A History of Pokemon TCG Holos + Foils

[@ProfDragonite]

Let's be honest; when it comes to TCGs, we're all magpies at heart.

[@TheJWittz]

SHINY GOOD

[@GreatlordShadox]

I'm actually both really fond of foils, but also really attached to non-foils. In Yu-Gi-Oh! for example, Commons in the past few years have just been so crisp that I absolutely adore them, while Ultra and Secret Rares look better than ever too.

[@dier440]

I think primarily playing MtG makes me a lot less fond of foils then players of other tcgs.

[@hilariousskullnamedcatzo647]

*"CAWWW CAWWW, I COLLECT SHINY CARDS, CAWWW CAWWW"* - 4 year old me, after getting my first pokemon card, which happened to be a Holo torchic

[@justinarney3050]

Honestly I never really got into playing the Pokemon card game but their art made them really awesome to collect

[@oliverhees4076]

every kid tbh

[@MrOfflineAlways]

Same bro

[@aurafox1]

What made pokemon cards so cool was that the art made the pokemon look so much more alive than any other medium at the time. Even in the anime only select pokemon truly felt like characters. The rest were just accessories to the world at best and objects, weapons, and plot devices at worst. The pokemon cards really captured just how each pokemon lived. Where exactly you would find it and what types of shenanigans it would be up to. I haven't really followed the card game recently, but all the cards that are advertised everywhere don't really seem to do that anymore. They're all just extremely zoomed in on the pokemon with a whole bunch of special effects surrounding them to make them look cool and powerful I guess. But I love the old theming that was used to really capture the individuality of each pokemon.

[@yiangaruga4928]

I'd love to just collect them but honestly pokemon cards are beyond overpriced...

[@AkumaKristian]

@@yiangaruga4928 I feel that. I've gone through collecting phases and I have a few binders about (mainly end of B&W start of X&Y era) but I already have expensive enough hobbies and I don't have the money to burn anymore.

[@scoops5649]

"You'll understand why I said lowercase 'ex' in a couple of years." And here it dawned on me that there will be younger Pokemon fans now who may not know what an "EX" card is due to them being some years old. Those still feel new to me.

[@DerVasto]

Well, EX was kinda quickly replaced by GX, and then the train only got faster from there on.

[@hero4life313]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2mXfaaira11Zs0

[@whatssofunny9506]

Remember level X? Those were LEGENDARY when i was in elementary school

[@thelastronin7990]

What's So Funny?! I remember at kinder when EX first came out I was like hey guys check out my LEVEL X! They didn’t want it.

[@prasadnagap2592]

I own 174 ex cards

[@donutboi6187]

When you realize that Jwitzz is typing on literally nothing

[@TheRealR3mix]

Strawberry Boi yup

[@TheJWittz]

haha I'm just idly drumming my fingers on the desk

[@ethanhartman5908]

HOW HAVE I NEVER NOTICED THAT?!?! NOW I CAN'T UNSEE IT!

[@TrueGinjaNinjaGamer]

I actually thought he used to have a keyboard there!

[@bobbygilbert2706]

Mandela effect smh

[@nrnrn999]

Alternate Title: JWittz finds an excuse to show off all his pretty cards.

[@arm2109]

I'd venture a guess that the majority of the featured cards were probably Renae's

[@rsarin18]

"You'll understand why I said lowercase 'ex' in a couple of years." *A few years later in 2023* Me: Oh now I get it

[@therealpain6930]

rsarin18 I don’t understand can u explain to me?

[@rsarin18]

@@therealpain6930 If you take it literally it sounds like we have to physically wait until we will understand. But he really just means we have to wait a few years in the context of the video to understand.

[@diablo55]

lmaoooo made my day that’s what i was thinking 😭😭

[@Whiteythereaper]

Huh, interesting note that the shattered Ice pattern is also on the Emerald Cartridge and is one of the best indicators to identify a legitimate cartridge

[@thewanderingmistnull2451]

Ah, now i know how to fake them better. Thanks!

[@corazonfeathers8116]

I hate young me, why did I take off my Emerald sticker on my cartridge T0T

[@Whiteythereaper]

@@thewanderingmistnull2451 still need to get the exact pattern

[@alexjames2685]

Can you imagine little kids at school telling their friends they “lost their v card”😔

[@autobotrock4789]

Now imagine a teacher breaking up a fight between two kids and one of them exclaims "Jeffrey took my V card!"

[@dylenrivera3743]

@@autobotrock4789 They took away my V card 💀 😂💀

[@dier440]

Now imagine a kid telling their teacher that their dad took away their v card.

