Rarity/Rarity Levels/Holofoil Rare

A small amount of rare cards within each expansion are Holofoil. It may be pulled from an English TCG Booster pack as the Rare card but is not guaranteed. They are rarer compared to non-holofoil rare cards.

There are many types of Holofoil, which occasionally changes after a series of expansions:
 * Between TCG Base Set and TCG Call of Legends (spanning every expansion from Generation I to IV), the holofoil pattern is named "Cosmos Holofoil", and consists of dots and circles of different sizes spread across the image of the Pokémon. This holofoil pattern is still frequently used for promotional cards and returned to the main sets for TCG Evolutions only.
 * Between TCG Black and White and TCG Legendary Treasures (every expansion from Generation V), the holofoil pattern is named "Tinsel Holofoil", and consists of horizontal stripes across the image. In Japanese holofoil cards of these sets, the border of the card also has a tinsel holofoil effect.
 * Starting from TCG XY and through TCG Steam Siege, the holofoil pattern is changed to "Sheen Holofoil". There are differences between the language of the card; Japanese holofoil cards refract light in a diagonal direction from bottom left to top right across the entire card; Korean holofoil cards have the same effect and direction, but only cover the image of the Pokémon; and international releases have the same effect as Japanese cards, but only cover the image, and the direction is from bottom right to top left.
 * Starting from TCG Sun & Moon, the holofoil pattern is called "Water-Web Holofoil". These cards refract light in a wave-like pattern in all releases. However, only the Japanese releases cover the border with the pattern.
 * Certain Theme Decks have exclusive versions of the featured card: in the Black and White era, the featured card had a Cracked Ice/Shattered effect. The same effect was used in some blisters as well.