What is a Radiant Pokémon card?
A Radiant Pokémon is a Basic Pokémon shown in its shiny colours, with Radiant in front of its name. The rarity is called Radiant Rare. They first came out in Astral Radiance in May 2022 and appeared in every main Sword & Shield set after it.
Radiant is part of the name, so Radiant Greninja and Greninja count as different cards. A deck could hold four Greninja and one Radiant Greninja.
Astral Radiance (May 2022)
The first three Radiant Pokémon.
Are Radiant Pokémon cards shiny?
Yes. The official rulebook says every Radiant Pokémon appears in its special shiny colouring. Radiant Charizard is black, for example, and Radiant Eevee is silver.
Radiant vs shiny, then, is not a choice between two things. Radiant is one kind of shiny card, with its own one-per-deck rule. Other shiny cards, like the Shiny Vault cards from Shining Fates or the Shiny Rares from Paldean Fates, have no such limit.
Pokémon GO (July 2022)
The Kanto starters, one of each.
Do Radiant Pokémon have a Rule Box?
Yes. Every Radiant Pokémon carries the Radiant Pokémon Rule: you can't have more than 1 Radiant Pokémon in your deck. The rulebook states that a Radiant Pokémon is considered a Pokémon with a Rule Box, so cards that hit Pokémon with a Rule Box hit Radiant Pokémon too. Path to the Peak, for example, turns off Radiant Greninja's Ability.
The limit is one Radiant Pokémon per deck, not one of each. You cannot play Radiant Greninja and Radiant Charizard together. When a Radiant Pokémon is Knocked Out, your opponent takes one Prize card, as with any Pokémon whose rule says nothing about Prizes.
Lost Origin and Silver Tempest (2022)
Lost Origin came out in September 2022 and Silver Tempest in November.
The Radiant Pokémon that saw the most play
Radiant Greninja was the most widely played. Its Concealed Cards Ability lets you discard an Energy card from your hand to draw 2 cards, once during your turn. Radiant Charizard from Crown Zenith was the heavy hitter: its Combustion Blast does 250 damage and gets cheaper for each Prize card your opponent has taken. Radiant Alakazam's Painful Spoons moves up to 2 damage counters between your opponent's Pokémon.
All Radiant Pokémon left the Standard format on April 11, 2025, when every Sword & Shield card with the F regulation mark rotated out. They are still legal in Expanded.
Crown Zenith (January 2023) and the promo
The last three Radiant Pokémon from a set, and Radiant Eevee.
How much are Radiant Pokémon cards worth?
Most are cheap. In late September 2026, the Cardmarket prices Pooka tracks put most Radiant Pokémon under €3. The two Radiant Charizards are the exceptions, at about €23 for the Pokémon GO card and about €14 for the Crown Zenith one. Radiant Eevee sells for about €10, and Radiant Venusaur and Radiant Blastoise for about €8 to €9.
Radiant Pokémon vs the Radiant Collection
Legendary Treasures (2013) and Generations (2016) each have a Radiant Collection subset, numbered RC1 to RC25 and RC1 to RC32. Those are cards with a full-card foil, not Radiant Pokémon. They have no one-per-deck rule and most are not shiny.
All cards in this guide
| Card | Set | Rarity | Released | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Radiant Heatran #27 | Astral Radiance | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Greninja #46 | Astral Radiance | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Hawlucha #81 | Astral Radiance | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Venusaur #4 | Pokémon GO | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Charizard #11 | Pokémon GO | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Blastoise #18 | Pokémon GO | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Gardevoir #69 | Lost Origin | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Hisuian Sneasler #123 | Lost Origin | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Steelix #124 | Lost Origin | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Tsareena #16 | Silver Tempest | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Alakazam #59 | Silver Tempest | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Jirachi #120 | Silver Tempest | Radiant Rare | 2022 |
 | Radiant Charizard #20 | Crown Zenith | Radiant Rare | 2023 |
 | Radiant Charjabug #51 | Crown Zenith | Radiant Rare | 2023 |
 | Radiant Eternatus #105 | Crown Zenith | Radiant Rare | 2023 |
 | Radiant Eevee #230 | SWSH Black Star Promos | Promo | 2019 |
