Ever since finding an unlimited expedition e1 zard ive beocme fascinated by how obscure some cards and sets can be.
What do people on here know about obscure set and cards we can all keep our eyes peeled for and maybe find one, one day 
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E1 Unlimited has been pretty well documented, but here are a couple things that immediately come to mind when I hear “obscure”
• 025/BW-P through 031/BW-P Promos that were never officially handed out due to the 2011 earthquake
• Prototype Gen 1 Birds that we got more info about thanks to Akabane a couple years ago
• PTFG Groundbreakers “unreleased” cards that are floating around
• L2, L3, and WCP Unlimited print runs, albeit a very large number have popped up in the last 5 years after not knowing much about them prior
• DPt-P Promo versions of Darkrai and Cresselia that PFM was lucky enough to snag
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random thank you for being one of the most helpful information sharers of the site btw. I keep coming across your posts and threads with neat and highly detailed posts.
Anyhow, I do love also learning about weird obscure cards. Let me know what you think. I see them fall into 5 main categories.
- different language sets that were less popular and thus stopped due to lack of sales at various times in pokemon cards. Korean and Russian for example, the bane of species collectors.
- promos given out very sparingly due to their extreme niche. Usually due to method of handing out being in person events like tournaments or conventions. Sometimes even single day events!(chinese pokepark cards come to mind).
- cards that were never meant to be in circulation. Prototypes and test prints. The gen 1 birds you shared are a good example.
- Unique error cards. So nothing like “crimp” or offcenter cut cards. But things like the diglett with the sideways fighting energy symbol on some base set cards.
- Differences in 1st edition and unlimited print runs. Ironically often it seems unlimited runs of many sets in different languages are more rare, sometimes exceedingly more rare.
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Thanks for the kind words < 3
I actually think those are great categories for those of us who enjoy even more delineation of rarity in an already complicated TCG to collect 
You’ve actually reminded me about the 1st Edition print of the Feraligatr ex Epic Collection decks that were mostly lost in a warehouse fire; another one to add for OP to browse at their leisure. You’re definitely right in that with Japanese sets the overwhelming majority of very rare print runs seem to be the Unlimited ( obviously with a few exceptions!)
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oh yeah I think I was reading about the feraligatr thing not that long ago! I mean these are freak events, and they just didn’t print anymore afterwards. I’d like one just because of the story behind it.
But it doesn’t have to be massively underprinted, someone told me the other day that even english neo genesis is supposedly less common than 1st edition. I had no idea! By how much I don’t know. But neat info that you wouldn’t expect.
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Korean is a really interesting one actually- their sets were very sporadic at one time, but modern Korean is gaining popularity nowadays and has similar print runs to other languages. Vintage Korean is a pain to get ahold of, but modern isn’t too bad, since their sets are now synced with Japanese.
As for languages like Russian and Polish, there just wasn’t enough demand for them at the time, as English was more popular, leading to those languages getting cut.
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i should have calified, older korean. modern yes is quite stable. I have a near masterset(minus masterballs) for korean 151. I think I opened 50 or more boxes of it. 
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As an eeveelution collector i can say without a shadow of a doubt that the rarest english eeveelution card released is the 2012 euro championships staff vaporeon card.
There was rumoured to be under 500 printed worldwide. Ive only seen a handful pop ip over the last 5 years.
Thankfully the niche nature of the card keeps the price at a manageable level however
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There is also a handful of L1 cards in unlimited. Particularly the 3 Johto starters which have the most mystery surrounding the set. The other cards from L1 unlimited are however known since they were released as promos.
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The seven staff prerelease sets that got released after the fact and were European exclusives. Battle styles through Lost Origin Staff cards are pretty obscure in my opinion. Only ever found a few from the sets.
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Another good candidate would be the unreleased HeartGold / SoulSilver era promos that only started to pop up beginning in 2023.
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Very interesting thread. And great categories.
I think some cards can even fall in more then one category at once.
For example the simplified Chinese Lugia V with the Shen Zhen Master Ball stamp. It was limited to 2000 copies. And these were only given out at the Shen Zhen Masters and a pop up store in Shen Zhen.
I think not many ppl talk about these simplified Chinese promos. But there are actually quite a few. This Lugia V is just one example.
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What you need is this:
Happy hunting!
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Sample cards if you’re into e-reader.
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NonJapanese VS set cards would be pretty obscure.
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Could you show an example please bud?
Appreciate that info and detail buddy! Thankyou!! I have recently acquired the unlimited zard and just been sent off to psa. Very murky the origin on that one!! 
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You can find information on them here
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i’ll chime in. Some of the cards were up for auction on fanatic collects a few weeks back. The ones with the punched holes. The pichu and the hoppip with english front, japanese backs were also up for sale, which i guess I can confirm I bought. Keeping vaulted for now.
Here is a very similar thread regarding individual cards:
Regarding obscure sets, a lot of them have already been named by others. 
Greetz,
Quuador
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