When did Gold Star Pokémon cards come out?
The first English Gold Stars came out in November 2004 in EX Team Rocket Returns: Mudkip, Torchic and Treecko. The last new ones arrived in early 2007, with Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon in EX Power Keepers in February and Espeon and Umbreon in POP Series 5 in March. After that, the rarity disappeared from booster packs.
So if you want to know which set a Gold Star comes from, it is one of those nine EX sets or POP Series 5. The full list follows in release order.
EX Team Rocket Returns (November 2004)
The first three Gold Stars: the Hoenn starters.
EX Deoxys (February 2005)
Rayquaza ☆ from this set is the most expensive Gold Star today.
What is a Gold Star Pokémon card?
A Gold Star card, officially written as Pokémon ☆, is a holo card of a shiny Pokémon with a star after its name. Rayquaza ☆, for example, is black instead of green.
All 27 were drawn by the same artist, Masakazu Fukuda. That is why they look like a set of their own, with tilted angles and bright, saturated colours.
In play, a deck can hold only one Pokémon ☆ in total, not one of each.
EX Unseen Forces and EX Delta Species (2005)
The legendary beasts in August 2005, then Groudon, Kyogre and Metagross in October.
How many Gold Star cards are there?
There are 27 in English. Nine EX sets have three each, except EX Crystal Guardians and EX Dragon Frontiers, which have two. POP Series 5, a small 17-card set from Pokémon Organized Play, adds Espeon and Umbreon. Japan had Gold Stars too, including a few promos that never came out in English.
Only two more have been printed in English since 2007: a reprint of Umbreon ☆ in the Celebrations Classic Collection in 2021, and Greninja ☆ as Sword & Shield promo SWSH144. Collectors do not count them among the original 27.
EX Legend Maker and EX Holon Phantoms (2006)
The Regi trio in February 2006, then Gyarados, Mewtwo and Pikachu in May.
Are Gold Star Pokémon cards rare? Pull rates
Yes. Pokémon never published official odds, so every Gold Star pull rate you see is a collector estimate. The figure quoted most often is one in about 72 packs, which is one per two booster boxes, and some estimates go as low as one per case.
That is why most collectors buy them as single cards today. EX-era booster packs have not been printed for almost twenty years, and the ones still sealed are priced as collectibles themselves.
EX Crystal Guardians and EX Dragon Frontiers (2006)
Alakazam and Celebi in August 2006, then Charizard and Mew in November.
What does the δ on some Gold Stars mean?
Three Gold Stars are also Delta Species, marked δ: Gyarados ☆ δ, Charizard ☆ δ and Mew ☆ δ. Delta Species Pokémon have a different type than usual, from the Holon region story of the later EX sets. Gyarados ☆ δ is a Fire type, Charizard ☆ δ a Darkness type and Mew ☆ δ a Water type.
EX Power Keepers and POP Series 5 (2007)
The last five: three Eeveelutions in February 2007, then Espeon and Umbreon in March.
How much are Gold Star Pokémon cards worth?
Gold Stars are among the most expensive cards of the EX era. In late September 2026, the Cardmarket prices Pooka tracks put Rayquaza ☆ at about €7,000, Espeon ☆ and Umbreon ☆ at about €6,300 each and Charizard ☆ δ at about €5,100. The cheapest are the Legend Maker Regis, at roughly €600 to €900.
Graded copies go much higher. Reported sales of PSA 10 copies of Mewtwo ☆, Charizard ☆ δ and Pikachu ☆ have reached $85,000 or more.
Vintage prices move a lot with condition, so check the card itself before you buy or sell. Every Gold Star in Pooka has its daily Cardmarket and eBay price, and you can mark the ones you already own to see how far you are from all 27.
Gold Stars printed after 2007
The Celebrations reprint of Umbreon ☆ and the Greninja ☆ promo.
What replaced Gold Stars?
Pokémon has brought the idea back twice. Prism Star cards in the Sun & Moon era were limited to one copy of each per deck. Radiant Pokémon in Sword & Shield are the closest match: shiny Pokémon, and only one Radiant Pokémon per deck.
Neither replaced the originals for collectors. The cheapest way to own a Gold Star artwork is the Celebrations Umbreon ☆, which costs a few euros and reuses the Masakazu Fukuda illustration from the 2007 card.
