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What Are Pokemon Secret Rare Cards

By Alexis Pratsides, FounderUpdated

What Are Pokemon Secret Rare Cards?

In the Pokemon Trading Card Game, a Secret Rare is any card with a collector number above the official total for the set. If a set contains 200 cards and you see a card numbered 201/200 or higher, that is a Secret Rare. The number being above the set total signals immediately that you are holding something outside the base set - something rarer, something the manufacturer deliberately made harder to find than anything in the standard card list.

Secret Rares have been part of the Pokemon TCG since the Black and White era in the early 2010s, when cards like Full Art legendaries and gold-bordered items first appeared above the set total. But the category has expanded dramatically in recent years. Modern Pokemon sets from the Sword and Shield era onward - and especially in the Scarlet and Violet era - include multiple distinct tiers of Secret Rares, each rarer than the last and featuring increasingly elaborate visual treatments that have made the cards coveted as art objects as much as game pieces.

Understanding the Secret Rare tiers helps collectors know what they are looking for when opening product, what to expect from the secondary market, and how to evaluate prices for specific pulls. Track your Pokemon card collection - including your secret rare pulls - at CollectionPlnr.

The Tiers of Pokemon Secret Rares

Modern Pokemon sets include several distinct sub-types of Secret Rare, each with specific visual characteristics and approximate pull rates:

Ultra Rare (Full Art / Above-Set Number)

The entry tier of above-set cards. In current Scarlet and Violet sets these include Full Art EX cards, Full Art Trainer cards, and similar premium treatments of cards that also exist in standard form within the base set. These are generally considered the beginning of the premium tier rather than true secret rares in the strictest collector definition, though their above-set numbers mark them as elevated. Pull rates are approximately 1 in 2-3 packs in most modern products - frequent enough that most boxes yield several.

Illustration Rare (IR)

Cards featuring full, borderless artwork that extends to the very edges of the card face - the illustration bleeds from corner to corner with no standard card border framing. Introduced in the Sword and Shield era and significantly expanded in Scarlet and Violet, Illustration Rares are visually distinct from any standard card.

Pull rates are approximately 1 in 8-10 packs. Popular subjects - Charizard, Pikachu, Gardevoir, Arcanine, Eevee - are worth considerably more than less popular Pokemon at the same rarity tier. An Illustration Rare Charizard might sell for $40-$80+ raw while an Illustration Rare of a minor Pokemon might be worth $3-$5.

Special Illustration Rare (SIR)

The most discussed and highly valued category in modern Pokemon collecting. Special Illustration Rares feature unique watercolour-style illustrated artwork with a hand-painted aesthetic completely distinct from the digital art style used on standard and ultra rare versions of the same cards. Each SIR is essentially a unique art commission - a full scene featuring the Pokemon or Trainer character in a detailed environmental setting.

SIRs include two main types: Pokemon SIRs (featuring the Pokemon character in elaborate illustrated environments - a Charizard emerging from volcanic rock, a Gardevoir in a forest clearing) and Trainer SIRs (featuring human characters from the games in similarly detailed illustrated scenes - the Scarlet and Violet trainers have generated strong demand from fans of those games).

Pull rates for SIRs are approximately 1 in 15-20 packs, making them roughly twice as rare as Illustration Rares. A booster box (36 packs) will yield approximately 1-2 SIRs on average - though variance is high. SIRs of highly desirable subjects sell for $50-$400+ raw and significantly more in PSA 10.

SIRs are the primary chase cards of the modern Pokemon TCG era and the main single driver of sealed product demand. A set with a desirable Charizard SIR will outsell a set without one at every product level.

Hyper Rare (HR) / Gold Card

The rarest tier in most modern Pokemon sets. Hyper Rares feature entirely gold-textured card frames with etched holographic foil effects applied to every element of the card - the illustration, the text boxes, the energy cost symbols, the HP indicator, the card borders. Every visual element is rendered in a distinctive gold texturing that makes these cards immediately identifiable from across a room.

Pull rates are approximately 1 in 35-60 packs, making them significantly rarer than SIRs. A booster box of 36 packs will often yield zero Hyper Rares - most boxes simply do not contain one. This genuine scarcity means Hyper Rares of popular Pokemon hold strong values: $30-$150+ raw for popular subjects, more in high grades.

In sets like Pokemon 151, the Mew ex Hyper Rare and the Electrode ex Hyper Rare became iconic pulls. In Scarlet and Violet sets, Charizard ex and other popular Pokemon in the Hyper Rare tier drive significant secondary market demand.

Shiny Cards and Shiny Vaults

Some Pokemon sets include a "Shiny Vault" - a parallel sub-set of cards featuring Pokemon in their shiny (alternate colour) forms. Shiny Pokemon have different colour palettes from their standard versions and are extremely rare in the games themselves, which gives shiny card versions cultural cachet beyond just their TCG pull rates.

