Scarlet & Violet Cosmos Holofoil Variation

[Llyrwenne]

“The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be. Our feeblest contemplations of the Cosmos stir us - there is a tingling in the spine, a catch in the voice, a faint sensation, as if a distant memory, of falling from a height. We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries.”

- Carl Sagan

The recent release of Scarlet & Violet - 151 brought with it a set of Basic Energy cards featuring the widely beloved Cosmos Holofoil pattern. Its swirling galaxies, twinkling stars, and roaming planets inspire awe and wonder - and raise questions about the very nature of the universe itself. Fellow CosmHologist @danscime was the first to observe a curious variation in the Holofoil patterns featured on these cards.

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Introduction to CosmHology

Dan was able to identify two distinct variations of Holofoil used in the production of these Basic Energy cards, differing in resolution and element frequency.

The higher resolution of the modern Holofoil (pictured left) results in rounder circles (‘planets’) and smaller background dots (‘cosmic noise’) as opposed to the classic Holofoil’s pixelated planets and coarser cosmic noise. In addition to their higher resolution, the planets featured on the Neo-Cosmos Holofoil are much larger and more prominent than their Retro-Cosmos counterparts.

Though both Holofoil patterns feature the prized swirls (‘galaxies’), the Neo-Cosmos galaxies show a prominent continuous line throughout, and appear much less frequently than on the Retro-Cosmos Holofoil pattern. Also notable is the complete absence of stars on the Neo-Cosmos Holofoil, in contrast to the several different star shapes present on the Retro-Cosmos Holofoil.

Curiously, this differentiation in Holofoil pattern does not exist on the card game’s digital platform, PTCG Live. On Live, only one digital Cosmos Holofoil equivalent exists, closer in appearance to the paper Neo-Cosmos pattern, and this style is uniformly applied to both Retro- and Neo-Cosmos cards.

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CosmHological Variations

Further investigation of this CosmHological anomaly turned up several other Scarlet & Violet series promotional cards exhibiting this very same Holofoil variance. We have so far been able to confirm the existence of both Retro- and Neo-Cosmos printings of the following cards:

• Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved
  Neo / Retro - SVP 023 - Smoliv (Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blister)
  Neo / Retro - SVP 024 - Growlithe (Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blister)

• Scarlet & Violet - 151
  Neo / Retro - SVE 001 - Basic Grass Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 002 - Basic Fire Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 003 - Basic Water Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 004 - Basic Lightning Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 005 - Basic Psychic Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 006 - Basic Fighting Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 007 - Basic Darkness Energy
  Neo / Retro - SVE 008 - Basic Metal Energy
  Neo / Retro - MEW 063 / 165 - Abra (151 Collection - Alakazam ex)
  Neo / Retro - MEW 125 / 165 - Electabuzz (151 Collection - Zapdos ex)

CGC Cards, in response to the above findings, stated that it does not currently distinguish between the two different types of Holofoil:

“At this time we will not be distinguishing between the different types of Holofoil used, but we reserve the right to change that decision at a later date.”

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Searching For Meaning

The cause of these CosmHological variations is as of yet unknown, though some degree of inadvertent mix-up in Holofoil paper is assumed. The most compelling evidence of some degree of intentionality came with the release of the Alakazam ex Collection and its Cosmos Holo printings of 151’s Abra and Kadabra. The two appear to be most frequently distributed with Abra featuring the Neo-Cosmos Holofoil and Kadabra featuring the Retro-Cosmos Holofoil. This odd juxtaposition of different Holofoil patterns within the same product raises leads to sepculation that Kadabra’s Retro-Cosmos Holofoil was intended as a subtle celebration of its return after its 20-year absence, but no definite proof of this theory exists. Things are further complicated by the existence of a small number of Retro-Cosmos Holo Abra and the apparent non-existence of Neo-Cosmos Holo Kadabra.

Perhaps the apparent mix-up did not originate at TPCI, but with its most ancient foe - Wizards of the Coast. WotC recently brought back the ‘Retro-Cosmos’ Galaxy Holofoil paper for their Magic: The Gathering parody set Unfinity, about half a year before its apparent return to Pokémon in certain Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved promotional cards. If this Holofoil variation is indeed the result of a mix-up, one plausible explanation would be that the Holofoil stock manufacturing company inadvertently mixed in these new Galaxy Holofoil sheets with Pokémon’s Cosmos Holofoil sheets.

Ultimately, I believe one of the following scenarios is most likely;

• PTCI intentionally ordered the newly produced Galaxy Holofoil for use in specific products or cards, but on several occasions inadvertently mixed them up with their Cosmos Holofoil stock.

