Print finish
Common / Uncommon
The bulk of a set. Same Pokémon name still shares one character dossier here.
Play legality
Legal if the card’s regulation mark is legal. Rarity is not a rules type.
Commons and uncommons are the playable glue: Items, Basic Energy, and the evolution lines you actually cast.
A cheap Pikachu and an illustration-rare Pikachu with the same name and text are the same card for Standard. Buy the cheap one to play.
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Other print finishes
Holo
Foil treatment of a playable card. Usually the same game text as the non-holo.
ex / Double Rare
A rulebox Pokémon. Worth extra Prize cards when KO’d.
Illustration rare
Full-art chase of an existing card. Collectors hunt these; decks can play the cheap version.
Special illustration
The big alt-art. Same card for play, different row in this catalog.
Promo
Stamped or stamped-set extras. Check the collector number.