How to tell if a Pokémon or One Piece card is fake

Fake cards exist in both Pokémon and One Piece, and not only at flea markets: they turn up on second-hand apps, in "super cheap" bundles and even inside packs that someone has resealed. Most can be caught with a few simple checks. Here are the ones that really work, their limits, and what to look for in sealed product.

One rule before we start: no single test is conclusive on its own. Combine several and, whenever you can, compare with a genuine card from the same set and rarity.

1. Print quality

This is what gives most fakes away. On a genuine card:

• Text is sharp even under a loupe or your phone's zoom.
• Colours are vivid and well aligned, with no doubled shadows or blurry edges.
• The artwork has detail: it doesn't look pixelated or washed out.

Fakes tend to have slightly blurry text, dull or oversaturated colours and poorly defined artwork edges.

2. Font and text

Read the whole card. Typical mistakes on a fake:

• Spelling mistakes or odd translations.
• In Pokémon, "Pokemon" without the accent on the é.
• A font that differs from the rest of the set, with thicker or thinner letters.
• Energy, HP or cost symbols drawn badly or at the wrong size.
• A copyright year that doesn't match the set.

3. The card back and its colour

Card backs are always the same within each game, so this is a very quick comparison:

• Pokémon: the Poké Ball should be sharp, the blue background the right shade and the yellow border even. Fakes often have a lighter or purplish blue and a blurry design.
• One Piece: the genuine back is an intense, saturated blue. Many fakes are duller or have a purple tint.

Put the suspect card next to a genuine one and look at both backs in good light. It is one of the most reliable checks.

4. Holo finish and texture

Rare cards have finishes that are very hard to copy well:

• Holo: on a genuine card the shine shifts and has depth as you tilt it. On a fake it often looks flat, too mirror-like or like a sticker.
• Texture: many high rarities (SIR and SAR in Pokémon; alt art, Manga Rare and SEC in One Piece) have a raised texture you can feel with your finger. Fakes are usually smooth.
• Pattern: each set and rarity has its own holo pattern. If it doesn't match other copies from the same set, be suspicious.

5. The light test

Hold the card in front of a torch or your phone light. Genuine cards have a dark inner layer that lets almost no light through. Many fakes let quite a lot through.

Careful: some genuine cards, especially older or Japanese ones, let some light through. Use it as a clue, not a verdict. And don't do the "rip test" unless the card is already known to be fake or worthless: it destroys the card.

6. Thickness and weight

A standard Pokémon card weighs about 1.7–1.8 grams according to community authentication guides, and holos weigh slightly more. A card that feels clearly thinner, softer or thicker than its peers is suspicious.

But be careful: the differences are tenths of a gram and a kitchen scale won't do. Weight also varies with the finish. Treat it as one more check, not as proof.

7. Set symbol and numbering

• Check that the set symbol or code matches the card. In One Piece the code (for example OP05-119) must match the set; in Pokémon the symbol and number (like 199/165) must belong to that expansion.
• Look the card up in a reliable database or on Cardmarket and compare the official image with yours: number position, rarity symbol, illustrator name.
• Be wary of cards that "don't exist": Pokémon with impossible attacks, rarities that don't belong to that set or numbers above the set total that aren't secret rares.

8. A price that is too good

If a Luffy Manga Rare or an SIR of a popular Pokémon shows up far below its usual price, the explanation is almost never that the seller doesn't know what they have. Fakes concentrate on the most expensive cards, because that is where faking pays. Before buying, check the card's price on Cardmarket and see whether the seller has a history and real photos of the card, not catalogue images.

We explain how card prices work in how much a Pokémon card is worth and how much One Piece cards are worth.

Graded cards: check the certificate

A card in a PSA, CGC or BGS slab isn't automatically genuine: cases and labels get faked too. Look up the certificate number on the grading company's website and check that the photo, the card and the grade match.

Packs and boxes: how to spot a reseal

Besides fake cards, there are packs that have been opened, emptied of their good card and closed again. Warning signs:

• Irregular seals: the top or bottom crimp is crooked, wrinkled, shows glue or has a different pattern from other packs.
• Box shrink-wrap that is too loose, has odd folds or a different finish from other genuine boxes of the same product (for example, no printed logo when the original has one).
• Loose packs of unknown origin at bargain prices.
• Boxes whose pack count or weight doesn't match the original product.

The safest way to buy loose packs is from a sealed box that someone you trust has checked. We cover this in how much a Pokémon or One Piece pack costs.

How we buy and sell at ONLYCHASES

• We check every box seal by hand before opening it to sell its packs.
• Every single card has real photos of the exact copy you will receive. No catalogue images.
• We ship from Spain in 24–48 h, across the European Union.

Browse the cards one by one in Pokémon singles and One Piece singles, and sealed product in Pokémon sealed and One Piece sealed.

Quick summary

Keep reading

• Pokémon and One Piece rarities: the finish of each one.
• Japanese or English cards: differences in printing and quality.
• Sealed Pokémon boxes: which one to buy.

One Piece card images: © Eiichiro Oda/Shueisha, Toei Animation. One Piece Card Game is a Bandai product; ONLYCHASES is not affiliated with Bandai.