Appendix I

Set Symbols and Abbreviations

All throughout this guide, you’ll see a card name followed by a set of two to three letters and a number, like these examples below:

Energy Retrieval BS 81
Blacephalon-GX LOT 52
Boss’s Orders RCL 154

This is the most common way for players to specify which card they’re referring to when discussing their decks and the cards in them. The letters are the official Set Abbreviation—or the shorthand used to refer to a specific Set—also called an Expansion. The Pokémon Company International releases four main expansions each year—typically in February, May, August, and November—in additional to an annual miniset that usually releases between August and October. You’ll recognize these sets by their names on the booster packs you open—Brilliant Stars, Astral Radiance, and Lost Origin are all examples of these sets and each has its own Set Abbreviation. You can review a list of these abbreviations below.

The number after the Set Abbreviation refers to the Collector Number on the card—or the number printed on the card that represents its position in the set. You can see this collector number on the bottom of each card, usually followed by a slash and the total number of cards in the set, excluding secret rares. So, let’s say we want to refer to a specific Sprigatito from the expansion Scarlet & Violet.

We can see that Sprigatito’s Collector Number is 13—it’s card 13 of 198 in its set. Using the list of symbols and abbreviations below, we can see that its Set Identifier—the text in the box next to the card’s collector number—means that it comes from the set Scarlet & Violet, which is abbreviated as SVI. Sets released prior to Scarlet & Violet base set will have a Set Symbol instead of a set identifier.

So, if we wanted to refer to this specific Sprigatito, we can do just that by writing Sprigatito SVI 13. Now, other players will know exactly which Sprigatito we’re referring to.

Note that card legality is no longer strictly determined by the set a card was printed in. Below is a rough guide to help you gauge which of your cards will be legal to play in the Standard format. In the image of the Sprigatito above, you’ll note the letter “G” in a box. This box is called a Regulation Mark and helps players understand which cards are currently legal in the Standard format.

List of Sets, set symbols, and Abbreviations

For Standard Sets

Scarlet & Violet Era

Scarlet & Violet (SVI)
Paldea Evolved (PAL)
Obsidian Flames (OBF)
Scarlet & Violet—151 (MEW)
Paradox Rift (PAR)
Paldean Fates (PAF)
Temporal Forces (TEF)
Twilight Masquerade (TWM)
Shrouded Fable (SFA)
Stellar Crown (SCR)

Sword & Shield Era

Brilliant Stars (BRS)
Astral Radiance (ASR)
Pokémon GO (PGO)
Lost Origin (LOR)
Silver Tempest (SIT)
Crown Zenith (CRZ)

For Expanded Sets

Sword & Shield Era

Sword & Shield (SSH)
Rebel Clash (RCL)
Darkness Ablaze (DAA)
Champion's Path (CPA)
Vivid Voltage (VIV)
Shining Fates (SHF)
Battle Styles (BST)
Chilling Reign (CRE)
Evolving Skies (EVS)
Celebrations (CEL)
Fusion Strike (FST)

Sun & Moon Era

Sun & Moon (SUM)
Guardians Rising (GRI)
Burning Shadows (BUS)
Shining Legends (SLG)
Crimson Invasion (CIN)
Ultra Prism (UPR)
Forbidden Light (FLI)
Celestial Storm (CES)
Dragon Majesty (DRM)
Lost Thunder (LOT)
Team Up (TEU)
Detective Pikachu (DET)
Unbroken Bonds (UNB)
Unified Minds (UNM)
Hidden Fates (HIF)
Cosmic Eclipse (CEC)

XY Era

Kalos Starter Set (KSS)
XY (XY)
Flashfire (FLF)
Furious Fists (FFI)
Phantom Forces (PHF)
Primal Clash (PRC)
Double Crisis (DCR)
Roaring Skies (ROS)
Ancient Origins (AOR)
BREAKthrough (BKT)
BREAKpoint (BKP)
Generations (GEN)
Fates Collide (FCO)
Steam Siege (STS)
Evolutions (EVO)

Black & White Era

Black & White (BLW)
Emerging Powers (EPO)
Noble Victories (NVI)
Next Destinies (NXD)
Dark Explorers (DEX)
Dragons Exalted (DRX)
Dragon Vault (DRV)
Boundaries Crossed (BCR)
Plasma Storm (PLS)
Plasma Freeze (PLF)
Plasma Blast (PLB)
Legendary Treasures (LTR)

For Unlimited Sets

Diamond & Pearl Era

Diamond & Pearl (DP)
Mysterious Treasures (MT)
Secret Wonders (SW)
Great Encounters (GE)
Majestic Dawn (MD)
Legends Awakened (LA)
Stormfront (SF)
Platinum (PL)
Rising Rivals (RR)†
Supreme Victors (SV)
Arceus (AR)
HeartGold & SoulSilver (HS)
Unleashed (UL)
Undaunted (UD)
Triumphant (TM)
Call of Legends (CL)

EX Era

EX Ruby & Sapphire (RS)
EX Sandstorm (SS)
EX Dragon (DR)
EX Team Magma vs Team Aqua (MA)
EX Hidden Legends (HL)
EX FireRed & LeafGreen (RG)
EX Team Rocket Returns (TRR)†
EX Deoxys (DX)
EX Emerald (EM)
EX Unseen Forces (UF)
EX Delta Species (DS)
EX Legend Maker (LM)
EX Holon Phantoms (HP)
EX Crystal Guardians (CG)
EX Dragon Frontiers (DF)
EX Power Keepers (PK)

Neo Era

Southern Islands (SI)
Neo Genesis (N1)
Neo Discovery (N2)
Neo Revelation (N3)
Neo Destiny (N4)
Legendary Collection (LC)
Expedition Base Set (EX)
Aquapolis (AQ)
Skyridge (SK)

Base Set Era

Base Set (BS)
Jungle (JU)
Fossil (FO)
Base Set 2 (B2)
Team Rocket (TR)
Gym Heroes (G1)
Gym Challenge (G2)

McDonald's Collections (MCD)

Cards from McDonald's Collections are reprints of cards from other sets. Cards in the McDonald's Collections share their legality with the original printing of the card. All McDonald's Collection sets share the same abbreviation, MCD.

2011 McDonald's Collection
2012 McDonald's Collection
2013 McDonald's Collection
2014 McDonald's Collection
2015 McDonald's Collection
2016 McDonald's Collection
2017 McDonald's Collection
2018 McDonald's Collection
2019 McDonald's Collection
2021 McDonald's Collection
2022 McDonald's Collection

† Until recently, Platinum Rising Rivals and EX Team Rocket Returns shared the same official abbreviation. Older deck lists may still use RR to refer to either set.