Scans of my other relevant cards;
I’ve updated the first post with a list of cards within my current investigation scope, with links to sources for confirmed variants - I’ll be updating the list throughout the day.
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CosmHologist Is such a great term! Nice job. Very fun thread to read. Hope the cosmos become clearer as time marches on.
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Preliminary Findings
Time for some preliminary (non-final) insights on this CosmHological phenomenon. Based on the information I’ve been able to gather so far, I’ve categorized current Scarlet & Violet Cosmos Holofoil promotional cards as follows;
Neo-Cosmos Holofoil Only (14)
Neo-Cosmos Holofoil Only
Scarlet & Violet
SV1 070 / 198 - Rotom (Cyclizar ex Box)
SVP 009 - Spidops (Scarlet & Violet Single Pack Blister)
SVP 010 - Espathra (Scarlet & Violet Single Pack Blister)
SVP 011 - Arcanine (Scarlet & Violet Three Pack Blister)
SVP 012 - Dondozo (Scarlet & Violet Three Pack Blister)
Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved
SVP 025 - Tinkatink (Paldea Evolved Three Pack Blister)
SVP 026 - Varoom (Paldea Evolved Three Pack Blister)
Scarlet & Violet - Obsidian Flames
SVP 040 - Pawmi (Obsidian Flames Single Pack Blister)
SVP 041 - Paldean Wooper (Obsidian Flames Single Pack Blister)
SVP 042 - Houndstone (Obsidian Flames Three Pack Blister)
SVP 043 - Eevee (Obsidian Flames Three Pack Blister)
Scarlet & Violet - 151
SVP 046 - Bulbasaur (151 Poster Collection)
SVP 047 - Charmander (151 Poster Collection)
SVP 048 - Squirtle - (151 Poster Collection)
With a significant plurality of 14 cards appearing exclusively in the Neo-Cosmos Holofoil style, it seems likely that the Neo-Cosmos Holofoil paper was intended to be the standard pattern used - with the Retro-Cosmos Holofoil reserved for specific cards or products.
Retro-Cosmos Holofoil Only (3)
Retro-Cosmos Holofoil Only
Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved
PAL 106 / 193 - Mankey (Annihilape ex Box)
PAL 107 / 193 - Primeape (Annihilape ex Box)
MEW 064 / 165 - Kadabra (151 Collection - Alakazam ex)
The three Retro-Cosmos exclusive cards are each Kanto / Generation I Pokémon distributed in Pokémon ex collection products featuring their respective evolution lines; Mankey and Primeape in the Annihilape ex Box (highlighting their new evolution), and Kadabra in the 151 Collection - Alakazam ex (highlighting Kadabra’s return to the TCG).
Neo-Cosmos & Retro-Cosmos Holofoil Mix (4 (+8 Basic Energy))
Neo-Cosmos & Retro-Cosmos Holofoil Mix
Scarlet & Violet - Paldea Evolved
SVP 023 - Smoliv (Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blister)
SVP 024 - Growlithe (Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blister)
Scarlet & Violet - 151
SVE 001 - Basic Grass Energy
SVE 002 - Basic Fire Energy
SVE 003 - Basic Water Energy
SVE 004 - Basic Lightning Energy
SVE 005 - Basic Psychic Energy
SVE 006 - Basic Fighting Energy
SVE 007 - Basic Darkness Energy
SVE 008 - Basic Metal Energy
MEW 063 / 165 - Abra (151 Collection - Alakazam ex)
MEW 125 / 165 - Electabuzz (151 Collection - Zapdos ex)
Closer inspection of the latter product leads back to the oddity that kickstarted this investigation; the Abra included in the same box appears in both Neo- and Retro-Cosmos form. Considering the frequency of the Neo-Abra / Retro-Kadabra pairing in this product and the apparent non-existence of a Neo-Kadabra, I strongly believe my original conclusion on this curiosity - that the Neo-Abra / Retro-Kadabra pairing is an intentional celebration of Kadabra’s return - is correct.
Electabuzz was also distributed through a Pokémon ex collection product, but, like the Neo-Cosmos only Rotom from the Cyclizar ex Box, its inclusion in said product was not directly related to the product’s main star. It is possible that Electabuzz’ Holofoil variation is a result of Holofoil paper mix-ups due to its proximity to the production of the 151 Collection - Alakazam ex, which used both types intentionally.
This leaves Smoliv and Growlithe, the two Paldea Evolved Single Pack Blister promotional cards. All other blister promotional cards were seemingly printed exclusively on Neo-Holofoil paper, regardless of set or number of packs - even for the same set’s Three Pack Blister. The two Pokémon have little in common that would explain their shared fate of CosmHological paradox. I can only speculate that they were the victim to another Holofoil mix-up, perhaps due to their proximity to the production of the Retro-Cosmos exclusive Annihilape ex Box cards.
All this is pure speculation on my part, and based on incomplete information. I doubt we will ever learn the truth behind these CosmHological quandaries. The secrets of Pokémon card production are not available to mere mortals such as I. I can only hope to one day approximate a simulacrum of veracity through my aimless conjecture.
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Great post and excellent research from all here!
I ended up hunting down all of the neo-cosmos and retro-cosmos SV151-related cards on my own and wasn’t sure if neo-cosmos Kadabra or retro-cosmos Bulbasaur/Charmander/Squirtle existed at all. It seems that, for now, these four variants don’t exist and so I can rest my search.
Thank you for compiling all this information, I now need to grab those retro-cosmos Mankey and Primeape cards!
