Posted in: Games, Pokémon TCG, Tabletop | Tagged: pokemon, Pokemon TCG, Pokémon XY

A Holographic History Of The Pokémon TCG: XY Era Holofoil

Over the years, the Pokémon TCG has featured many different patterns used on their holographic cards. Some patterns lasted for years, while others had short stays, making them markers for their short time in the franchise. In this next installment of A Holographic History of the Pokémon TCG, let's take a look back at the pattern that defined the XY era: the pattern-less holofoil with horizontal beams of rainbow light.

In February 2014, the XY base set introduced a new main holo pattern to the Pokémon TCG. The previous era, Black & White, was the era that started the pattern of introducing a new style of holofoil with each new generation, leaving behind the galaxy foil style that the English-language TCG began using in 2000. (Galaxy foil remains in use for promo carts, though!) Black & White sets used a horizontal liney style of holofoil, which XY then replaced with a new, much simpler style.

XY era holographic Pokémon cards have a flat, seemingly patternless foil. However, when the card is exposed to bright light and tilted back and forth, beams of rainbow light move down the card in a horizontal pattern.

This pattern was so subtle that some cards almost seemed non-holographic. The Mew from Fates Collide, for instance, is perhaps the least holographic holo card ever produced by the Pokémon TCG.

While this is the least visually interesting pattern in my eyes, it must be said that the were other aspects of the XY era that made the pattern work… namely, Ancient Trait cards. Ancient Trait cards are visually similar to the current Pokémon V cards but aren't considered Ultra Rares. Ancient Traits could be any kind of rarity: common, uncommon, rare, or holo-rare. When an Ancient Trait card was holo, there was much more space for this subtle pattern to show off the way it lights up, as you can see in the above Taillow card from XY: Roaring Skies.

XY is among my favorite eras of the Pokémon TCG even though its holo pattern left a lot to be desired. For those who didn't collect during the era, I highly recommend checking out sets like Roaring Skies, Fates Collide, and even the unfairly maligned Steam Siege. There's a lot to love in this era, and packs of those latter two sets can still be found at fair prices. While the holo style wasn't impressive, the era has some of the best art in the history of the TCG to make up for it.

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