Skip to main content
MM logo white 1
MM logo red
Image description is not available
Image description is not available

Everything about Pokémon cards

Julia1 MARCH 2026
A vivid red backdrop shows shiny trading cards with fantastical creatures and trainers, fanned in two neat stacks on either side.

Do you already collect Pokémon cards or are you eager to start? On this page, you’ll find everything you need to know about collecting Pokémon cards, such as which cards are popular, which sets exist, where to start, what you need and what to look out for when buying cards.

What are Pokémon cards?

Pokémon Trading Card Game Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box with booster packs, energy cards, and accessories.

Pokémon cards feature images of all the Pokémon you know from the Pokémon games and TV series, plus Trainer and Energy cards that are useful for the Pokémon TCG. Pokémon TCG stands for Pokémon Trading Card Game, a card game for 2 players. Each of you builds a deck and lets the Pokémon on the cards battle each other. Every type of Pokémon has a weakness to another type. For example, fire-type Pokémon are weak against water, and grass types are best used against water-type Pokémon. This makes it important to play strategically, and no match is ever the same. Besides the card game, Pokémon cards are popular to collect among both young and old. Because Pokémon is so popular, the value of the cards has risen enormously, which means some people also see them as an investment.

Go to all Pokémon cards

Which Pokémon cards should you collect?

Pokémon Mega Evolution Ascended Heroes Tech Sticker Collection pack with Charmander card and three booster packs on red background

If you’re just starting out with collecting, it’s important to first think about what exactly you want to collect. There are many different sets and an enormous number of cards available. If you have a clear goal in mind, you can collect in a more focused way and spend your money more wisely. Some examples of collecting goals:

  • Collecting a specific set. The more recent a set is, the easier it generally is to get hold of cards from that set. If it’s a highly sought-after set, it can be more difficult. Older sets are often harder to obtain and may have gone up in price.

Seven Pokemon Trading Card Game booster packs featuring Legendary Bolt artwork with a dark Pokemon, plus a code card.
  • Collecting special, beautiful full arts. In this case, the illustration covers the entire card, unlike regular cards where the image and text are separated. You can put together a folder with cards you personally find appealing.
  • Do you have a favourite Pokémon? You can also choose to collect all cards of a particular Pokémon. For example, you could create a binder with all cards of Pikachu, Riolu, Munna, Clefairy or Marill!
  • Putting together a Pokédex. Here you make sure you obtain a card of every Pokémon and place them in a folder in the correct order, starting with number 1: Bulbasaur.

Whatever you choose, the most important thing is that you enjoy it.

Which Pokémon sets are there?

Pokemon Trading Card Game Elite Trainer Box featuring Mega Evolution Phantasmal Flames with blue Pokemon silhouette

A new set is released every few months. Pokémon starts each new series with a Base Set; after this, various sets are released. The most recent series is Mega Evolution:

  • Mega Evolution Base Set
  • Phantasmal Flames
  • Ascended Heroes
  • Perfect Order

You can see which set your card is from in the bottom left corner. Here you’ll find an abbreviation or logo of the set. In some older sets, you’ll find the symbol in the bottom right corner instead.

All Pokémon series

Pokémon cards exist since 1996. These are the different series, from new to old:

  • Mega Evolution Series
  • Scarlet & Violet Series
  • Sword & Shield Series
  • Sun & Moon Series
  • XY Series
  • Black & White Series
  • Call of Legends Series
  • HeartGold & SoulSilver Series
  • Platinum Series
  • Diamond & Pearl Series
  • EX Series
  • E-card Series
  • Legendary Collection Series
  • Neo Series
  • Original Series

What different types of Pokémon cards are there?

Trading card rarity guide showing symbols and labels from Common to Mega hyper rare with corresponding icons

Each set consists of different types of Pokémon cards, and you can recognise their rarity by the symbol in the corner of the card. This has changed over time. For now, we’ll take a recent set as an example, namely Ascended Heroes. These are the different types in this set:

Booster box, booster bundle, collection boxes and loose packets

Pokemon Trading Card Game Elite Trainer Box featuring Mega Evolution Perfect Order with grey and green packaging design

When you buy Pokémon cards, there are various products to choose from:

