What Are Radiant Pokémon Cards?

The Pokémon TCG evolves and expands almost on a weekly basis. In recent years we’ve been introduced to VMAX, VSTAR, GX, Rainbow, Alt arts, and many more. Now, there is hype surrounding the release of Radiant Pokémon cards. What are radiant Pokémon cards? Let’s jump into it.

Radiant Pokémon cards are the latest version of Shiny Pokémon cards. Radiant cards feature only shiny Pokémon and also a unique holo design exclusive to Radiant cards.

Radiant Pokémon cards are shinies

A shiny Pokémon is a variant of any Pokémon but with a color palette swap. For example, the purple underbelly of Mewtwo is green if the Mewtwo is shiny. Shiny Pokémon are extremely rare in the video game series and also rare in the TCG. 

Presently, Radiant Pokémon cards are all the hype, as they feature shiny Pokémon. The first expansion to introduce Radiant cards in English was Sword & Shield- Astral Radiance. The Radiant cards feature a unique diagonal cross-hatched holo pattern and the Japanese versions also have a special rarity symbol (K) to indicate the card as Radiant. The ‘K’ stands for the Japanese word ‘Kagayaku’, which translates to ‘Radiant’ or ‘Sparkling’ in English.

These cards also have unique properties that apply to the TCG. Players are limited to only one Radiant card in their deck, and each Radiant card has its own powerful attacks and abilities.

Radiant cards were released toward the end of the Sword & Shield era. We’re only a few weeks away, but most agree that they probably will not continue into the Scarlet & Violet era.

Which sets contain Radiant cards?

So far, only five expansions have included Radiant cards. Hopefully, we see Radiant cards stick around for a long time, unlike Amazing Rares, which only included nine cards across two expansions.

Astral Radiance

• Radiant Heatran
• Radiant Greninja
• Radiant Hawlucha

Pokémon GO

• Radiant Venusaur
• Radiant Blastoise
• Radiant Charizard
• Radiant Eevee (SWSH Promo)

Lost Origin

• Radiant Gardevoir
• Radiant Hisuian Sneasler
• Radiant Steelix

Silver Tempest

• Radiant Tsareena
• Radiant Alakazam
• Radiant Jirachi

Crown Zenith

• Radiant Charizard 
• Radiant Charjabug
• Radiant Eternatus

Past shiny Pokémon cards

Shining Magikarp and Shining Gyarados were the first shiny Pokémon to be introduced in the Neo Revelation expansion in 2001. These cards looked like regular holos from the set but had the precursor “Shining” before the name. For example, Shining Magikarp. The Neo Destiny expansion came out next and introduced more Shining Pokémon.

The expansion EX Team Rocket Returns introduced ☆ Pokémon. These cards are insanely rare and as a result, sell for a premium today. Of course, ☆ Pokémon are shiny.

Many more shiny Pokémon cards have come and gone over the years. Most recently we saw sets like Hidden Fates or Shining Fates which included a Shiny Vault subset full of shiny Pokémon. As the Pokémon TCG has grown in popularity, shiny Pokémon have become more plentiful and easier to pull.

Should You Invest In Radiant Cards?

Yes, because why not? 

Radiant cards are unique, which is what drives most increases in card value over the years. Radiant cards are affordable, most being only $1. The outliers are the two Charizard cards, but even they cost only about $15-$20 each. This means that you can pick up the whole collection for around $45. Check eBay now to see the listing for Radiant cards.

Final thoughts

Over the past few years, The Pokémon Company has released very small collections spread throughout multiple sets. Amazing rares are some that come to mind. These little sets are actually really cool. There is just something about holding all of the Radiant cards in your hands. Lucky for us, these cards are pretty cheap, so consider starting a Radiant collection today!