Pokémon Promo Cards

What counts as a promo card

Not sold in booster packs

Promo cards are the Pokémon TCG cards you cannot get from a booster pack. They are given out at events, packed with products, or distributed through Pokémon-related merchandise.

Most of them belong to a Black Star Promo series. These carry a black star in the spot where an expansion symbol would normally sit, which is where the name comes from. Each era has its own series, and each series numbers its own cards independently of the expansions running alongside it.

The numbering changed shape three times. The first two series — Wizards and Nintendo — use a plain number with no prefix. From the Diamond & Pearl era onward the number carries the era’s letters (DP01, HGSS01, BW01, XY01, SM01, SWSH001). From the Scarlet & Violet era onward the letters were dropped again, leaving a plain three-digit number (001 onward).

Only the first series was produced by Wizards of the Coast. Every series after it was published under Nintendo and The Pokémon Company.