Glossary of Japanese Pokémon Cards

The Japanese Pokémon TCG is full of abbreviations and jargon. Below, the most important ones are briefly explained, in alphabetical order. For the bigger topics we link to a more detailed article.

A

AR (Art Rare) — A card with a full illustration and a light holographic finish. Often the most accessible "beautiful" pull from a set. See Japanese rarities explained.

B

BWR (Black White Rare) — An ultra-rare metallic black-and-white finish that exists only in Black Bolt and White Flare, on just three cards. See What is a BWR.

C

CHR (Character Rare) — A card depicting the Pokémon together with human characters in an atmospheric scene.

Centring — How evenly the border runs around the illustration. One of the most heavily weighted factors in grading.

E

ex — A powerful type of Pokémon card in the current era, recognisable by "ex" in lower case after the name. Often comes with special, sought-after variants.

F

FUR (Futuristic Rare) — A new rarity debuting in the anniversary set 30th CELEBRATION (M6a), with Mew ex and Mewtwo ex in new artwork by YOSHIROTTEN. See 30th CELEBRATION explained. The set is in the shop under 30th Celebration (M6a).

G

God Pack — A rare pack in which every card is a top card, instead of the usual mix. See What is a God Pack.

H

High Class Pack — A premium collector's set with ten packs of ten cards, all of higher quality than a regular main set. See What is a High Class Pack.

M

MA (Mega Attack Rare) — A full-art Mega Evolution in pop-art style, with the attack name in large letters across the illustration. Introduced in Mega Dream ex (M2a), where according to collectors there is usually one per box. See the Mega Dream ex set guide. Or view the Mega Dream ex booster box.

Master Ball — A reverse holo with a Master Ball pattern instead of the standard pattern. Appears in a handful of sets, including the Japanese Pokémon 151 and Terastal Festival ex. The 151 variant exists only in Japanese. See What is a Master Ball card.

MUR (Mega Ultra Rare) — The gold top card of a set, usually the hardest single pull there is.

P

Promo — A card released separately via campaigns, events or bundles, outside the regular sets. See Japanese promo cards.

Pull rate — The chance of getting a particular rare card from a pack or box.

R

Reverse holo — A card where the background (rather than the illustration) has a holographic finish.

RR (Double Rare) — The standard rarity for ex cards, recognisable by two stars.

S

SAR (Special Art Rare) — An AR with an extra special illustration and finish; often the most sought-after cards of a set.

Set code — The short code of a set, such as SV2a or M2a. See How to read a Japanese set code.

SR (Super Rare) — A Pokémon or Trainer card with a full holographic illustration.

Slab — The sealed protective holder containing a graded card.

U

UR (Ultra Rare) — A card with a gold or metallic finish, among the rarest of a set.

Further reading

Start with AR, SAR, SR and UR explained or Japanese or English: the differences at a glance.

View all Japanese sets in the shop →