So I’m trying to acquire the rest of the additional cards from the fossil set (listed here: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Fossil_(TCG))) and there are a few that are down as “Thunderstorm Giftbox Exclusive”. Now there’s no pictures of the cards, but it references 1999-2000, so I assumed that any of those cards with 1999-2000 will suffice.
Now, I’ve just realised that 1999-2000 also refers to the Fossil 3rd print which contains way more than the cards listed. My question is, is there actually any difference in the Thunderstorm Gift Box versions? Would it just be the same as acquiring those cards with 1999-2000 on the date stamp? Golduck is the only one I haven’t managed to get hold of yet.
The cards that are dated 1999-2000 are no different from the Thunderstorm gift box or a red logo pack. In my experience the cards in the gift box are much easier to find since they were in the gift box.
Side by side the comparisons I have from the thunderstorm box and the red logo packs the cardstock does seem different but I don’t have them on me currently, they’re both at PSA. The raichu was also noticeably lighter from the box and darker from the pack.
The red logo packs are more glossy, and have slightly different card stock used. The best comparison I have is the cd shadowless Pikachu compared to a regular shadowless Pikachu. Not a huge difference, but there’s still a difference.
It’s similar with the regular vs Australian Red Logo Jungle cards. I have both Pikachus, and especially on the back you can see the difference in card stock. The Red Logo pack has a semi-glossy back. Not nearly as much as Japanese Glossy promos, and also slightly less as most of the Glossy errors from the Sun & Moon era (i.e. the Glossy errors from the Unbroken Bonds Commons), but you can see the difference.
Here a picture of both my Jungle Pikachus, where on the Red Logo version (on the left) you can see the individual LEDs of my flashlight in the reflection, whereas with the regular version (on the right) the reflection is just a vague spot:
PS: The difference between the Shadowless Yellow Cheeks Base Pikachus is the thickness of the paper, instead of the material. One is made on Japanese printing paper, which is ever so slightly thinner than the English printing paper. If you shine on both of them with a flashlight, the reflection is probably fairly comparable, but it would let more light go through on the Japanese version from the CD Promo set.
