The Pokémon TCG has made a ridiculous number of cards over the years. In fact, the company claims that over 75 billion Pokémon cards have been printed, which works out to two and a half billion each year since the TCG began.
With about nine Pokemon cards created for every human currently alive, it's not surprising that some of them have mistakes. And while they should be thrown away after quality checks, some slip through the net. You may think these misprinted cards are 'ruined', but many collectors find them far more valuable than your regular chases.
As a bit of a Pokémon TCG fanatic (just one glance at my author profile will show you that), I've been aware of the misprints community for a few years. The growing number of posts on the r/PokemonMisprints subreddit is a clear sign that this collector group is becoming more prevalent, so I decided to speak with two totem poles of the community, Reddit users Extras and Regigigagod, about the growing niche.
Extras began collecting errors after they found their first 'filler' cards. These are "blank cards that in the Pokémon TCG are found in preconstructed decks or ETB energy bricks." Designed to be thrown away during production, their inclusion in boxes is a simple mistake that led the collector to a very interesting challenge: "[Collecting] one example of every weird thing that has ever come from the factories has been my goal since."
According to Regigigagod, this is likely to be a never-ending quest. "You'll be hard pressed to find two errors that are exactly the same," he says.
There are some common mistakes that crop up, however. Filler cards are a well-known and pretty basic error, but faults in the actual card printing process can be far more interesting.
"Twisted miscuts and foldovers are my favorite kinds of errors," Extras says, and Regigigagod adds that a twisted Cramorant V card is the pride of his collection.
Often created when Pokémon cards are cut from a sheet, Twisted misprints have extremely thick borders and are shaped differently from normal cards. Extras shared an image of a Rayquaza VMAX that, to most people, would look like it had been cut - they mention that the larger borders and "extra cardstock or torn areas" give them confidence that these aren't the result of some random kid going at a card with their scissors.
Sometimes an error comes not from a printing mistake, but from something far stranger. One treasure Extras showed me was a fly trapped in the ink layer, leaving the permanently etched corpse of the unfortunate bug on a Lt. Surge's Bargain card. Couldn't have picked an SIR, fly?
With misprints becoming more popular, and collectors willing to spend real money on them, fakes have started to become a factor. Shockingly, misprints are easier to reproduce than most rare cards - in fact, it may be easier to spot fake Pokémon cards in general, compared to false misprints. Two common fakes are crimps and non-factory cuts; the former can be easily identified, as shown by YouTuber Sleeve No Card Behind in a recent video, but the latter can often stump the unwary collector.
"Sometimes they can be cut by hand, rather than at the factory. So some uneven edges are a key giveaway of a fake miscut," Regigigagod states. "They are all very cheap on eBay, but they look real. Having knowledge of what is out there can be really helpful in avoiding mistakes like that." One look through the subreddit, and there's a variety of posts about faked misprints, which Extras and Regigigagod are quick to inform people on, but without experts like these - many would throw me off, too.
Extras said, in their experience, they'd found 2025's Prismatic Evolutions to have "the most errors (and most interesting errors) of any modern set," thanks to a new technique being implemented. The new textures for this set, with Poké Ball and Master Ball reverse holos appearing on English cards for the first time, led to some interesting errors, like a shifted holo that placed the Balls in unusual spots - such as off-center, or directly over the artwork.
Regigigagod believes a few different factors have led to more reports of misprints: more cards being created overall and more error collectors. "Some of that is due to ramped-up production, and some of it is due to more collectors finding their niche," he says. "But I think a really key factor would be social media, and its impact on all collectibles in the last 20 years."
Considering the growth of the subreddit from under 1,000 subscribers in early 2021 to almost 30,000 now, as well as amassing 150k weekly visitors, it's clear that this group of collectors has expanded alongside the surge in Pokémon cards.
All collectors are looking for rare Pokémon cards, hotly sought after SIRs like Mega Charizard X ex or Mega Gengar ex, but the possibility of misprinted chase cards or bizarre errors could make some misprints completely and wholly original: rare pieces of broken art that, for some, could be a holy grail to their collection.
"Part of the fun of error collecting is that most of the weird ones are going to be unique, close to 1-of-1 examples for that Pokémon," Extras tells me.
The Pokémon Company doesn't allow returns for cards damaged by external events (like shipping damage), but if you have print issues, the company suggests sending them in: "If you feel your cards were damaged or altered due to a manufacturing error please scan each card in question front and back and create a ticket through pokemon.com with your first and last name, your proof of purchase, your date of birth, and address," the website suggests.
However, for this group of collectors, that's a bad idea. These wholly original misprints aren't just manufacturing mistakes; they're works of art in their own unusual way. And, while some looking for those chase cards may find them worthless, to others, they're extremely valuable. Potentially, even one-of-a-kind.
Make sure to join our Wargamer Discord to be kept up-to-date on the latest news in the Pokémon TCG. We're keeping an eye on those 30th Anniversary announcements and will fill you in as soon as packs release. Maybe one of us will get some. We can only dream.