POP Series distribution, pull rates, and rarity

General Question
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Hello everyone!

For several months now I’ve been interested in POP Series sets, especially 1-5, and I would like to get all the cards from those 5 expansions, some in different languages (although I probably won’t bother getting those two cards fron POP5, iykyk :melting_face:).

I’ve been looking for information about these sets for a while, but besides general facts and trivia, I haven’t found the things I wanted to know, so I’ve decided to ask in what I consider to be the greatest source of information on Pokémon TCG to try to answer my questions.

● What was the distribution method for POP Series? I don’t mean whether they were given out through stores or as prizes in tournaments or events, I mean whether there was some kind of distribution case like the Play! Pokémon Prize Pack, where those booster packs came in a case that had 700 units. I read somewhere that there were cases (I think it was in PokeBeach or PokeGym), but it didn’t indicate the number of booster packs or provide any kind of image.

● What are the card pull rates? Are they the same in all sets? It is said that both, Gold Star and EX cards, have a ratio of 1:40. This would mean that Umbreon Gold Star and Espeon Gold Star from POP 5 would be just as rare as Deoxys EX from POP 4 or Armaldo EX and Tyranitar EX from POP 1.

● Which would be rarer? Gold Star and EX cards from POP Series, considering that the print run was significantly lower than that of a main set? Or Gold Star and EX cards that came from boosters from sets such as EX Holon Phantoms, knowing that the pull rate was even lower?

● Some POP Series cards also had holographic versions, usually included in blister packs, such as the EX Legend Maker blisters, which came with a foil version of Blaziken or Metagross from POP 1, or the Walmart Bonus Box, which included a holographic version of Celebi EX from POP 2. Which version would be rarer, the one that came out from the packs and is not foil, or the one that came as a promo in the blister packs and is holographic?

● Looking on the Internet I have seen that French people consider these sets (POP Series) to be among the least printed in their language, and some cards, for example Ho-Oh EX from POP 3, to be among the rarest cards in French. Does anyone know why and if this information is true?

Thank you very much for your help.

Dynamitar.

6 Likes
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The holo versions are much more common than the non holo, especially for the rares. Took me forever to find a non holo blaziken from POP 1, and the combusken from POP 4 was a small headache (but much more managable than the blaziken). Thankfully, there seems to be no real premium for non holo over holo.

Early French POP series are really hard to come across. I still haven’t been able to find a French blaziken POP 1 in decent condition for a remotely reasonable price. I would also tack on Italian POP 4 onto the list of very, very hard to find POP series…I’ve never seen a sceptile for sale in the year I’ve been looking. To a lesser degree, Spanish POP 3 has been difficult to find, but cards appear if you offer enough money.

Don’t know if any of this was helpful but good luck with your collection!

3 Likes
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Thank you for your reply, I really appreciate it!

Yeah, I thought the same about the non holo ones, thanks for confirming that info.

Regarding French POP cards (and the other European languages), seems reasonable that production was much lower compared to the English print run, given they were “prize collections”.

May I ask you which POP 3 cards were you looking for in Spanish? I have a thing for Arita arts, and Ho-Oh EX (POP 3) is one of the cards I would like to own in different languages, so I have been following it for some time on eBay, Cardmarket and Vinted. While Italian, Portuguese and German versions are fairly easy to find, French one is not as common as the others and is also more expensive, but you can find two or three of them on the market. However, I haven’t been able to find the Spanish version of the card for sals during all these months.

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Personally was looking for combusken and marshtomp from Spanish pop 3…which admittedly aren’t rares. I took a look around the internet and I also couldn’t find the Ho-oh. I’m not tuned into the local Spanish scene but I know WhatsApp groups to sell/trade exist, perhaps you’d find more luck there?

I’ll keep an eye out for you in my own searching as well. Let me know if you see a good condition POP 1 French Blaziken under 500 euros and a good condition POP 4 Italian Sceptile haha

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I’ve always been looking for the holo POP series cards in PSA 10, but they are so hard to find since their pops are so low..

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I was also looking for the blister which gave that holo promo pop chimchar, but I don’t find any picture of the blister (which would be Starter Blisters (May 2008) / Diamond & Pearl Collection (August 2008) if Pokumon is right ) :

EN_14HolofoilPOP-Series-6.jpg
EN_14HolofoilPOP-Series-6.jpg488×685 51.3 KB

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This one?

Also in this one