Rarity/Rarity Levels/Ultra Rare

Ultra rare (also called super rare) cards are typically marked as Rare Holofoil cards, but sometimes have unique symbols denoting their rarity. As such, they will replace the rare card in the TCG Booster pack. As their name suggests, ultra rare cards are far more difficult to acquire than typical rare cards. Most ultra rare cards are associated with a unique mechanic, such as TCG Pokémon-ex, TCG Pokémon LV.X (Pokémon LV.X), TCG Pokémon LEGEND, TCG Pokémon Prime or TCG Pokémon-EX.


 * TCG Pokémon ex were introduced in TCG EX Ruby & Sapphire. The DP Era marked the end of Pokémon ex, where they were replaced with TCG Pokémon LV.X. the ex in Pokémon ex stands for "extra" - the extra effects and attacks that Pokémon ex have. Pokémon ex broke the previous HP limit of 120 HP, as well as having more powerful attacks. They were also immune to some effects. However, they were susceptible to a larger number of negative effects meant to counter Pokémon ex, and in many instances, had more than one weakness, or a higher retreat cost. The most outstanding difference between a Pokémon ex and a regular card is that if it is knocked out, the opponent takes two prize cards instead of one. They had a cosmos holofoil effect in the image as well as on the border of the card. They rarely appeared as Secret Cards (there are rare instances, such as Rocket's Raikou ex or Rocket's Persian ex, where they appear as Secret Cards.)
 * TCG Pokémon Star were featured in EX Team Rocket Returns, and last released in POP Series 5. Reminiscent of Shining Pokémon, they are alternatively colored, have beneficial attacks and the 1-per-deck rule, but no longer feature multiple Energy-type attacks (aside from Latias, Latios and Rayquaza). They have portions of their body outside the borders of the image, Golden tinges and holographic shadows are added to various parts of the card. All Pokémon Star are Basic Pokémon regardless of their stage of evolution normally. δ Delta Species Pokémon Star are the type that their shiny coloration is the color of. Their unique rarity symbol is Shiny Rare Holo ([[File:Rarity ShinyRare Holo.png]]).
 * TCG Pokémon LV.X were introduced in TCG Diamond & Pearl to replace Pokémon ex and Pokémon Star, and made their final appearance in the TCG Arceus expansion. It has the strength, rarity, holofoil borders, protruding parts of Pokémon ex and Pokémon Star. They are treated as 'Level-Up' cards, as opposed to evolution, but has the same effects as evolution: the card cannot be played on the first turn or on the turn that its non Leveled Up card is played, and lose any TCG Special Conditions that were affecting it before Level-Up. However, Pokémon on the bench cannot be leveled up. Pokémon LV.X can still use the attacks and Pokémon Powers of the card underneath it. They had the rarity of Rare Holo LV.X ([[File:Rarity Rare Holo LV.X.png]]).
 * TCG Pokémon LEGEND were introduced in TCG HeartGold & SoulSilver along with Pokémon Prime as a replacement for Pokémon LV.X. Pokémon LEGEND cards have two halves - one of the top half, the other of the bottom half - and comprises of 1 or 2 Pokémon. Both cards must be played at the same time onto the bench, and is treated as one card. However, it is treated as two separate cards outside of play, for example, in the hand or deck. The illustration takes up three-quarters of the card, with the text on a corner of the bottom half. The two Pokémon are either part of a Legendary duo or trio. The entire card is holofoil, and the rarity symbol is Rare Holofoil LEGEND ([[File:Rarity Rare Holo LEGEND.png]]). The last Pokémon LEGEND card was featured in Triumphant.
 * TCG Pokémon Prime were introduced along with Pokémon LEGEND in TCG HeartGold & SoulSilver and was last released in Triumphant. They are unique compared to other Ultra Rare cards as their names are regular and have no special game mechanics compared to normal cards. However, they are considerably stronger compared to their regular counterparts, have a different card design (with 'leering' eyes and a special design at the edge of the image border), as well a holographic image and name to reflect their rarity. Their rarity symbol is Super Rare Holo ([[File:Rarity SuperRare Holo.png]]).
 * TCG Pokémon-EX were introduced in TCG Next Destinies, and has an "EX" in its name. They are all Basic Pokémon, and were all Legendary Pokémon until the release of Legendary Treasures, which saw the first non-Legendary Pokémon-EX cards. Most, but not all, of the cards have a Full Art print as well, where the image covers the whole card. Pokémon-EX have the same rules as Pokémon-ex; they have higher HP than normal cards, and if it is Knocked Out, the opponent takes two Prize cards instead of one. Similar to Pokémon LV.X, the Pokémon 'break' the borders of the image, seeming to 'come' out of the image. An additional special effect is included on the border of each card, based on the characteristic of the card, such as leaves on the border of Shaymin-EX's card. M Pokémon-EX were introduced in TCG XY to reflect the introduction of Mega Pokémon in the games. They had a stylized M before its name, higher HP (breaking the previous HP limit) and more powerful attacks. In terms of design, they were similar to regular Pokémon-EX, but has the name of its attack in the artwork in another language (for example, the English name of the attack on Japanese or Korean cards, and the Japanese name on international releases). In gameplay, they had to be evolved from the previous Pokémon-EX, and doing so ends the player's turn.
 * TCG Pokémon-GX were introduce in TCG Sun & Moon, and all have "GX" in their name. There are two main differences between Pokémon-EX and Pokémon-GX. The first is that Pokémon-GX are not always basic Pokemon (i.e. Solgaleo-GX must be evolved from a TCG Cosmoem card), and the other is that Pokémon-GX have an exclusive mechanic called known as GX attacks. These attacks are based on the Z-Moves mechanic introduced in and like them, have more powerful effects and/or damage output than normal attacks. However, each player can only use one GX attack per game. As far as rarity goes, there are three rarities to most Pokémon-GX, two of which are considered to be "Ultra Rare" when featured in main sets. These two are the normal variant, whose artwork covers most of the card, and like Pokémon-EX, the Full Art variant. However, as is noted below, the Full Art variants are not considered Ultra Rare in the Japanese releases, but instead are Secret cards.