Set Symbols and Set Numbers on Pokémon Cards: How to Read Them

• Every card has a small symbol printed in its bottom right or bottom left corner, right next to the card number
• How to read the card number: look in the bottom right or bottom left corner of the card; the format is XXX/XXX
• The number above the slash is this card's position in the set's main numbering; the number below the slash is the set's total main-card count
• Starting with the 2023 Scarlet & Violet set, the pictorial 'set symbol' was replaced by a text-based 'Set Identifier' code, such as SVI
• Definition of the Set Identifier: the text inside the box next to the card's number
• Officially confirmed that starting with Scarlet & Violet, Energy cards also carry a set code

• Regulation mark: The set symbol/set code indicates which set a card belongs to, while the regulation mark indicates whether that card is legal in the current format; both sit near the bottom of the card but mean different things and should not be confused.

Older sets (before Scarlet & Violet in 2023) used a pictorial symbol to indicate the set, while newer sets switched to a three-letter text code; both designs are printed next to the card number.

• Bottom-left or bottom-right corner: the set symbol and the collector number (e.g. 4/102) tell you the set; older cards have no symbol at all, which itself narrows them to Base Set.
• Left of the number: a 1st Edition stamp, if present, sits below the art on WOTC-era cards.
• Regulation mark (a letter in a box near the bottom, D through H so far) dates modern cards to a two-year window.
• Back of the card: the blue Poké Ball back has changed little since 1999; a washed-out, blurry or wrongly colored back is the first sign of a fake.

Lay the card flat on a dark surface in daylight, straight on, with the whole card in frame, then a close-up of the bottom edge where the set symbol, number and any edition stamp sit. Tilt holo cards under the light for a second shot to show the foil pattern. Photograph the back too. The app reads the card and set; the edition and rarity checks above tell you which version you have.