Rare editions

In 30 secondsSome early sets hid a special kind of card, much rarer than the normal rares. The three most famous in English are Gold Stars (27 cards), Shining Pokemon (10 cards) and Crystal cards (9 cards). The lists below are complete for the vintage and EX eras.

Gold ☆ cards: 27 in English (2004 to 2007)

Marked with a small star next to the name. One or a few per set, very hard to pull. (One more Gold ☆ appeared much later, as an English promo: Greninja ☆, Sword & Shield promo 144.)

Set	Gold ☆ cards
EX Team Rocket Returns	Mudkip, Torchic, Treecko
EX Deoxys	Latias, Latios, Rayquaza
EX Unseen Forces	Entei, Raikou, Suicune
EX Delta Species	Groudon, Kyogre, Metagross
EX Legend Maker	Regice, Regirock, Registeel
EX Holon Phantoms	Gyarados (delta), Mewtwo, Pikachu
EX Crystal Guardians	Alakazam, Celebi
EX Dragon Frontiers	Charizard (delta), Mew (delta)
EX Power Keepers	Flareon, Jolteon, Vaporeon
POP Series 5 (tournament packs)	Espeon, Umbreon

Mudkip ☆, Team Rocket Returns 107 — Mudkip ☆
Team Rocket Returns 107

Torchic ☆, Team Rocket Returns 108 — Torchic ☆
Team Rocket Returns 108

Treecko ☆, Team Rocket Returns 109 — Treecko ☆
Team Rocket Returns 109

Latias ☆, Deoxys 105 — Latias ☆
Deoxys 105

Latios ☆, Deoxys 106 — Latios ☆
Deoxys 106

Rayquaza ☆, Deoxys 107 — Rayquaza ☆
Deoxys 107

Entei ☆, Unseen Forces 113 — Entei ☆
Unseen Forces 113

Raikou ☆, Unseen Forces 114 — Raikou ☆
Unseen Forces 114

Suicune ☆, Unseen Forces 115 — Suicune ☆
Unseen Forces 115

Groudon Star, Delta Species 111 — Groudon ☆
Delta Species 111

Kyogre Star, Delta Species 112 — Kyogre ☆
Delta Species 112

Metagross Star, Delta Species 113 — Metagross ☆
Delta Species 113

Regice ☆, Legend Maker 90 — Regice ☆
Legend Maker 90

Regirock ☆, Legend Maker 91 — Regirock ☆
Legend Maker 91

Registeel ☆, Legend Maker 92 — Registeel ☆
Legend Maker 92

Gyarados ☆ δ, Holon Phantoms 102 — Gyarados ☆ δ
Holon Phantoms 102

Mewtwo Star, Holon Phantoms 103 — Mewtwo ☆
Holon Phantoms 103

Pikachu Star, Holon Phantoms 104 — Pikachu ☆
Holon Phantoms 104

Alakazam ☆, Crystal Guardians 99 — Alakazam ☆
Crystal Guardians 99

Celebi ☆, Crystal Guardians 100 — Celebi ☆
Crystal Guardians 100

Charizard ☆ δ, Dragon Frontiers 100 — Charizard ☆ δ
Dragon Frontiers 100

Mew ☆ δ, Dragon Frontiers 101 — Mew ☆ δ
Dragon Frontiers 101

Flareon ☆, Power Keepers 100 — Flareon ☆
Power Keepers 100

Jolteon ☆, Power Keepers 101 — Jolteon ☆
Power Keepers 101

Vaporeon ☆, Power Keepers 102 — Vaporeon ☆
Power Keepers 102

Espeon ★, POP Series 5 16 — Espeon ★
POP Series 5 16

Umbreon ★, POP Series 5 17 — Umbreon ★
POP Series 5 17

Shining Pokemon: 10 in the Neo era (2001 to 2002)

Shining cards returned in 2017 with the Shining Legends set; the list below is the original vintage ten.

Neo Revelation (2): Shining Gyarados, Shining Magikarp
Neo Destiny (8): Shining Celebi, Charizard, Kabutops, Mewtwo, Noctowl, Raichu, Steelix and Tyranitar (106/105 to 113/105)

Shining Gyarados, Neo Revelation 65 — Shining Gyarados
Neo Revelation 65

Shining Magikarp, Neo Revelation 66 — Shining Magikarp
Neo Revelation 66

Shining Celebi, Neo Destiny 106 — Shining Celebi
Neo Destiny 106

Shining Charizard, Neo Destiny 107 — Shining Charizard
Neo Destiny 107

Shining Kabutops, Neo Destiny 108 — Shining Kabutops
Neo Destiny 108

Shining Mewtwo, Neo Destiny 109 — Shining Mewtwo
Neo Destiny 109

Shining Noctowl, Neo Destiny 110 — Shining Noctowl
Neo Destiny 110

Shining Raichu, Neo Destiny 111 — Shining Raichu
Neo Destiny 111

Shining Steelix, Neo Destiny 112 — Shining Steelix
Neo Destiny 112

Shining Tyranitar, Neo Destiny 113 — Shining Tyranitar
Neo Destiny 113

Crystal cards: 9 in English (2003)

Aquapolis (3): Kingdra, Lugia, Nidoking
Skyridge (6): Celebi, Charizard, Crobat, Golem, Ho-Oh and Kabutops (145/144 to 150/144)

Kingdra, Aquapolis 148 — Kingdra
Aquapolis 148

Lugia, Aquapolis 149 — Lugia
Aquapolis 149

Nidoking, Aquapolis 150 — Nidoking
Aquapolis 150

Celebi, Skyridge 145 — Celebi
Skyridge 145

Charizard, Skyridge 146 — Charizard
Skyridge 146

Crobat, Skyridge 147 — Crobat
Skyridge 147

Golem, Skyridge 148 — Golem
Skyridge 148

Ho-oh, Skyridge 149 — Ho-oh
Skyridge 149

Kabutops, Skyridge 150 — Kabutops
Skyridge 150

Go deeper: what "delta" means

Cards marked delta (the Greek letter) are "delta species" from the EX era: Pokemon shown with a different type from the one they normally have. The delta symbol next to the name tells you it is one of these cards.

Card images © Pokémon / Nintendo / Creatures / GAME FREAK, shown small for identification and education only, via the open TCGdex and pokemontcg.io card databases. Not for sale or reuse. To request removal, email hello@pocketmoonstars.com and we will take it down the same day.

Sources (checked October 2026): Bill's Archive: every Gold ☆ card · Bulbapedia: Shining Pokemon (TCG) · Bulbapedia: Crystal Pokemon (TCG) · TCGdex open card database (images)