What are Special Illustration Rare Cards?

Pokémon Special Illustration Rare cards were first introduced in 2023 with the launch of the Scarlet and Violet series, when Pokémon split the Full Art and Secret Rare art cards into new categories.

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Special Illustration Rare Cards

What are Special Illustration Rare Cards?
ME Special Illustration Rare Card List
ME Special Illustration Rare Gallery
SV Special Illustration Rare Card List
SV Special Illustration Rare Gallery

What are Pokémon Special Illustration Rare Cards?

Special Illustration Rare cards are Full Art holographic cards that make up the end numbers of a card set. Their Rarity class is indicated by two gold stars placed after the card number ★★.

245/198 Gardevoir ex — *Gardevoir ex card from the Scarlet & Violet Base set.*

The artwork for Special Illustration Rare cards always covers the entire card (Full Art) and is generally highly detailed. These cards are generally the most sought after cards in a set making them ideal for collecting and for investors.

Where can Special Illustration Rare cards be found?

As with all Pokémon Trading cards, Special Illustration Rare cards can be found in Pokémon Booster Packs.

With the change to Rarities introduced in 2023 can a re-organisation of the contents of Booster Packs. From the start of the Scarlet and Violet Series Booster Packs contain:

4 Common cards,
3 Uncommon cards,
2 Reverse Holo cards,
1 Holo Rare card,
1 Basic Energy
1 Online Code card.

If included in a Booster Pack, Special Illustration Rare cards take the place of 1 Reverse Holo card. The probability of pulling one of these cards is averagely 1 out of every 32 Booster Packs but can be as low as 1 out of every 70 Booster Packs.

The low likelihood of finding one of these cards in a pack serves to increase demand for the cards and also their value.