Pokémon card collecting has a language of its own, with a few extra words on top for Japanese cards. Here is what the terms you will see on product pages, in our guides and around the hobby actually mean.
Opening packs
- Pull
- A card you get from a pack. "My best pull" is the best card someone opened.
- Hit
- A pull worth getting excited about, usually a card of SR rarity or higher.
- Chase card
- The card everyone opening a set is hoping for. Our top hits guide lists the chase cards of every set we stock.
- Pull rate
- How often a type of card turns up. Pokémon doesn't publish pull rates, so every figure you see comes from collectors counting their own openings.
- Box guarantee
- The pattern collectors report finding in nearly every Japanese box, such as three Art Rares and one card of SR or better. It is unofficial and never promised. Our pull rates guide explains it.
- Bulk
- The common and uncommon cards left over after the hits are sorted out.
Rarities
- AR (Art Rare)
- A card with full artwork that runs past the usual frame, usually showing a Pokémon in a scene.
- SR (Super Rare)
- A full art card, often of a Pokémon ex or a trainer.
- SAR (Special Art Rare)
- A full art card with special illustration work and one of the most valuable rarities in modern sets.
- UR (Ultra Rare)
- A gold card, usually of a Pokémon ex, an item or an energy.
- MUR (Mega Ultra Rare)
- The gold top rarity of the Mega Evolution era, used for the headline Mega Pokémon of each set.
- Secret rare
- Any card numbered above the printed size of the set, such as 113/076. In modern Japanese sets every card of AR rarity or higher is numbered this way.
The full list, in order from common to rarest, is in our Japanese rarity guide.
Products
- Booster box
- A sealed box of booster packs. A standard Japanese box holds 30 packs of 5 cards.
- High class set
- A special Japanese set built for collectors, with 10 packs of 10 cards and a long run of secret rares. See our high class boxes.
- Twin sets
- Two Japanese sets released on the same day that share a theme, such as Black Bolt and White Flare.
- Set code
- The short code that identifies a set, such as M6 for Storm Emeralda. It is printed in the bottom corner of every card.
- Pokémon Center exclusive
- A product sold only through the Pokémon Center stores and website in Japan.
- Promo
- A card given away or sold outside the normal booster packs, often with a special stamp.
Sealed product
- Sealed
- Still in its factory packaging and never opened.
- Shrink wrap
- The plastic film around a sealed box.
- Resealed
- A box that was opened, often searched for its hits, then wrapped again to look new. Our resealed box guide shows how to check.
- Tear strip
- The perforated strip that Japanese boxes made since late September 2022 open along.
Condition and grading
- Near mint
- A card in essentially perfect condition, the standard most prices are quoted for.
- Whitening
- White wear showing along the edges or corners of a card's back, which lowers its value.
- Centring
- How evenly the artwork sits inside the card's borders.
- Raw
- A card that hasn't been graded.
- Graded or slabbed
- A card that a grading company such as PSA has assessed, given a grade out of 10 and sealed in a hard plastic case called a slab.
- PSA 10
- PSA's top grade, Gem Mint.
- Semi rigid
- A slightly flexible card holder, the kind PSA asks for when cards are sent in for grading.
Buying and selling
- Single
- One card bought on its own instead of in a pack.
- Kaitori (買取)
- The price a Japanese card shop will pay to buy a card from you.
- Rotation
- When older cards stop being legal in the Standard tournament format. Cards with the G regulation mark rotated out on 10 April 2026.
Ready to open one?
Every box here is sealed Japanese stock on the shelf in Sydney, dispatched in 1 to 3 business days with flat $14 tracked shipping.
Storm Emeralda
Mega Symphonia · 5-Pack Bundle
Semi RigidsAbout the author
Kai Chai is a Pokémon card collector in Sydney and the founder of WOOPR, a shop that sells only sealed Japanese product. More about WOOPR.
Sources
- Tokyo Card Report, Japanese rarity chart
- Display Armour, Pokémon card rarity symbols explained
- Video Games Chronicle, Mega Evolution to debut Mega Ultra Rare gold cards
- PSA, grading standards
- Pokémon.com, 2026 Standard format rotation announcement
- Pokémon Card Game official site, notice on the change to booster box packaging (Japanese)
More guides
- Japanese vs English Pokémon booster boxesPacks per box, cards per pack, which comes out first and how the rarity names line up.
- How to start collecting Japanese Pokémon cardsWhat to collect, what to buy first and how to look after your cards.
- Which Japanese Pokémon booster box should I buy?Our picks for big chase cards, a first box, tight budgets, favourite Pokémon and sealed collectors.
- Pokémon ex, V, VMAX and VSTAR cards explainedWhat ex, Mega ex, V, VMAX and VSTAR mean and how many Prize cards each gives up.
- Japanese twin sets compared: which one to openEvery twin pair we stock side by side, with top hits, card counts and prices.
- Japanese Pokémon cards as a gift: a buying guideGift picks at every budget, the extras worth adding and when to order.