Pokemon TCG Introduces New Reverse Holofoil Cards, Teases New Kind of Hyper Rare Foil

Pokemon TCG players could be seeing new foil treatments on some of their cards. Earlier this month, The Pokemon Company announced Paldean Fates, a brand new special Pokemon TCG set that would feature over 100 Shiny Pokemon. The official press release for the new set noted that some Pokemon ex Hyper Rare cards would feature a "new and unique raised foil effect." No further details were provided about what these new cards would look like, but PokeBeach pointed out that the One Piece Trading Card Game is set to introduce a new kind of holofoil card that features an embossed or stamped foil effect. PokeBeach speculates that this could be a similar card effect to what the Pokemon Trading Card Game is set to introduce. While Hyper Rare cards are technically the "rarest" cards in a Pokemon TCG set, they usually don't have a high re-sale value as they feature the same artwork as Full Art cards, but with a gold treatment. 

Additionally, reverse holofoil cards could also be getting a new treatement. The "Shiny Treasure ex" set set to be released in Japan next month will feature a new reverse holofoil effect featuring a "digital" effect comprised of small squares. It's unclear if this will be limited to the "Shiny Treasure ex" set or if this will be the new reverse holofoil effect moving forward, or if this is just a one-off foil treatment limited to "Shiny Treasure ex." We'll note that a similar set, the Scarlet & Violet – 151 set, also featured an alternate reverse holofoil treatment (two, in fact – a PokeBall reverse holofoil treatment and a separate Master ball reverse holofoil treatment) that has not since appeared in other sets. It's also unclear whether this new reverse holofoil treatment will appear in international Paldean Fates sets, given that the international release of Scarlet & Violet – 151 did not receive the same reverse holofoil treatment as the Japanese sets. 

We'll find out more about the new Hyper Rare cards closer to Paldean Fates release, which is due on January 24 internationally.