• PTCI did not intentionally order the Galaxy Holofoil, and it was instead the Holofoil stock manufacturing company that inadvertently mixed in newly produced Galaxy Holofoil sheets with PTCI’s Cosmos Holofoil order.

• PTCI or the Holofoil stock manufacturing company have been sitting on decade-old discontinued Galaxy Holofoil stock that recently and inadvertently found its way onto the production line mixed in with their Cosmos Holofoil stock.

The non-existence of the ‘Retro-Cosmos’ / Galaxy Holofoil pattern on PTCG Live is either an indication of an oversight in translating physical cards to a digital platform, or an indication that the use of ‘Retro-Cosmos’ / Galaxy Holofoil on any recent card at all was unintentional. Either way, there is definitely a mix-up involved at some stage of production, at least for the cards printed with both types of Cosmos Holofoil.

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Special Thanks

A special thanks to the following people for their vital contributions to this emerging field of study;

@mavericknate for Pixel Cosmos vs Smooth Cosmos Holofoil.
@danscime for 2 Types Of Holo Energies In Pokemon 151.
@rattrocker, @Kijamon, and @nrs for providing images of CosmHological phenomena.

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Topic Update History

• 2023/10/15
  Added information on how to assist the investigation.
  Added a section thanking those who contribute to this important new field of study.
  Added a list of cards (and confirmed variants) within the current scope of the investigation.

• 2023/10/21
  Updated the special thanks section to acknowledge @mavericknate’s foundational work.

• 2023/10/25
  Changed topic title to more succinctly communicate the topic contents.
  Updated the topic to reflect current conclusions.

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[Kijamon]

So I just checked mine, how could I not when someone goes to town on such a great article.

I can’t say i’m as skilled at spotting the difference but this adds to what you’re saying? If i’m wrong have a free bump of your thread.

But my Electabuzz pair seem to be modern

Edit -

My Primeape and Mankey from Paldea evolved appear to be retro cosmos.

[stagecoach]

Llyrwenne’s threadcraft is peerless. Always has been.

I hope you solve this mystery.

[Llyrwenne]

Thank you for the images, they’ll aid this investigation greatly! I would love some pictures of your Electabuzz, Mankey, and Primeape as well (and perhaps a better picture of the Abra in the back, as the angle obscures most of the Holofoil pattern)!

Your Abra in the front and both Kadabra are indeed Retro-Cosmos Holofoil examples - note the star shapes that would not be present on a Neo-Cosmos Holo;

I’ve updated the first post with an additional note on how to help out and a list of CosmHological Research Assistants to thank everyone who assists in this vital research!

[Kijamon]

That’s two separate Electabuzz cards

[Llyrwenne]

Excellent pictures and CosmHological identification skills - I’ll add it all to my data!

[Kijamon]

Bonus Rotom for you - a bit hard to photo the actual card and not just the edge. I have been trying to master 2023 so I’ll check my promos cause I found more in there. Every promo appears to be the new pattern but i can get photos later on for you

[Llyrwenne]

Retro- and Neo-Cosmos Holo SVP 024 Growlithe from Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blisters, taken directly from PSA’s registry;

I’m starting to think that perhaps I’ve bitten off quite a bit more than I can chew with this little investigation of mine. I’m thinking of reaching out to CGC, as this seems like the kind of thing they might find interesting. I’ll keep the thread updated, of course.

[pfm]

Di…did you just create an entirely new field of research??

[Dyl]

The Retro-Cosmos pattern referenced in the OP was first used in HeartGold SoulSilver (2010), which was distinct from the vintage cosmos pattern used from Base 2-Platinum.

Does anyone remember when the Neo-Cosmos pattern came out?

It’s neat that both patterns are used. I wonder if any grading company will acknowledge the difference in the future.

[nrs]

SVP 043 - Eevee (Obsidian Flames Three Pack Blister )

Mine is the Neo version from what I understand. As a species collector I’ll have to go shopping if there is both!

[Llyrwenne]

It’s very rude of you to trip me down another rabbit hole while I am already stuck in a rabbit hole of my own creation. Here’s what I found;

After some searching on Google Images, I concluded that the change likely occurred sometime during the Black & White series. I went to Bulbapedia to browse through every Black & White set from the start and very quickly stumbled onto the following oddity on their Black & White - Next Destinies page;

14/99 Moltres Pixel Cosmos Holo Plasma Freeze Single Pack Blisters exclusive
14/99 Moltres Smooth Cosmos Holo Black & White Two Pack Blister and XY Kanto Two Pack Blisters exclusive

That XY Kanto Two Pack Blister link then got me to this vital piece of information;

Unlike the Plasma Storm Rerelease Blisters, however, the six promotional cards in these packs were not exclusive, as their original release was after the change in Cosmos Holofoil paper for the Legendary Treasures expansion. The only card released prior to the change was Moltres in the Plasma Freeze Single Pack Blisters.

