Pokemon TCG · Special Illustration Rare
Pokemon Special Illustration Rare (SAR / SIR) Cards
The Special Illustration Rare — called SAR (Special Art Rare) on Japanese cards and SIR in English — is the headline full-art chase of the Scarlet & Violet era. This guide indexes every Japanese SAR we track, grouped by set.
SAR vs SIR: same card, two names
On Japanese Pokemon cards the top full-art rarity is stamped SAR (Special Art Rare); the English release of the same card is labelled SIR (Special Illustration Rare). They are the same tier — a character-focused, full-bleed illustration that extends art across the entire card, pulled at roughly 1:200 or worse from Japanese boosters.
SARs of Charizard, Pikachu, Mew and the popular Eeveelutions (Umbreon, Sylveon) are the blue-chip cards of the modern era and drive most of the market’s liquidity. Because the illustration runs to the card edge, centering and edge-whitening are the make-or-break factors for a PSA 10 — always compare the raw price against the graded comp. Every SAR below links to its card page with the illustrator credited where known.
