Glossary
Card, pack and box images © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK (and Wizards of the Coast for 1999-2003), shown for identification only.
- 1st Edition
- The first print run of an early set, marked with an Edition 1 stamp.
- Alt art
- An alternate-art version of a card with a different, often full-card illustration.
- Base Set
- The first English set (1999), 102 cards.
- BGS
- Beckett Grading Services, a grading company.
- CGC
- Certified Guaranty Company, a grading company.
- Chase card
- The card everyone wants from a set.
- Delta species
- EX-era Pokemon shown with an unusual type.
- Gem Mint
- Usually a grade 10 (at Beckett, Gem Mint is 9.5).
- Gold Star
- A rare EX-era card marked with a star. 27 exist in English.
- Holo
- A card whose picture shines.
- Population (pop)
- How many copies a grading company has graded.
- PSA
- Professional Sports Authenticator, the largest grading company.
- Raw
- A card that has not been graded.
- Reverse holo
- The card shines everywhere except the picture.
- Secret rare
- A card numbered beyond the set total, like 107/105.
- Shadowless
- An early Base Set print with no shadow beside the picture box.
- Single
- One specific card bought on its own.
- Slab
- The sealed plastic case a graded card comes in.
- Unlimited
- Later, larger print runs of a set, without the 1st Edition stamp.
- WotC
- Wizards of the Coast, who made the English cards from 1999 to 2003.