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As the original person who discovered this, researched this phenomenon, posted my finding on this very forum no less, and then published the findings on Bulba, I feel obliged to provide that original thread since it was missed within this current round of research =P
As for some of the other questions asked in this thread. As PTCGO (the source for most Holofoil names at the time) referred to them both as Cosmos Holo, Bulbapedia was obliged to also call them both that outside of the five original promos that crossed over into both styles. Original research at the time also determined the exact product that the split happened, and every product before was Pixel Cosmos and every single product after (until now, unfortunately), was Smooth Cosmos, so it didn’t feel necessary to mention outside of the few places where the distinction was relevant. So, it’s not that we stopped necessarily, it just was very simple.
It felt properly documented at the time. That’s obviously not the case now, but Bulbapedia depends on everyone in the community (viewers like you! And whatnot) to contribute, so that would be the reason why it isn’t posted on there yet (the current TCG team there is trying to deal with the expanded Asian language exclusive sets, like Black Shine and Vivid Portrayals, etc.). There are…very few people there.
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Thank you for your response! I was unaware of the existence of your original research topic, and appreciate the insight on the inner workings of Bulbapedia. Please don’t take my teasing too seriously - I can only imagine the massive pain it must be to keep such a truly massive database up-to-date and internally consistent.
I was unaware that PTCGO had internal names for each of the Holo patterns. I can only assume that PTCGL has some internal naming system for them as well, which could perhaps assist our research into this recent development; do both Holofoil patterns just show up as ‘Cosmos’ again? Is this Holofoil variation even present in PTCGL at all? If I redeem the 151 Collection - Alakazam ex code card, do I get a Neo-Cosmos Abra and a Retro-Cosmos Kadabra? Can you open the two different styles of Cosmos Basic Energy from a PTCGL 151 pack? If not, then which Holo pattern do the PTCGL packs use? What about the other promotional cards that showed CosmHological variations?
The deeper we venture into the Cosmos, the more questions we encounter!
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PTCGL seems to use the same pattern for both Abra and Kadabra cosmos holo cards (which is most reminiscent of neo-cosmos). This is also the same pattern that they use internally for the SV151 basic energies and cosmos holofoil promos from other blister packs/bundles.
So, it seems to me that PTCGL has no intentions on making a distinction between the two - at the very least not visually. I’m not sure if any internal names for the different patterns have been uncovered from the game yet.
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I have not seen any names come from PTCGL like there were from PTCGO. I also know that within the company, they have since started referring to Holofoil patterns by an arbitrary number instead of by a name, so it’s most likely not something we’ll get to.
Honestly, the prevailing theory is that the two different Cosmos patterns coming back into rotation is an oversight by TPCi. They recently took over the printing process, probably saw the two supplies of Cosmos paper not knowing they were different, and started running them both at the same time.
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How curious.
It being all just a mix-up is certainly possible, but the use of the Retro-Cosmos Holofoil in certain products does strike me as intentional. Perhaps it’s a bit of both?
Or perhaps the 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 entirely the result of a mix-up, I would imagine it happened due to whatever company manufactures the Holofoil stock mixing in these new Galaxy Holofoil sheets with Pokémon’s Cosmos Holofoil sheets, rather than TPCI or its printers having sat on a decade-old supply of discontinued Retro-Cosmos Holofoil sheets that somehow only now found its way onto the production line. That is, unless TPCI also produces the Holofoil stock internally now.
Edit:
Looking at the aspects of intentionality and source, I think one of the following scenarios is 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 Galaxy Holofoil on any recent card at all was unintentional. Yet still that Abra / Kadabra Holofoil split teases me with the appearance of intentionality - it is simply too perfect to have been accidental! 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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BTW, Galaxy foil is something completely different so be careful with your nomenclature. It’s the Holofoil paper used on the earliest sets like Base Set. It has the four pointed starlight effect that is different from the Pixel Cosmos and Smooth Cosmos.
Just thought I’d add one to the list.
Bought a 151 Alakazam Ex box yesterday with both retro style cosmos foil Abra & Kadabra:
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‘Galaxy Foil’ was the official term used by WotC for the ‘Retro-Cosmos’ / ‘Pixel Cosmos’ Holofoil pattern during the promotion of Magic: The Gathering - Unfinity, hence my use of it in this context.
I thought that the Base / Jungle / Fossil Holofoil pattern was named ‘Starlight’ (after the effect that you mention), and it is listed as such on Bulbapedia too. I’ve also seen others use ‘Galaxy’ interchangeably with ‘Cosmos’, making this all very confusing.
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Isn’t this called “Starlight”? 
I personally always avoid Galaxy because I’ve seen people use that to refer to Starlight, and then I’ve also seen people use it to refer to Cosmos.
I recently saw the resurgence of it taking over Starlight but, yeah, I agree that it’s all confusing.
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I won’t post my typical Gen 9 promos and holos as it all lines up with the current research. But I will share some different holo variants that may also be of interest for the master set collectors.
These 4 cards have vertical line holo patterns that we saw in Gen 8.
These cards can be found in blister packs from USA and Europe.
The Armarouge and Dondozo were promotional for Scarlet & Violet.
The Arboliva and Pawmot were promotional for Paldea Evolved.
Obsidian Flames had similar blisters featuring the evolution lines of Annihilape and Kingambit, but both of those had the typical Gen 9 mirage holo pattern, no different than the ones found in booster packs. So not sure if we’ll see any more of these style.
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I received the following response from CGC Cards;
“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.”
I have updated the first post to reflect all current findings. This will be the final proper update until there’s anything new to report!
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Some more finds. The “promos” from the most recent knockout collection contain cards from SWSH Gen 8 sets. The 3 cards feature the retro galaxy holofoil on the cards, which is the only time (to my knowledge) that we see this holo style on Gen 8 cards (besides the Prize Pack Series 3 cards).
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They’re in the Holiday Calendar 2023 as well! Thankfully, they don’t appear to have Neo-Cosmos variants, so it’s just the one version.
