Logan Paul recently made waves in the collector world by calling rarity the ultimate moat. For Pokemon card fans chasing prices on sites like PokemonPricing.com, this idea hits home. Rarity acts like a protective wall around a card’s value, keeping it high because so few exist.
Think of it this way. Common cards show up in almost every booster pack. They have a simple circle symbol and pull rates near 50 percent or more. Uncommon cards, with a diamond symbol, appear a bit less often, maybe one in every few packs. Rares, marked by a single black star, guarantee one per pack but can range from basic non-holo versions to shiny holofoils that collectors crave.[1]
The real price spikes come from higher rarities. Double Rares, like Pokemon ex cards with two stars, have pull rates around 2 to 3 percent in some packs. Ultra Rares, full art beauties with gold or silver stars, drop to under 1 percent, sometimes one in 90 packs or worse.[1][2] Special Art Rares or Shiny Ultra Rares push it further, replacing slots in packs with odds like 1 in 500.[2][3]
Logan Paul’s point shines here. Rarity creates scarcity. Take Shining Charizard from Neo Destiny. It pulled at one per 300 packs back in 2000, making pristine copies fetch top dollar today.[5] Or promo cards like the Wonder Platinum from a 2009 Japan tournament, limited to just 20 copies, sold for over $50,000 in 2023.[5] Even gold-plated Pikachu replicas from lotteries hold value because no one else has them.
In modern sets like Scarlet and Violet, every rare is now a holofoil, but Ultra Rares and above stay exclusive with full arts or special illustrations.[1] TCG Pocket follows suit, with 2-Star or Shiny cards costing thousands of Shinedust to trade due to their low pull rates.[2][4]
This moat means rare cards resist price drops. Supply stays tiny while demand from players and investors grows. Check price charts for cards like VMAX or SAR versions, and you see steady climbs, especially graded near mint or better.[6] For buyers on PokemonPricing.com, hunt those symbols at the card’s bottom. The more stars or special prints, the stronger the moat around its market price.