  • Boosters: these are individual packs, each containing 11 cards.
  • Booster bundle: contains 6 boosters from a specific set.
  • Booster box: contains 36 boosters from one set. Handy if you want to collect all the cards from a set.
  • Blisters: usually 2 or 3 boosters from a specific set with a promo card and sometimes stickers.
  • Elite box (ETB): usually contains 9 boosters, a promo card, 65 sleeves, a coin, a set guide and dice for the game. This is a good starting point if you’re beginning to collect a set. You can use the box itself to store your duplicate cards.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Knock Out Collection box with blue and black design featuring Pokemon characters on packaging.
  • Collection box: often contains several boosters from different sets and one or more promo cards.
  • Large tin: with 4 boosters and a promo card, this takes your collection a step further. You can use the tin to store cards or other items.
  • Small tin: contains 2 boosters, tin artwork and sometimes a coin. Often, the different tins from a set form a larger picture when you place them next to each other.
  • Collector’s box: a case with 6 boosters from different sets, stickers and sometimes other goodies, such as a mini portfolio to store your cards. You can then use the box to store other items.
  • Knock Out box: 2 boosters, promo cards and sometimes a coin.

Buying individual Pokémon cards

Two Pokémon trading cards displayed: Mega Meganium EX with green and rainbow colors, and Mega Emboar EX with orange flames.

If you collect specific cards rather than entire sets, it can be cheaper to buy single cards. While it’s fun and exciting to open packs, it can sometimes be very difficult to pull that one card you’re looking for – especially if it’s a rare one. In that case, you might consider buying the cards you really want individually.

How should you store Pokémon cards?

To make sure your cards don’t get damaged and keep their value, it’s important to protect them properly. You can do this in several ways:

Open black binder displaying four Pokemon trading cards with red and white Pokeball designs on white background.
  • Sleeves. These are small plastic pockets you slide the card into. They protect your cards from scratches and help keep the edges neat.
  • Binder. Always place the cards you collect in a binder so they’re not only in order but also protected. Ideally, choose a binder where you slide the cards in from the side, so they don’t fall out if you pick it up the wrong way.
  • Toploaders. For extra protection, use a toploader: a thicker sleeve that fits a card in a standard sleeve. This not only protects your card from scratches but also prevents it from bending. Always put your card in a sleeve before it goes into the toploader, otherwise the card may get scratched when sliding it in and out.
  • Toploader binder. This is a binder specifically designed to store toploaders, giving your cards optimal protection. This is especially recommended if you have very valuable cards you want to store safely.

Which Pokémon cards are valuable?

Mega Dragonite EX Pokémon trading card with 370 HP, featuring orange dragon with Sky Transport ability and Ryuno Glide attack.

Which cards are valuable depends on the card itself and its condition. Fresh out of a pack, they are worth the most. If your card looks good (no whitening along the edges, artwork centred on the card), you can have it graded by a grading service such as PSA. You’ll get it back sealed, with a score. If you receive a 10, the value of your card increases enormously! Exactly how much depends on the artwork on the card. Always research in advance whether having a card graded is worth it.

What is the most expensive Pokémon card?

Japanese Pokémon card "Illustrator" in a diamond frame, hanging from a gold Pokéball chain, rare collector's item.
Goldin Auctions

The card that’s worth the most is the Pikachu Illustrator PSA GEM MT 10, which Logan Paul sold to A.J. Scaramucci for 16.5 million dollars. Another highly valuable card is the 1st Edition Charizard from the 1999 Base Set. So, if you still have any old Pokémon cards lying around, it’s worth checking whether that card is among them!

Celebrate Pokémon Day every year

What should you look out for when buying Pokémon cards?

Young Asian woman smiling while holding credit card and using laptop for online shopping in bright, plant-filled room.

Always make sure you buy Pokémon cards from reliable shops or online retailers. If you buy them from private sellers, you might end up paying too much and there’s a risk the packs have been tampered with (for example, they may already have been opened to remove the special cards and then resealed). If you buy single cards, always check that the card is in good condition and always check the market value before you purchase anything. If you see cheap Pokémon cards somewhere and it seems too good to be true, be careful you’re not dealing with fake cards.

Our advice on Pokémon cards

Smiling teenage boy with braces wearing green shirt holds colorful craft project in bright living room with grey sofa.

Whether you’re just starting out with collecting Pokémon cards or are already a seasoned collector, Pokémon cards are for everyone, whatever your age. Decide what you want to collect, make sure you protect your cards properly and, above all, have fun.

Read all about Pokémon Switch games

Frequently asked questions about Pokémon cards

These articles may also be interesting for you