/SIR/Alt Arts/Alts/etc)
IR (Illustration Rare - English/TPCi name)/AR (Art Rare - Japan/TPC name)
- typically a distinct/unique illustration that covers the entire card and does not have texture
Japan designation: AR
SIR (Special Illustration Rare - English/TPCi)/SAR (Super Art Rare - Japan/TPC)
- note: the biggest distinction between this and an IR/AR is that it has texture
Japan designation: SAR
note:
the SAR/IR rarity was created in the last set of Generation 8. Prior to this, there were terms that were adopted to describe these distinct sorts of cards.The one I’d recommend is “SA” or Special Art used as a suffix added to pre-scarlet and violet Full Art
Example:
- “Charizard V SR SA”
Sometimes people call these “Alt Arts” which can sometimes get confusing because “Alt Arts” is also used for anything with a variation of an artowrk.
example:
and finally, in the Sword and Shield era, VMAXes with special arts were in the same rarity category as the Rainbow Rare (English)/HR (Japanese)
example:
- Umbreon VMAX HR(Hyper Rare/Rainbow Rare) SA (Special Art)
Other:
S - “Baby” Shiny
SSR - Shiny Full Art
CHR - Character Art (Similar to an IR/AR except with a trainer accompanying the Pokemon)
CSR - Character Super Rare (Same as a CHR, except with texture)
- Note: it is unclear how English/TPCi will proceed with these two rarities. In the past, they’ve either not given them designations, or created unique subsets like the “Trainer Gallery” from the SwSh Era
Generational Gimmicks/Rarities:
There are also some rarities that come and go. These are typically generational gimmicks in the card game, but are a distinct rarity that is different from what was outlined above.
These include Gold Stars (Gen 3), Primes (HGSS Era), Prism Stars (Gen 7), Radiants (Gen 8), and now the return of a generation 5 gimmick - Ace Specs which have been given their own rarity.
IMO, memorizing these is less important than the other stuff that transcends generations.
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I hope this gets changed to an article because this was comprehensive
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English deciding on ‘Illustration’ just to be different.
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i’ll do something more formatted over the weekend.
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I agree with @nikhil . This can easily be an article since I found this to be very well explained and comprehensive. Great job @inertgeometry . Thanks.
Cheers!
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Thxxx, Also Ye It was called Rainbow rares.
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I also agree this should be an article. Very well explained. Very well detailed, and very easy to follow. Amazing work @inertgeometry
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This Question was actually for my fan made Set, and i didnt know what the different rarities above rare was for 
So i just decided to ask. Since i assumed someone would know. (Im new to actually COLLECTING, and dont pay attention to newer rarity, bcuz i play Base-Legacy.)
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This is such a good resource. Thank you
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i spent way too much time (with help from pfm) to elaborate on this way too much. now it’s just a mind-numbing wall of text
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