Japanese Pokémon sets
Every Japanese Pokémon set we track, grouped by era and ranked by tracked value within it. Open a set to see all its cards with current raw & graded prices. See the most expensive Japanese cards →
Modern Japanese cards print a rarity code in small letters beside the collector number. The chase tiers are RR (Double Rare), AR (Art Rare), SR (Super Rare), SAR (Special Art Rare), UR (Ultra Rare) and, in Sword & Shield sets, HR (Hyper Rare). The codes do not map one-to-one onto English names: a Japanese AR is an English Illustration Rare and a SAR is a Special Illustration Rare. Which tier is scarcest varies by set, so treat the code as a guide rather than a fixed ladder.
Neo 1 sets
Johto's block, and where Shining cards (shiny-coloured holos) first appeared before the English Neo sets localised them.
VS 1 sets
Web 1 sets
E-Card 5 sets
The e-Card block, with a dot-code strip a Nintendo e-Reader could scan. The English e-Card sets (Expedition, Aquapolis, Skyridge) rearranged these into different set lists.
ADV 6 sets
PCG 12 sets
Diamond & Pearl 9 sets
Sinnoh, and the block that introduced the LV.X mechanic the English Diamond & Pearl sets carried over.
Platinum 5 sets
A four-set block built around SP Pokémon, mirrored by the four English Platinum-series sets and ending with Advent of Arceus.
LEGEND 6 sets
Back to Johto with Prime cards and the two-card LEGEND pairs, later localised as the English HeartGold & SoulSilver series.
Black & White 18 sets
Unova's block, spread across more Japanese sets than its English counterpart because several were merged into single English expansions.
XY 23 sets
Kalos, and Mega Evolution's first run as a card mechanic, again split across more Japanese sets than made it into English.
Sun & Moon 38 sets
Alola's block: GX cards, then TAG TEAM GX pairs from 2019.
Sword & Shield 37 sets
Galar's block: V, VMAX and VSTAR cards.
Scarlet & Violet 29 sets
Paldea, the block immediately before Mega Evolution.
Mega Evolution 16 sets
The current block. Japanese sets release a few months before their English versions.