Shiny Vault cards appear in specific products rather than all boosters for a set. In Shining Fates (2021), the Shiny Vault included a Shiny Charizard VMAX that became one of the most sought-after modern Pokemon cards, driving extraordinary demand for that product's booster tins and ETBs. Shiny Star V (the Japanese equivalent) similarly drove Japanese sealed product to premium prices internationally.

Pull Rates in Practice

Understanding pull rates is essential for setting realistic expectations when purchasing Pokemon products:

  • A standard booster box (36 packs) will typically contain approximately: 10-12 Holo Rares, 6-8 Ultra Rares, 3-5 Illustration Rares, 1-2 Special Illustration Rares, and 0-1 Hyper Rares.
  • The expected value of a box is the sum of average pulls weighted by current market values. In most modern sets, expected value is below retail cost - the entertainment value of opening and the possibility of pulling high-value cards is part of what you are purchasing when you buy sealed product.
  • Elite Trainer Boxes (ETBs) contain 9 packs plus accessories (sleeves, dice, energy cards). Expected pull rates scale with the lower pack count. ETB secondary market prices often carry a sealed-product premium beyond just the expected pull value.
  • Booster Bundles (6 packs at reduced per-pack price) offer a budget option; expected pulls of premium cards are proportionally lower.
  • The Pokemon Center online shop and regional distributors sometimes offer booster cases (multiple boxes) for serious collectors pursuing large quantities of product.

The Pokemon Company does not officially disclose pull rates for their sets. Community estimates are derived through mass-opening data - collectors who open hundreds or thousands of packs and publish their results, which can then be aggregated to estimate pull frequencies with reasonable accuracy.

What Determines Secret Rare Value?

Not all Secret Rares are equally valuable. The difference between a $2 Secret Rare and a $400 Secret Rare comes down to several intersecting factors:

  • Subject Pokemon or Trainer: Charizard is the most consistent value-driver in all of Pokemon card collecting. Any rarity of Charizard commands a premium over the same rarity of a less popular Pokemon. Pikachu, Eevee, Gardevoir, Umbreon, and the generation-defining legendaries of each game also carry strong premiums. Trainer character SIRs featuring beloved characters (Iono and Nemona from Scarlet and Violet, Cynthia from Diamond and Pearl) have driven some of the highest SIR values in recent sets.
  • Artwork quality and subject: Among SIRs specifically, artwork that is particularly dramatic, detailed, emotionally resonant, or features the Pokemon in a striking environment commands premiums over SIRs of the same pull rate with less distinctive scenes. The art direction matters.
  • Set popularity and timing: Sets tied to beloved game generations or special anniversaries generate higher sustained demand. Pokemon 151 (celebrating the original 151 Pokemon from Red and Blue) drove extraordinary demand and maintained strong secondary market values long after release because of its nostalgic appeal to older collectors who grew up with those games.
  • Condition and professional grade: A PSA 10 SIR of a popular Pokemon can be worth 3-10x a raw copy in ideal condition. PSA 10 rates for modern Pokemon cards are higher than for vintage cards due to better manufacturing consistency - many modern cards achieve PSA 10 at 50-70% rates. But mass demand for graded copies means even well-stocked PSA 10 populations see strong prices for popular subjects.
  • Print run and era: Older sets with smaller initial print runs become harder to find over time as sealed product sells through and is not restocked. Vintage secret rares from Black and White era or XY era sets are now genuinely scarce in high grades.

Secret Rares and the Modern Collector Market

The expansion of Secret Rare tiers in modern Pokemon has transformed the product into something that functions simultaneously as a trading card game and a premium art print market. Many collectors pursue SIRs and Hyper Rares purely for the illustrated aesthetic, with no intention of playing the game competitively. The cards are displayed in protective cases, featured in collection binders, or graded and framed as display pieces.

This collector-driven demand dynamic has made sealed product speculation a significant part of the Pokemon secondary market. Sets with anticipated strong SIRs - particularly Charizard SIRs or sets with beloved trainer characters - sell out at retail rapidly on release day, with secondary market prices for sealed booster boxes climbing above retail immediately. The cycle then often reverses as additional print runs reach retailers over the following months, a risk for those who purchase sealed products at secondary market premiums on release day.

For building a collection focused on the most valuable secret rares, experienced collectors recommend: prioritising popular Pokemon subjects in the highest rarity tiers, protecting condition from the moment of pull (sleeve immediately, store flat, avoid handling), and considering professional grading for any card with a raw value above $40-$50. Learn more about valuing your pulls in our guide to how to value Pokemon cards, or start tracking your collection on CollectionPlnr.