[@haruhisuzumiya6650]

@@dier440 😂😂😂

[@Rex-golf_player810]

Not only that but they yell it in anxiety and fear

[@amirgarcia547]

“I’ve played pretty much every TCG under the sun...and moon.” Goddamit, not even 10 seconds in and JWittz already gives a pun.😹

[@AtChiaPet]

Holo foil patterns just makes your card *shine* with even more power!

[@Guru_1092]

Same energy as"the flames make it go faster"

[@michaelgrey1503]

@@Guru_1092 there's actually a competitive reason to have cards of certain foilings. If you have multiples of a card (which, of course you do) it's best to have each multiple of that card to be the same foiling, edition, pack, etc. so your opponent can't know how many you use over the course of a match unless you use all copies in one game.

[@TsukiCondor]

And bragging rights on the playground

[@KristinRingstad]

As a kid getting a holo foil card was magical! It was nice to relive some of that excitement in your video!

[@weasle2992]

I didn't know I needed this glorious info dump in my life till today

[@UltimatePhantasm]

What you call scratches are actually more like battle scars how's that for a badass take, hmm?

[@solarixstar]

just like a scratched up GBA; it ain't hurt it's LOVED

[@ZekromZeke]

That's what I call all my scratches on my blue XY 3DS. I used it for all my 3DS VGC tournaments from 2013-2019

[@Buttington_Headerson]

I miss my 3DS... lost it in a parking lot... had 100s of games 😑

[@RandoRules]

Everything I own is “loved”

[@darkenix]

I'm collecting pokémon cards from 2005 to 2010 and here i go getting mind blowned by how gorgeous the holo cards now. The full art is a must collect

[@xeuzak]

19:44 HOLY CRAP those seem OP!! I can't believe how intense those 'GX' moves are. 🤯

[@drdwkelley]

2:40 and easily one of the best artworks they've ever done. Mewtwo still in the test tube? that's sick, ill take 50.

[@Sykdude]

Over in the MtG world, our biggest concerns with foils is if they're going to curl before you've opened the booster.

[@DualSwordBesken]

Magic foils are best foils. I love my cards doubling as half pipes for Deck Tech skateboards. Gives that real 90s nostalgia.

[@IceSpoon]

Not gonna lie, you made me "awwww..." when that Holo Vaporeon came out at the beginning. It has been a long time.

[@diablo55]

growing up with Gen 4, Lv. X’s will always be my favorite. i love how the art actually comes out of the box

[@PurpleRayquaza]

Really love this video. Old TCG holos are my absolute fav, but I was too young at the time to get many. This video really showed me the sheer variety of holos, and hooked me from start to finish

[@dmansuperich2800]

6:28 for a second I thought Charizard's wing was his neck lmao

[@WorldBeans]

Same

[@freezer.network9307]

I remember Ancient Mew cards being littered all over the seats at the movies, along with the side walks, food area, bathrooms, etc. So that is $20 bills at minimum I should have been scooping up! I remember I did pick up around 10 as a 10 year old, but I think people thought they looked more like some weird cheap sticker, not a real pokemon card.

[@OjaKing13]

take a drink every time he says "finally"

[@aBatwoman]

But um

[@SureyD]

"Squadron goals" was the best bit of the video! Thanks for the Pokémon TCG holo tour! It was fun.

[@qyuarkrien]

This is great! I've been wondering about the types of holo/foil cards lately, but I'm much more of a casual collector now and never had enough cards to really study them. Thanks for sharing! Also, I've really been enjoying the new entrance music! It's so cool and catchy! :D

[@alecmcleod3306]

Seeing JWittz return to talking about card games is so refreshing, as a long time fan of the channel it feels so much like a callback, but with higher production, more confident delivery, and tons of experience and I love it

[@NyaNyaNinichan]

5:28 - THANK YOU! I was searching for hours because I wanted to find out if the cards I have are fake or original. As I couldn't find pictures of those "holo reverse" but kinda "full holo without the Pokémon", I was really wondering if what I got was either super rare or super fake. You saved the rest of my evening with just that little side note on the counterfeit sticker part - thank you! ^^

[@michaelgrey1503]

Power leveling Enchanting right now, and your dulcid tones really relieve the boredom.

[@GeneralNickles]

Enchanting in Skyrim?

[@AlienInvasionDefenceSystem]

I don’t even play TCG. But I love you and your videos. Been a fan since 2012. Happy 10 year friendship!

