When Did Full Art Pokémon Cards Start: A Dated Timeline from SR to FUR

Updated November 9, 2026

When did full art Pokémon cards start? The earliest official release in our sources that names featured SR cards is the Japanese Sword and Shield expansion packs, released December 6, 2019 (official page). Later official pages list CSR, CHR, AR, SAR and, in 2026, the FUR rarity. This guide dates each step.

Looking for sealed Japanese product while you read? These are different sets available now: the Unsealed 30th Celebration MEGA Booster Box (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) and the 30th Celebration Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon (Damaged Box).

When did full art Pokémon cards start?

The dated starting point in our official sources is December 6, 2019, the release of the Sword and Shield expansion packs. The timeline here begins with that page, not with the first full art card ever printed, because no official page used here names a first one; the dates below are the ones the official pages state.

From there, the official pages show a clear sequence of rarity labels. Each release below is a Japanese-edition product, and each label is quoted as the official page uses it: a featured SR pair in 2019, named character rarities in 2021, the AR and SAR pair in 2023, and a brand-new rarity in 2026.

What does “full art” mean when you read a Japanese release page?

So the practical way to answer the question is to follow those labels from release to release.

That is why this article tracks labels and not a single “first card”. The official pages in our sources describe the rarities by name and show example cards, and they tell you which pack each label belongs to, how many cards a pack holds and what price the pack carried at launch. They do not call any one label the first. Use the dates as a record of when each label appears on an official page.

One more point of reading discipline: a rarity label tells you the tier of a card, not whether you will find one in a given pack. Where an official page in our sources mentions insertion, it says cards are random, and it spells out only a few guarantees: a foil basic Energy and a V, VMAX, V-UNION or SR card in VMAX Climax, and a basic Energy and a Pikachu card in each 30th Celebration pack. We do not quote odds because the pages do not give any.

What did the December 2019 Sword and Shield release show?

The official announcement names SR as the rarity of its two featured cards. It says each pack holds 5 cards at 165 yen (tax included), randomly inserted, and names Beat in “Sword” and Marnie in “Shield” as the featured cards, both SR (pokemon-card.com).

The release also came in two versions, Sword and Shield, each with its own featured SR card.

The pack price gives a sense of scale. At 165 yen per 5-card pack, this is the smallest per-pack price among the pack products in this timeline, and it is a standard expansion pack, not a High-Class Pack. The later products in our sources show 550 yen for High-Class Packs and 360 yen for the 30th Celebration expansion pack. These are launch prices on official pages, not current market values. For a view of how that era is valued today, see our guide to the most expensive Sword & Shield Pokémon cards.

What did VMAX Climax in 2021 list?

VMAX Climax, released December 3, 2021, lists two named character rarities: CSR (Character Super Rare) and CHR (Character Rare). The official page lists 11 cards per pack at 550 yen (tax included), random insertion, and one foil basic Energy always included (pokemon-card.com).

The banner states each pack guarantees a V, VMAX, V-UNION or SR card. The CSR list includes Pikachu VMAX, Red, Blaziken V with May, Zamazenta V with Hop, and Blissey V with the Pokémon Center staff member. The CHR list pairs a Pokémon with a trainer: for example Zekrom with N, Gardevoir with Doctor, Flaaffy with Elesa, Eevee with Bill, Dusknoir with Morty and Ariados with Janine.

The page also names new cards in the set: Morpeko V-UNION, Mimikyu VMAX and Dedenne. In short, the set mixed new Pokémon cards with trainer-and-Pokémon character art, and the rarity names told you which kind of card you had.

For collectors who follow a single Pokémon across eras, the CHR pairing with Zekrom is a good example of why character rarities matter. Our guide to the most expensive Zekrom Pokémon cards covers that Pokémon in the secondary market.

What is the difference between CSR and CHR?

CSR is Character Super Rare and CHR is Character Rare; both appear on the VMAX Climax page, and both tie a character to the card art. CSR entries in the official list include Pikachu VMAX and Red, while CHR entries include Zekrom with N.

The page does not give a card count for either label, and it does not rank them against each other beyond the names themselves. It is safe to say that the pairings are a feature: a Pokémon and a trainer share one card, and Red appears as a CSR in his own right.

When did AR and SAR cards appear?

The AR and SAR labels appear on the High-Class Pack Shiny Treasure ex page, released December 1, 2023, at 550 yen (tax included) with 10 cards per pack (pokemon-card.com). Its AR/SAR section lists Palafin, Pawmi, Charizard ex and Gardevoir ex, and the set includes shiny variants.

The same page names new cards including Iron Treads ex. Shiny Treasure ex is a High-Class Pack, the same pack type as VMAX Climax, so the product format is familiar while the rarity labels shown are AR and SAR instead of CSR and CHR.

A smaller item from the same era: the Starter Set ex, released January 20, 2023 at 1,800 yen (tax included), came in three versions and shipped with one random promo card out of four. The page shows Cyclizar ex as the promo (pokemon-card.com). The contents are a 60-card deck, a damage counters sheet, one Pokémon coin, one play mat, one promo card pack, a rulebook and a play guide. It is a promo, not an AR or SAR card, so it sits in the timeline only as a dated neighbor.

For the Scarlet & Violet era in the secondary market, read our Scarlet & Violet price guide.

How do the official release pages compare side by side?

Side by side, the pages show pack sizes from 5 cards to 11 cards and prices from 165 yen to 550 yen, then 360 yen for 30th Celebration. The table below lists only what each page states.

