Rarity Ranking · Updated Sep 15, 2026
The Rarest Pokémon Cards, Ranked
Short-printed rarities drive Pokémon TCG collecting. This page ranks the 50 rarest cards Catchinary currently tracks across every high-tier rarity slot: Special Illustration Rare, Illustration Rare, Rare Secret, Rare Rainbow, Rare Holo Star, Rare Shining, Hyper Rare, and Double Rare. Sorted by current TCGplayer market price.
Rarity tiers counted as "rarest"
| Tier | Cards indexed | |
|---|---|---|
| Rare Secret | 88 | Browse → |
| Rare Rainbow | 40 | Browse → |
| Special Illustration Rare | 34 | Browse → |
| Rare Holo Star | 25 | Browse → |
| Illustration Rare | 6 | Browse → |
| Rare Shining | 4 | Browse → |
Top 50 rarest by market price
- #1
Mewtwo ★ Holon Phantoms · #103 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$5000.00market - #2
Shining Tyranitar Neo Destiny · #113 · Rare Shining Illustrated by Ken Sugimori$4249.99market - #3
Charizard ★ δ Dragon Frontiers · #100 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$4000.00market - #4
Mudkip ★ Team Rocket Returns · #107 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$3999.99market - #5
Charizard Skyridge · #146 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Kouki Saitou$3500.00market - #6
Mew ★ δ Dragon Frontiers · #101 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$3500.00market - #7
Pikachu ★ Holon Phantoms · #104 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$3200.00market - #8
Rayquaza ★ Deoxys · #107 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$2500.99market - #9
Treecko ★ Team Rocket Returns · #109 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$2400.00market - #10
Umbreon VMAX Evolving Skies · #215 · Rare Rainbow Illustrated by KEIICHIRO ITO$2335.47market - #11
Kyogre ★ Delta Species · #112 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$2301.00market - #12
Latias ★ Deoxys · #105 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$2300.00market - #13
Rocket's Raikou ex Deoxys · #108 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Ryo Ueda$2300.00market - #14
Lugia Aquapolis · #149 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Naoyo Kimura$2225.00market - #15
Flareon ★ Power Keepers · #100 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1999.95market - #16
Jolteon ★ Power Keepers · #101 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1999.94market - #17
Torchic ★ Team Rocket Returns · #108 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1969.69market - #18
Shining Celebi Neo Destiny · #106 · Rare Shining Illustrated by Hironobu Yoshida$1801.00market - #19
Golem Skyridge · #148 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita$1600.48market - #20
Raikou ★ Unseen Forces · #114 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1600.00market - #21
Alakazam ★ Crystal Guardians · #99 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1500.00market - #22
Latios ★ Deoxys · #106 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1500.00market - #23
Umbreon ex Prismatic Evolutions · #161 · Special Illustration Rare$1480.32market - #24
Vaporeon ★ Power Keepers · #102 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1399.95market - #25
Regice ★ Legend Maker · #90 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1250.00market - #26
Rayquaza VMAX Evolving Skies · #218 · Rare Rainbow Illustrated by Anesaki Dynamic$1247.92market - #27
Gyarados ★ δ Holon Phantoms · #102 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1200.00market - #28
Charizard Plasma Storm · #136 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Ayaka Yoshida$1150.00market - #29
Suicune ★ Unseen Forces · #115 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1100.00market - #30
M Rayquaza-EX Ancient Origins · #98 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$1069.91market - #31
Entei ★ Unseen Forces · #113 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1067.00market - #32
Gengar VMAX Fusion Strike · #271 · Rare Rainbow Illustrated by sowsow$1032.78market - #33
Mew ex Paldean Fates · #232 · Special Illustration Rare Illustrated by USGMEN$1017.10market - #34
Groudon ★ Delta Species · #111 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$1010.00market - #35
M Charizard-EX Flashfire · #108 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$1000.62market - #36
Kabutops Skyridge · #150 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Atsuko Nishida$1000.00market - #37
Dialga-EX Phantom Forces · #122 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$986.98market - #38
Metagross ★ Delta Species · #113 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$951.99market - #39
Ho-oh Skyridge · #149 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Hajime Kusajima$800.00market - #40
Mewtwo-GX Shining Legends · #78 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita$785.70market - #41
Mega Charizard X ex Phantasmal Flames · #125 · Special Illustration Rare Illustrated by danciao$751.79market - #42
Celebi ★ Crystal Guardians · #100 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$750.00market - #43
Regirock ★ Legend Maker · #91 · Rare Holo Star Illustrated by Masakazu Fukuda$747.00market - #44
Charizard Dragon · #100 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita$739.97market - #45
Ultra Ball Plasma Freeze · #122 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$698.84market - #46
Gardevoir Dark Explorers · #109 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$693.66market - #47
Nidoking Aquapolis · #150 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Hironobu Yoshida$675.00market - #48
Charizard Stormfront · #103 · Rare Secret Illustrated by Mitsuhiro Arita$668.75market - #49
Rayquaza Dragons Exalted · #128 · Rare Secret Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$659.95market - #50
Charizard-GX Burning Shadows · #150 · Rare Rainbow Illustrated by 5ban Graphics$631.45market
Rarest Pokémon card FAQ
What is the rarest Pokémon card right now?
Mewtwo ★ from Holon Phantoms (#103, Rare Holo Star) currently lists at $5000.00 market on TCGplayer, making it the highest-priced card across the 3,168 short-printed rarity entries Catchinary tracks.
What counts as a "rare" Pokémon card?
Rarity is printed on every Pokémon TCG card. Common and Uncommon are standard pack fillers. Rare and Rare Holo pull roughly once per pack. Everything above that tier (Ultra Rare, Special Illustration Rare, Illustration Rare, Hyper Rare, Rainbow Rare, Secret Rare) is short-printed and drives most of the collector market value.
What is an Illustration Rare?
Illustration Rare is a Scarlet & Violet era rarity slot showing full-bleed artwork. Special Illustration Rare is the even shorter-printed tier with more elaborate art. Catchinary currently tracks 481 Illustration Rare cards and 216 Special Illustration Rare cards across the rarest-tier index.
How many Hyper Rare cards exist?
Catchinary's rarest-tier index lists 74 Hyper Rare Pokémon cards. Hyper Rare is the gold-foil "above-Secret" tier used since Sword & Shield, applied to a handful of high-value Pokémon in each modern set.
What about 1st Edition and PSA 10 cards?
Those are separate dimensions. 1st Edition refers to the original print run of older sets (Base through Neo). Grading companies like PSA, BGS, and CGC assign condition grades from 1 to 10 to sealed cards. PSA 10 is the top grade and can multiply a card's value by 5 to 50 times. See the First Edition cards page for that ranking.
How fresh is the price data on this page?
Prices refresh daily via the 08:00 UTC cron. The last refresh recorded in the price-history database was Sep 15, 2026. Source data is from pokemontcg.io which mirrors TCGplayer market prices.