The page for Legendary Treasures mentions nothing of this supposed Cosmos Holofoil paper change, but the mentioned Plasma Storm Rerelease Blisters description gets us further along the trail;

Packs in these blisters were newly printed for May 2015 and included updated code cards with the generic backing first distributed in Phantom Forces boosters. Additionally, the four promotional cards feature the Smooth Cosmos Holofoil paper that began to appear on promotional cards released in the Legendary Treasures Blisters, with the original 2013 prints utilizing the original Pixel style Cosmos Holofoil.

Only for that trail to immediately run cold, because the description for the Legendary Treasures Blisters does not contain any information on the Holofoil paper beyond the nebulous term ‘Cosmos Holo’, which Bulbapedia uses for both versions of the Holofoil pattern.

The only other useful bit of information I could find on Bulbapedia was the following excerpt from the release information for the BW64 Drifblim promo which was included in the Plasma Storm Rerelease Blisters;

This print was released as one of the English BW Black Star Promos released in February 2013 in the Plasma Storm Stage 1 Blisters, using the Pixel Cosmos Holofoil paper that was standard at the time. A reprint using the Smooth Cosmos Holofoil paper that was standard during the XY Series was included in the Plasma Storm Rerelease Blisters.

And at the end of this, all I can tell you is that the new Cosmos Holofoil “began to appear on promotional cards released in the Legendary Treasures Blisters” and that it was “standard during the XY Series”.

Who decided to refer to these two clearly different Holofoil patterns by the same name?
Why did Bulbapedia make note of the change without properly documenting it?
Why did Bulbapedia then immediately stop tracking the difference between these two Holo patterns that they themselves specifically identified in the first place?

I don’t know!

Now please can you get me a ladder out of this hole?

[danscime]

The amount of research and organization that went into this is incredible! I’ll do my very best to help and share photos whenever I stumble upon anything not noted so far! I’ll take pics of all my Gen 9 promos later when I get a chance.

Big thing worth noting:
The Series Three Play Prize Packs all seem to use the retro foil. I have not seen a single card from those packs that use the neo foiling. I personally like this style better, so I’m happy with that. Hopefully Pokemon is consistent with the foils going forwards into Series Four and so on.

I was recently at a shop and looked at every single Alakazam EX box they had. Every box had the same variation where the Kadabra was retro style and the Abra was the HD neo style. This goes with what you were saying about the Abra retro holo being less seen (hopefully I can find one for myself soon!)

Seeing that Growlithe, I have the neo holo version, but will need to find the retro version somehow now. this is shaking things up quite a bit!

[danscime]

The Heartgold holo pattern was different than Base 2? I always thought they were the same style of pixel galaxy holofoil.

[nrs]

Some more photos:

[Llyrwenne]

Since @Dyl has not brought me a ladder yet, here’s some more information from down in this rabbit hole; turns out that PSA and CGC both already distinguish between the ‘smooth’ and ‘pixel’ Cosmos versions of the BW Promo cards from the Plasma Storm Rerelease Blisters;

[stagecoach]

I’ve known Llyrwenne for many years. Do not underestimate their proclivities.

[Dyl]

I distinctly remember HGSS using a pixelated cosmos holo pattern for its promos in 2010. And Call of Legends also used this pixelated pattern where swirls and orbs do not line up linearly.

I can’t remember if the individual HGSS sets differed from Platinum on their cosmos pattern.

[eeveeteam]

I reviewed every listing on eBay and didn’t find any major differences

[brendantheclayboy]

I’m infected. Infected with Llyrwenne’s enthusiasm!

Wonderful post, wonderful prose. And I just gotta say one major thing. I saw the other day someone else show these abra and kadabra cards and I just about fell over seeing a hgss callback style, and needless to say was instantly in need of them. I also found it refreshing to be able to get them both for $1. Another one of those (almost) best $1 ever purchases that are the best kinds of purchases.

But now? Now you drop the info bomb on me and there are even more of this style? Wow, as if I couldn’t love 151 more… Now I get to fill up a binder page and wonder how many more there are! No! I will not look them up! Let the mystery unfold!