Two things stand out. First, High-Class Packs carry CSR, CHR, AR and SAR labels across 2021 to 2023 at the same 550 yen price. Second, the press release says the newest set contains only foil cards (press release).

How many years separate the dated releases?

The three main dated steps are about two years apart. December 6, 2019 to December 3, 2021 is two years, December 3, 2021 to December 1, 2023 is two years, and December 1, 2023 to September 16, 2026 is about two years and nine months.

The gaps come from simple subtraction of the dates on the official pages, so they say nothing about how often new rarities appear in general. They do show which product page each label appears on: SR on the 2019 expansion packs, CSR and CHR on a High-Class Pack, AR and SAR on another High-Class Pack, and FUR on an anniversary expansion. Two of the three December releases are High-Class Packs priced at 550 yen, which makes them easy to compare directly.

What is the newest full art style rarity, FUR?

The newest is the Futuristic rare (FUR), introduced with 30th Celebration on September 16, 2026. The Pokémon Company International describes it as a new rarity with new visuals by artist YOSHIROTTEN (press release).

The Japanese expansion pack costs 360 yen (tax included), and each pack holds 6 foil cards with 1 basic Energy guaranteed and 1 Pikachu card guaranteed. The set’s FUR cards are No. 135 Mew ex and No. 134 Mewtwo ex (official page). The 30 Pikachu foil cards come from 30 illustrators, one per pack. The release is a worldwide simultaneous launch on September 16, 2026, and the press release adds that the Pokémon TCG Live release is September 15, 2026.

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The same set also has 30th-anniversary special-design cards numbered 136 to 165, including Pikachu, Charizard, Misty, Erika’s Jigglypuff, Lugia, Gengar, N, Zacian V, Mew VMAX, Arceus VSTAR and Magikarp. Numbers 151 and 152 are Darkrai & Cresselia LEGEND. Cards that return in these special designs are not usable in the current Standard regulation, though the original cards remain usable where they are legal.

Mewtwo is one of the two FUR names, so readers following that Pokémon can compare eras in our guide to the most expensive Mewtwo Pokémon cards.

What does FUR look like on a Pikachu ex promo?

The FUTURISTIC BOX includes two FUR-style Pikachu ex promo cards, one of each of two variants. It released September 16, 2026 at 27,500 yen (tax included) and is sold only on Pokémon Center Online (official page).

Its artwork is by YOSHIROTTEN, who also made the FUR Mew ex and Mewtwo ex in the expansion. The box also holds 2 Pokémon Coins, 12 metal damage counter dice, metal poison and burn markers (one each), a 64-sleeve special deck shield set, a flip deck case, a special display frame, a special rubber playmat, a flip damage counter case and a flip playmat case. Our Futuristic Box guide goes through the contents.

What else is in the 30th Celebration product line?

The 30th Celebration line spans an expansion pack, a premium deck set, the Futuristic Box, card sets and collection items, with dates on September 16 and October 16, 2026. The official product page lists them with prices (product list).

The English-language press release lists a different set of tabletop products for the international release: an Elite Trainer Box with 9 booster packs, 1 illustration rare-style Nidorina promo and gameplay accessories (September 16, 2026); a Poster Collection with 3 booster packs, 3 promos (Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres) and a two-sided poster; a Tech Sticker Collection with 3 booster packs, 1 foil promo (Alolan Exeggutor or Lucario) and a sticker sheet; a Pokémon ex Box with 4 booster packs, 1 promo (Sylveon ex or Greninja ex) and an oversize card; and a Knock Out Collection with 2 booster packs, 1 foil Eevee promo and a commemorative coin. This article covers the Japanese edition, so those items are noted for readers who see them in English coverage.

If the Sylveon ex promo caught your eye, our guide to the most expensive Sylveon Pokémon cards covers that Pokémon, and the Umbreon guide pairs well with the Espeon & Umbreon deck set.

How should collectors use this timeline?

Use it as a map of labels and dates, then check the official page for each set before you buy anything. The label on a card tells you its tier, and the release page tells you the set, the pack size and the launch price.

• Match the label to the set. SR in 2019, CSR and CHR in 2021, AR and SAR in 2023, FUR in 2026.
• Check the edition. Every date and price here is for the Japanese edition. The English press release shows its own product lineup for 30th Celebration.
• Read the regulation note. The special-design reprints in 30th Celebration cannot be used in current Standard, though the original cards stay legal where they were legal.
• Separate promos from rarities. The Starter Set ex promo and the Futuristic Box Pikachu ex promos are promo cards sold with a product.
• Treat launch prices as launch prices. The yen amounts above are official release prices, not what a card is worth today.

For a look at an earlier generation through its listings, our most expensive XY Pokémon cards guide is the place to start.

Which related sets can you buy now while you wait?

Three different sets are available from us today: 30th Celebration, Mega Dream ex and Inferno X. They are related reading for rarity fans, not the subject of this timeline.

The damaged-box deck set is an unopened Japanese product with cosmetic damage to the outer packaging; photos are samples and it is sold as-is under our damaged-item terms. The Inferno X item is an AR card, so it ties back to the AR label in the timeline above.

Orders ship with FedEx and tracking. Standard shipping usually takes 3-7 business days after dispatch and expedited 2-5 business days; these are estimates, not guaranteed dates (shipping policy). Most orders are processed and shipped within 5 business days after PayPal or Wise payment has cleared. Payment is in Japanese yen via Wise, PayPal, or cards through PayPal, and Wise bank transfer is the only method without the 5% payment processing fee (payment methods).

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