[@SweetMarsh23]

Man this was a huge nostalgia trip, especially those horizontal stripe holos from black and white, that’s when I first got into the TCG and I thought they were super cool at the time. And the gold secret rare energies remind me of when I was actually playing in tournaments, I had the psychic one for my trevanent break deck and was super proud of it cause my buddies at the card shop always said how cool it was

[@chinesemassproduction]

I love how you pointed out some of the finer details on these cards. A lot of that subtlety can get lost in all the gleaming.

[@LucaPariah]

I stopped playing/collecting about three years ago. This was a nice trip through one of my favorite parts of the game, the beautiful art.

[@zzstrife4925]

Jwittz I’ve been watching since I was 13, this video got me back into card collecting with my sister, and our binders have never been cooler. Thanks for inspiring us to get back into a hobby we loved so much when we were younger!

[@flyingtypetrainer4072]

Such an awesome showcase of the cards, I was looking for something like this and didn't find much on the web, someone actually linked this vid as a resource. Thanks for the hard work!

[@warweeny5127]

Man, i could stare at those holo pokemon cards for hours, being mesmerized by their colours and patterns

[@Lightmagician60]

Jwitts: "I've played pretty much every tcg under the sun" Me: tama battle?

[@armandomonreal7460]

I think this has been the best original video you have done in awhile. Been awhile since I watched one of your videos. Dont worry you've had my subscription since the gold midas touch days

[@lebonzorjames9499]

Those iconic trainer and Pokémon full arts, especially seeing Dawn and Piplup, gave me the urge to buy some of them in the future and call it a day.

[@beunjoris]

YES! I really needed something like this right now

[@Volt790]

Seeing that Fullbody Zekrom was such a blast, I got it back from a small stint in collecting cards & it remains one of my pride & joys.

[@mechashadow]

Just wanted to say I enjoyed your Cover on Natewantstobattle’s album. It’s also cool how they carried the foil patterns into Pokémon Sword and Shield game

[@directed4703]

Slight corrections 7:24 This reverse holo pattern was used in EX Hidden Legends and EX FireRed & LeafGreen. Pokemon would also have their type in holo over the text, and cards that were normally holo anyway would also have a foil rarity symbol 8:12 This seems to apply to any rare card, not just rare holos. I have a reverse Hitmonchan from EX Unseen Forces that is normally a Rare, not a Holo Rare, and its name, HP, & rarity symbol are all in gold holo anyway

[@sisteaglass651]

Just got done listening to glitchxcity logo while I was working on college and now it's in this background of this I love it

[@BowNow]

A subtle little holographic pattern that was missed here is the Sheen holo used for EX Pokemon in Battle Decks (and similar equivalents). They're hard to distinguish from the regular EX cards you'd pull from a pack. The former has a "sheen" reflection that goes across the whole card at an angle, the latter has a vertical reflection that only shines across some of the image and effects, but not the actual card text area.

[@loxeggcheese]

That entei card has always held a special place in my heart, it feels intimate and special. Probably my favorite holo

[@pokeexplorer3644]

Great job putting all that togeter. It was really interesting. The pokeball energy card was a surprise. That was an awesome card I'd never seen before.

[@rab123456flu]

This video felt pretty nostalgic for me, I used to collect Pokemon cards and it was nice to see some cards that I still have.

[@CyanYoh]

This was a nice little hit of nostalgia. I haven't collected cards for a long time now, but seeing some of the foils I remember having as a kid was a nice throwback. Glad there are people like you preserving history.

[@vanesslifeygo]

Ah all these different foil patterns is why Yugioh came up with random rarities like Mosaic Rare or Starfoil Rare. Had yugioh just kept to what they were doing, they'd be fine.

[@windixie3812]

Watching Videos like this really take me on a nostalgia trips and make me really miss playing Pokémon cards with friends. It’s rough knowing about some really cool cards that I missed out on when taking brakes from the TCG

[@poppinoffthewalls4242]

Absolutely loved this video....Thank you for the hard work and dedication....and the trip down memory lane

[@pluna3382]

Man, you weren't kidding about those scratches. Jungle and base set cards literally hurt my soul lol. I'm someone who started collecting carefully with card sleeves and such as a kid. Otherwise, a very informative and entertaining video!

[@GigaMan91]

I have that first Shining Celebi card! This video is classic JWittz, and I love it.

[@Choom89]

GENIUS IDEA for a video, I've always wished MTG could get halfway as good at foiling as Pokemon. Even as far back as series one their foils were next to none, beautiful.

[@craniifer]

Agreed. I fell out of mtg and went more into Pokemon for that reason. I loved the coins and figurines.

