77 Rainbow Pokémon Cards (in the Background, Secret Rares & Borders)

Rainbow means two different things in this hobby. Some cards have the rainbow in the art itself, something the illustrator put into the scene. Others have the rainbow as a finish, a full-card foil laid over the top that replaces the usual colors entirely.

We’ve gathered the best rainbow Pokémon cards of both kinds, sorted so you can find the one you’re actually after.

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Full Art Cards with Rainbows

These are the ones where the rainbow is in the art itself, and the full art format gives it room to breathe. It’s the most reliable place to find a rainbow that’s part of a scene rather than a treatment laid over the whole card!

Our Picks:

Full Art Cards with Rainbows

Connecting Cards with Rainbows

Two pairs here that complete the rainbow, and both are worth owning together rather than one at a time. Connecting art is one of our favorite things in the hobby, and we went deep on it in our post on Pokémon cards that go together!

Our Picks:

Connecting Cards with Rainbows

Vintage Cards with Rainbows

The oldest section here, and the one that shows how far back illustrators have been reaching for a rainbow. Jungle and Fossil through the Neo sets, Southern Islands, the e-Card series, and up into Platinum. The Southern Islands cards are the standouts, since that set was built around its scenery in the first place.

Our Picks:

Vintage Pokemon Cards with Rainbows

Rainbow Secret Rare Cards

This is the other meaning of rainbow, and the one most people have in mind when they say rainbow rare. The finish strips out a card’s usual colors and replaces them with a textured rainbow across the whole thing, and the collector number always runs past the set’s official total, which is what technically makes them secret rares.

They arrived in the Sun & Moon era on GX cards and full art Supporters, carried through Sword & Shield on VMAX and VSTAR, then disappeared when Scarlet & Violet moved the chase toward special illustration rares instead. That gives them a clean window of a few years, which is part of why they’re satisfying to collect as a group!

Our Picks:

Rainbow Secret Rare Cards

Prismatic Rainbow Border Cards

A prismatic rainbow border marks a Stellar Tera type, introduced in Scarlet & Violet, with a crystalline crown above the name to match. Prismatic Evolutions is where most collectors meet them, and since that set leans hard on the Eeveelutions, this section ends up being most of an Eeveelution page on its own.

Our Picks:

Prismatic Rainbow Border Cards

Commons & Affordable Rainbow Cards

Rainbows aren’t limited to the big cards. These sit in the back half of a set list, and they’re the easiest way to fill out a rainbow binder page without chasing down a single secret rare!

Our Picks:

Commons & Affordable Rainbow Cards

That’s our round-up of rainbow Pokémon cards! Which kind do you prefer, the rainbow in the art or the rainbow finish? Let us know in the comments below!

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77 Rainbow Pokémon Cards (in the Background, Secret Rares & Borders)

Full Art Cards with Rainbows

Connecting Cards with Rainbows

Vintage Cards with Rainbows

Rainbow Secret Rare Cards

Prismatic Rainbow Border Cards

Commons & Affordable Rainbow Cards

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