What was the first shiny Pokémon card?
Shining Gyarados and Shining Magikarp from Neo Revelation were the first shiny Pokémon in the English card game. The set came out in September 2001. Both cards are numbered above the set total, 65/64 and 66/64, so they were secret rares.
The red Gyarados is the one you meet at the Lake of Rage in Pokémon Gold and Silver, and Magikarp is its gold pre-evolution. Both were drawn by Ken Sugimori.
Neo Revelation (September 2001)
The first two Shining Pokémon.
What are Shining Pokémon cards?
A Shining Pokémon card shows a shiny Pokémon, one in its rare alternate colours, with the word Shining in front of its name. Every Shining Pokémon is a Basic Pokémon, even when the regular Pokémon is a Stage 2. That meant Shining Charizard and Shining Tyranitar could go straight onto the Bench.
The Neo cards carry a Shining rule: "You can't have more than 1 Shining Charizard in your deck." The limit counts per name, so a deck could hold one Shining Charizard and one Shining Mewtwo. Many of their attacks also need two Energy types, like Fire and Lightning for Shining Charizard.
Neo Destiny (February 2002)
All eight Neo Destiny Shining Pokémon, numbered 106 to 113 in a 105-card set.
How many Shining Pokémon cards are there?
There are 19 in English. Ten are from the Neo era: two in Neo Revelation and eight in Neo Destiny. Shining Legends, released in October 2017, added six more, and three Sun & Moon promos brought Shining Ho-Oh, Shining Celebi and Shining Lugia.
The 2017 cards work differently. They are regular numbered cards in the set, not secret rares, and they have no one-per-deck rule.
Two Neo cards have been reprinted with their original numbers: Shining Magikarp in the Celebrations Classic Collection in 2021, and Shining Celebi in the 30th Celebration Classic Collection in 2026.
Shining Legends (October 2017)
Six Shining Pokémon in the main set, with no deck limit.
Promos and reprints
The three Sun & Moon promos, then the two Classic Collection reprints.
How much are Shining Pokémon cards worth?
The Neo Shining cards are the expensive ones. In late September 2026, the Cardmarket prices Pooka tracks put Shining Charizard at about €1,500, Shining Gyarados and Shining Mewtwo at about €1,100 and Shining Tyranitar at about €1,050. Shining Steelix is the cheapest of the ten, at about €150. Both Neo sets also came in 1st Edition, and those copies sell for more.
The 2017 cards cost far less. Shining Mew is the most expensive at about €260 and Shining Rayquaza about €210. The other four sell for under €100.
Shining Pokémon vs other shiny Pokémon cards
Shining Pokémon were only the first of several shiny card types. Gold Star Pokémon, marked with a ☆, followed from 2004 to 2007. The Shiny Vault in Hidden Fates (2019) and Shining Fates (2021) printed dozens of shiny Pokémon, even though Shining Fates has no Shining Pokémon in it. Radiant Pokémon came in 2022, and Paldean Fates brought Shiny Rares in January 2024.
So when someone says shiny Pokémon cards, they may mean any of these. Only the 19 cards above have Shining in their name.