[@Faraday.K]

Shout out to ghost rares in Yu Gi Oh. Vanguard also has some really nice foiling in their fancier prints. The SP pack foils in the upcoming Next Stage booster are some of the cleanest foils I've ever seen in a TCG. Dragon Ball Super seems to go pretty insane on most of its cards, but I've only ever really seen the fancy ones from a distance.

[@BraxtonSharkboy]

Superb video Jwittz! That was a trip down memory lane

[@youretheslow4237]

My favorite holos are the ones that have the galaxy-style patterns. I especially liked them on reverse holos in later EX series cards that makes the card name gold.

[@Hunter-nh3yy]

Anything 2006 and before is where it’s at. These foils now a days are no better than aluminum foil imo. Wish they’d bring back the OG holo Patterns. Idk why they won’t. Is it more expensive or something?

[@jalomount]

You know this video is getting old when he says rebel clash is new

[@skinnymatt64]

That mewtwo at 20:20 is fire. I havent collected pokemon cards in almost 20 years to switch over to yugioh cause I got godlike pulls as a kid compared to my lackluster pokemon pulls , but ima gonna have to get one of those cards just for how awesome it looks

[@therealdarkmaster]

Watching this sparked some solid nostalgia, and made me wish I had continued collecting Pokemon cards just so I could continue to see all these different holo types and whatnot. So cool!

[@frontierbrainplatinum1251]

I still remember my first holo card it was a holo Typhlosion

[@abrahamdrinkin2534]

Frontier Brain Platinum mine was base set Hitmonchan. There was a parade in my small town and this person was selling cards. Pokémon was new and getting huge. My brother got Haunter

[@Chaos89P]

Mine was either Clefable or Blastoise, or perhaps Wigglytuff. I can't remember which.

[@JamesJohnson-sl6zc]

Mine was Jungle Set Electrode

[@MrsKirk2203]

Mine too!!

[@jimmythegamer2231]

I joined the TCG later, so my first holo was a promo Keldeo EX from the BW era back when the DS games were still new.

[@pikahunasatoshi1220]

Never knew the cards came w this much patterns. You hav massive collections & I'm happy you shared it w us. Stunning!

[@JediTempleToys]

Am I the only one that re-Watches JWitz Pokémon videos on a somewhat regular basis?

[@piazzah1]

No, same here :D

[@voidvisual]

I appreciate deep dive content like this even if it doesn't do the best in terms of views. Pokemon has perfected the art (is that a pun?) of making their cards look the best and making us all feel like kids just by looking at them.

[@WarmLillie]

I can’t lie in the past I love to get a holo + foil card. Hmm... Maybe after quarantine I’m thinking of buy a pack to try and test my luck to get a good foil card.

[@heylookitscesco8698]

This was an awesome video! Love the effort you put in to cataloguing everything chronologically. You also just have an impressive collection in general, lol

[@elijahpadilla5083]

That "shattered ice" pattern also exists in the Yu-Gi-Oh! TCG, exclusively in the Duel Terminal, and are called Shatterfoil. Also, that Viridian Forest is the single prettiest card I've ever seen. Never played the Pokémon TCG, but I'm obsessed with how absolutely gorgeous it is.

[@payrysdoscs4903]

13:45 That Snivy is the first piece of Pokemon anything that I ever owned back in 2011

[@RazeAndSew]

16:48 the lettering beside Charizard is also different. The left one has letters in orange and yellow, the right one is only yellow

[@menkomonty]

Watching Jwittz talk about Pokemon cards while I'm busy sorting my Pokemon cards must be a good combo.

[@kaizoaudio1798]

These are gorgeous. I could look at them for a day straight.

[@TheStylishSpy]

Huge Black and White fan, that Koffing card with Roxie in the background looks so sick.

[@dlmoore08]

The JWittz keeps finding new ways to make excellent videos on KZbin!

[@nateweinand4209]

This was really cool! The art on all of the cards was gorgeous! 9:36 I’d love to hear more about these Holon cards! Is that supposed to a TCG exclusive region, like Orange Islands is anime exclusive? And it was kind of like Alola with the different forms with different types.

[@camerongrow6426]

I recently got back into the card game through the online version. I forgot how awesome the artwork looks for those holographic cards and now I want the real thing

[@nintendonerdfreak9266]

OMG!! Such a great video, JWittz! I normally just collect Pokemon cards, but I always LOVE seeing the artwork of cards and the foils, and seeing this video really Amazed me! I wish I existed when the first Pokemon cards officially came out.. But, really nostalgia video, though. ^ ^ My favorite foil card will be my almost rainbow background Quagsire card. I think I got it in a Early Unova card bin.

