What is the difference between Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare?

Both have a borderless picture; the Special Illustration Rare is rarer and often more elaborately drawn, for example with a trainer figure.

Since when do these cards exist?

All cards of these levels in the catalogue were released from 2023 onwards, starting with the Scarlet & Violet sets.

Special Illustration Rares can be very expensive one by one, while Illustration Rares are usually much cheaper. Your Card Binder shows estimates; you confirm the final price at the marketplace.

Your Card Binder

Guide

Illustration Rare: Pokémon cards that look like small paintings

On an Illustration Rare the picture does not sit inside a frame. It fills the whole card and tells a small story: a Pokémon fishing, in a kitchen, in a city in the rain. These cards are why many adults start collecting again. This page explains how the two levels differ, how many exist and what a gift giver should know.

By Schayan Yousefian · Last updated: 23 October 2026

How to recognise an Illustration Rare

The artwork runs to the card edges. Name, hit points and attacks sit over the picture instead of in a text box below it.
The Pokémon is part of a setting and is not cut out against an effect background.
The catalogue lists two levels: “Illustration rare” and the higher “Special illustration rare”.

The two levels differ mostly in rarity and in how elaborate the drawing is. Special Illustration Rares often show a Pokémon with a trainer figure or an especially detailed scene, and they are much harder to find in a pack.

The numbers from the catalogue

Illustration cards in the card catalogue (without TCG Pocket cards, as of 23 Oct 2026)
Level	Cards	From which series
Illustration rare	511	Scarlet & Violet, Mega Evolution and 30th Celebration
Special illustration rare	232	the same series, mostly 5 to 15 per set

All of these cards were released from 2023 onwards, so the style is only a few years old. In the selection Your Card Binder offers for this theme (150 cards, the rarest first), most come from Prismatic Evolutions (23), Ascended Heroes (16) and 30th Celebration (10).

Why they work as a gift

On a binder page they look like picture frames: even someone who knows no rules sees that every card has its own image.
The scenes are friendly and tell something, which makes them easy for children too.
Nine Illustration Rares make a page without repetition, because each card shows a different Pokémon and scene.

What to check before you buy

Special Illustration Rares can be very expensive one by one, while Illustration Rares are usually much cheaper. A balanced page mixes both levels and places the expensive cards deliberately.

Borderless cards show wear on corners and edges quickly. For these cards at least “Very good” or “Near mint” condition is worth it; the condition guide has more.

In Your Card Binder you choose the theme “Illustration cards”, see the cards as a page with an estimated price and can swap single cards. Unlike picture themes such as beach or night, this selection follows the rarity of the card, not what the picture shows.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare?: Both have a borderless picture; the Special Illustration Rare is rarer and often more elaborately drawn, for example with a trainer figure.
Since when do these cards exist?: All cards of these levels in the catalogue were released from 2023 onwards, starting with the Scarlet & Violet sets.
Are they expensive?: Special Illustration Rares can be very expensive one by one, while Illustration Rares are usually much cheaper. Your Card Binder shows estimates; you confirm the final price at the marketplace.