Shining Charizard and the Neo Shinings: the first shiny cards

The Shinings are the first shiny Pokémon cards: Pokémon in alternative colours, with the holofoil limited to the Pokémon's body and a collection number beyond the set total. The first two, Shining Gyarados and Shining Magikarp, came out in Neo Revelation in 2001; the other eight, Shining Charizard at their head, in Neo Destiny in 2002. Today the Shining Charizard 107/105 is worth between €1,300 and €1,800 ungraded and about €21,300 in PSA 10.

Neo: the second generation and a new idea

The four Neo expansions, from 2000 to 2002 in the West, bring the Pokémon of Gold and Silver into the game. In the video games a novelty had just appeared: shiny Pokémon, differently coloured versions extremely rare to encounter, with the red Gyarados of the Lake of Rage as their symbol. The cards followed.

In Neo Revelation, September 2001 in English, two cards outside the numbering appear: Shining Gyarados 65/64 and Shining Magikarp 66/64, both illustrated by Ken Sugimori. The set has 64 cards, they are 65 and 66: it is the first time the number exceeds the total, an idea that would return with every secret rare up to today.

Neo Destiny: the eight Shinings

Neo Destiny came out in Japan in 2001 and in the West in February 2002, the last expansion of the Wizards era. It contains eight Shinings numbered 106 to 113 out of 105: Celebi, Charizard, Kabutops, Mewtwo, Noctowl, Raichu, Steelix and Tyranitar. The rarity symbol is a triple star, which would remain associated with these cards.

The Shining Charizard 107/105, illustrated by Hironobu Yoshida, is the black Charizard, the first shiny card of the game's most sought-after Pokémon. The Shining Mewtwo 109/105, together with Gyarados and Magikarp, is collectors' second choice.

The striped holofoil

A Shining is recognisable at a glance from its holofoil: it does not cover the whole background as on classic holos, but only the Pokémon, with a pattern of vertical stripes that changes colour with the light. The background stays matt, the Pokémon shines. It is an effect that seems normal today, but in 2001 it was new.

This treatment has a price: the foil of the Shinings is fragile, prone to what collectors call holo bleed, small areas where the holofoil smears or dulls, and to the circular scratches typical of the Neo era. A genuinely Near Mint Shining is rare even ungraded.

What they are worth today

According to PriceCharting, October 2026, the Shining Charizard is worth between €1,300 and €1,800 ungraded and about €21,300 in PSA 10, up 252% over twelve months: a 10 is worth 15 times the raw card and 4 times a PSA 9. Shining Mewtwo, Gyarados and Magikarp move together in an ungraded range between €300 and €900, with a reference PSA 10 value of about €13,300 for the highest card in the group, up 211% over the same period.

These are figures from a particular year, and a price is a dated fact. But the ratio between raw card and 10 says something stable: on these cards the top grade is an exception.

Why a 10 is so hard

Three reasons. The foil, fragile as we said. The centring, which in Neo Destiny is irregular from the factory, with often unbalanced borders. And age: twenty-five years in which the card has been played, traded, kept in ring binders.

The result is that the existing PSA 10s are a tiny fraction of graded copies, and that a 9 is already an excellent result. Whoever buys a Shining in 10 buys one of the few copies to come through from 2002 unscathed, and the certificate should be verified with the same care devoted to the Base Set Charizard.

The legacy: modern shinies

The idea of the Shinings never went away. The shiny cards of the GX era, the Shiny Vault of Hidden Fates and today the shiny SIRs of Paldean Fates, January 2024, come from there. The shiny Charizard ex 234/091, black like the Shining of 2002, is worth between €230 and €350 ungraded and about €650 in PSA 10: a modern card, printed in far greater quantities, easier to obtain in 10 and therefore with a much lower ratio between raw card and 10.

Anyone who loves shinies can start there and work back. The Shining Charizard stays at the top, and when one goes to auction it is an event.