Identifying Fake Pokémon Cards

Fake Letters vs True Letters

How to spot fake Pokémon cards?

Discover the quick and easy guide to tell Fake Pokemon Cards from Real Pokemon Cards. Many people enjoy collecting Pokemon cards. Unfortunately, there are people who try to sell fake cards to enthusiastic collectors. We teach you how not to get scammed.

  1. Look for the accent mark in the word “Pokémon.” If you see a card that doesn’t have this accent mark, it’s a clear sign that the card is fake. It’s unlikely to be a printing error.
  2. Look at the energy cost and weaknesses of two cards. In the case of counterfeiting, the symbol inside the circle takes up most of the symbol and is off-center. This often happens with counterfeit cards and is a clear indicator of counterfeiting.
  3. Note the gold border. Gold border cards do exist in Pokémon, they are limited to specific cards: holographic rares, δ delta, and secret gold cards. And this one isn't, so it's a fake. And also, you can see that the holographic effect of this card is not consistent with the holographic effects of other Pokémon cards.
  4. Notice the vast difference in color between the two cards. The original card is extremely bright and colorful, while the card on the right does not replicate this correctly. The color saturation is often different between the original and the fake card.
  1. Look at the front. Pokémon cards have a consistent font and counterfeits often fail at that, but in this particular case, the counterfeits are easily detected.
  2. Please note the text on the card. It refers to Zapdos and not Mewtwo and leaves the text incorrect.
  3. Pay attention to the Pokémon's description. Fake cards often fail to properly edit the text and sometimes have errors of this type.
  4. Look at the stage evolution. Hitmonchan is a basic Pokémon, on this card, it's a stage 1 Pokémon that evolves from Togepi. Counterfeits often take cards and replace the images without adjusting the presentation or text. You can easily see those inconsistencies when you take a closer look.
  5. It says it's a 2nd edition card, which is impossible. Pokémon has 1st to 2nd edition cards. edition and unlimited edition. There is no 2 to edition, is another inconsistency that is easy to detect.
  6. Note the extremely thick border of the card. Authentic cards may have a fault in the cut, leading to a slightly wider border, but it is never such a large gap on an original card.
  1. Note the font color. The card names are not in green and the life points are not in red. Make sure the font color is the same as in the originals.
  2. The artwork on this counterfeit is fake. Check that the artwork on your cards matches the artwork on the original card. This is a general recommendation. Comparing your cards to images of the original cards can help identify differences between counterfeits.
  3. Note the color saturation of the energy symbols. Fake cards often do not match the original cards in this detail.
  4. They used the Gym Leader card design for this. The Gym Leader's face normally goes in this spot, but in this case they've placed a random Pokemon.
  1. Look at the texture of the original GX card. Counterfeits are rarely able to mimic this texture, which makes it easier to tell when a GX card is fake. Keep in mind that sometimes you may have a GX card with a printing error that doesn't have this texture. In this case, the other methods below can help you identify whether the card is original or fake.
  2. Once again, look at the differences between the two sources. You can clearly see the difference between the two “Power Bind” skills.
  3. Look at the border of the two cards. The border on the original card is very thin. The margin of error for these cuts is very small on the original GX cards. On the fake card, you see a much thicker border, which is not present on an authentic card.
  1. Look at the energy symbol. On an original card, the center of the symbol is a consistent size and is correctly centered. On fake cards, this is usually not the case, as you have seen here.
  2. Counterfeits are printed on glossy card stock. Counterfeits often “feel” different when you touch the card. In the image, you can see the glare on the card, an effect resulting from the shine of the card.
  3. Note the difference in color and saturation. Comparing your cards will help you see how the fakes stand out.

Differentiating Fake Boxes from Real Ones

  1. The quality is different. The sealed counterfeit product compared to an authentic sealed product. On a counterfeit, you often see stretch marks or burn marks because the plastic is of lower quality and has less heat resistance. This is not the case with an authentic product, as the plastic is of better quality and therefore more resistant.
  2. Always check the text on a product. It is often a telltale sign that a product is fake.
    1. Look at the copyright. Here, the counterfeiter used the wrong year. These errors do not occur in an original product.
    2. The product description actively refers to a different product. This error does not occur in an original box.
  3. The product is not sealed properly. The Pokémon company seals the product in a specific way, and never with more than one seal on the side of the box.
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  1. The sealed product always has a watermark on the packaging. This is a pokeball with a Pokémon underneath with text. Some counterfeits will copy the watermark but often forget the copyright symbol next to the “N” in “Pokémon.”
  2. Order of envelopes. The envelopes in an original box are always arranged so that the back of one envelope is next to the front of the next envelope and not as they are here.
  3. Quality of materials. Once again, you can see the low quality of the plastic on these fakes. Bubbles form along with the heat sealing, which is not the case with official products.
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  1. This product does not exist. Check the name on the can or box when you decide to buy it.
  2. The word Nintendo on the box. Nintendo hasn't been involved with the Pokémon trading card game for years, so the name doesn't usually appear on the product.
  3. Ash Ketchum does not exist in the card game. So the artwork on this box is fake. There are very few Japanese promotional cards featuring Ash. However, any European or English product featuring Ash is a fake.
  4. Pokémon USA Inc. ceased to exist in 2009. Anything after 2009 with this name is a counterfeit (anything after the Diamond and Pearl series is from after 2009).
  5. Pokken images. The image on this box is not related to the trading card game, it is from the Pokkén video game. The official sealed product, of course, uses illustrations from the trading card game.
  6. Notice that there is a watermark . It does not have a copyright symbol.
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  1. Watermark. You can see the official watermark here, but it is not on the fake box.
  2. The background image is different on the two boxes. Pay attention to the symbols and make sure they match.
  3. Note the color saturation on the counterfeit. It is much lighter and the shadows are not present when compared to an original product.
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