[@adamsim3716]

"I've played pretty much every TCG under the sun" Ever played Singapore's National Library Board's Quest TCG?

[@AveryLiburd]

or South Korea's "Sinbi Apartment TCG"

[@CreedATM]

The Gold Treatment given to the Tapu's and Ultra Nekrozma was actually given to a few more pokemon. The Solgaleo and Lunala that comes with the Hidden Fates Rayquaza box was also given that nice gold bling ontop of colored outlines. In SwSh they also gave Zacian and Zamazenta the gold treatment similar to the Shiny Frostmoth in Rebels. Honestly, its nice. Makes pulling one just fantastic

[@Krazykarlton]

Always awesome seeing you go back to your roots with the cards

[@cubialpha]

god, pokemon cards are just such a joy to look at. i loved opening up a pack and getting a pretty holo card, even though i barely played the game.

[@Paranoiasoul]

Simply thanks ... I was lookin for hours to find anything related to different holopraphic cards and could only find people explain raritys, but not only did you have a comprehensive and chronological list - you went above and beyound in explaining the details and specialitys in each Case. Let's see what Gen 9 will have in store for the TCG and I hope you can update the List if something special comes along.

[@sabes44]

Jwittz and the Pokémon TCG. Some things just feel right together

[@Wellllllllalalala]

Team Wittz Grunt here. Love your videos boss. I just got back into the poke tcg since last playing it when it first came out in prinary school! Noe I'm playing with my son who is now the age I was then. Pokemon is truly timeless.

[@estebansanrod]

Lovely video dude!! Eight years ago you got me back into the video games and this videos are about to do the same for the cards.

[@ertyrtyui469]

22:47 You say about the Rainbow cards from Sword & Shield "Rainbow Secret Rares returned [from] Sun & Moon" But, unless I'm mistaken, you didn't talk prior to this about the S&M Rainbow Rares! There's somethign missing here

[@Draknir1894]

The original Shining Celebi holds a special place for me because I heard about it just as soon as Neo Destiny came out and thought "Wow, I really want that!" The very first pack of Neo Destiny I got had a Shining Celebi in it. I might still know where that card is too.

[@solarixstar]

even as a casual card game guy I gotta say; those were pretty flippin' awesome!

[@phoebe5114]

I love the recent alternation between JokeWittz, ChillWittz, and RageWittz. All very fun to see from time to time. :) Awesome video and such beautiful art.

[@zgamer200]

The Promo Pattern: 2006 League Energy really stands out for me. A little basic by foil standards, but they're just so clean and well done.

[@sirondium]

The 2002 reverse pattern foils are so over the top and glitzy I can't help but love them.

[@jaycalibre609]

Just bought the tcg video game now enjoying your walkthrough all over again

[@blazingarrow2765]

When Jwitzz said you'll understand why I'm saying lowercase ex in a couple of years I thought he was a traveler.

[@tigerwarrior1787]

I'M SMELLING HIGH AMOUNTS OF COPPER!!

[@Serjo777]

@@tigerwarrior1787 Wat?

[@tigerwarrior1787]

@@Serjo777 Dr. Who reference.

[@MariaUnicorn294]

This video is a total double-hitter for me. I love his history videos & trading card videos.

[@Anthintendo]

16:46 - Actually, looks like the attack text in the card art is a different color. The original has a red to orange gradient that goes top down, while the gold rare has gold-colored characters.

[@Shortyginger]

I'm glad I'm not the only one that organized my foils by all the cool patterns.

[@spookyruinsfest4936]

I actually always thought the wavyness in the sun and moon holos was to kind of give an ultra wormhole like illusion.

[@cffire1450]

This was great I've always liked the different holos and seeing them here was a massive nostalgia trip, my favourites definitely have to be the reverse cards from the ex series mainly unseen forces (the pokeballs are so cool) and the original star pattern the way it looks 3D is still captivating today

[@Glory2Snowstar]

Remember your holographic Ditto costume? That’s my favorite holo from this entire series.

[@cloudy7971]

you are one of those channels where i go to click the subscribe button and then realise i forgot that i had already subscribed. I love your videos so much.

[@WarmLillie]

I really want a Lillie and Marnie foil cards really badly...

[@DerVasto]

@Straw Berry But probably not in OP's possession, that's the point.

[@turkeysgotmorecloutthanyou]

eBay and Amazon