What do the three letters on a Pokémon decklist mean?

They are the set code — the shorthand for the expansion a card comes from. "TWM 130" means card 130 of Twilight Masquerade. Every decklist uses them because two cards can share a name and play completely differently, so the code is what tells you which one the player actually used. All 26 codes are in the table above.

Where is the set symbol on a Pokémon card?

In the bottom strip, next to the collector number. On modern cards you will usually see the three-letter code there as well. If your card only has the symbol, use the number instead: the denominator ("128/159") tells you how many cards the set holds in its official numbering, which is enough to find the right row in the table.

How many Pokémon TCG sets are there?

This table holds 26, counted on 9 August 2026, across 2 series. It covers the modern era rather than every set ever printed: these are the ones whose cards our catalogue reads, which is also what makes it possible to give you a card count and a Japanese origin for each one instead of just a name.

What is a secret rare, and why is my card numbered 192/191?

Because sets print cards past their own official numbering. The denominator is the count of cards in the main set; anything numbered above it was printed as an extra. Across the sets in this table there are 1,357 such cards against 3,354 inside the numbering. They play exactly like their ordinary versions — it is the print run that differs, not the card.

Does the set code tell me whether I can play the card?

No, and this is worth getting right before a tournament. Legality is decided by the single letter in the small box at the bottom left of the card, not by the set. A card from an older set can be perfectly legal, and a card from a recent one can be about to leave. Turn the card over and read the letter, every time.

Reference guide26 sets · 22 matched to Japan · counted 9 August 2026

Pokémon set symbols and set codes: the full table, with the Japanese set each one came from

You are looking at a decklist and it says "4 Iono JTG 128". Or you are holding a card and there is a tiny symbol in the bottom strip that means nothing to you. Both of those are the same thing: the set the card comes from. Here is the whole table — 26 sets, 26 of them with a printed three-letter code — plus one column you will not find anywhere else: the Japanese set each expansion was built from, and the date it came out over there.

Published 11 August 2026Data updated 9 August 2026

THE SHORT VERSION

26 sets are in this table, 26 of them carrying a printed three-letter code. That code is what every decklist in the world uses, and it is printed on the card itself, in the bottom strip next to the number.
22 of them are matched to the Japanese set they were built from. That is the column that makes this table different from the three others online: they list what shipped here, we also say where it came from and when.
Across all of them: 3,354 cards inside the official numbering, plus 1,357 more printed past it. Those extras are the "secret rares" — cards numbered above the set total, like 192/191.
Japan ships first, and we measured by how much: 56 days on 22 matched sets, which is 8 weeks. Right now 1 Japanese sets are out with no international twin yet.

The three letters, and where to find them on the card

Look at the bottom strip of any modern card. You will find a small symbol, then a number like "128/159", and — depending on the printing — a short code in capitals. That code names the set. "JTG" is Journey Together, "TWM" is Twilight Masquerade. It is the shorthand every decklist, every results page and every stream uses.

The symbol and the code say the same thing in two different alphabets. The symbol is the old way — a tiny picture, different for every set — and it is still what you see on some printings. The code is the new way, and it is far easier to search for, which is why decklists use it. If your card only has the symbol, find the number instead: "128/159" tells you the set holds 159 cards in its official numbering, and the table below will get you the rest of the way.

Why does the code matter at all, if you are only here to play? Because two cards can share a name and do completely different things. "Iono" printed in one set and "Iono" printed in another are two separate cards to the rules. A decklist that says "Iono JTG 128" is not showing off — it is telling you exactly which of the two the player used. Check the code before you buy anything off a marketplace listing.

And one thing the code does NOT tell you: whether you can play the card in a tournament. That is the single letter in the little box at the bottom left, which is a different mark entirely. A set can be old and still legal, or recent and about to leave. The letter decides, not the set.

Every set, with its code, its date and the Japanese set it came from

The full table, newest first: 26 sets across 2 series — Scarlet & Violet and Mega Evolution. The first one we hold is Scarlet & Violet (SVI), out on 31 March 2023; the most recent is Pitch Black (PBL), 17 July 2026, with 84 cards.

Read the last two columns together, because that is where this table earns its keep. Every international set is built out of one or more Japanese sets, and the Japanese ones come out first. So the column tells you two things at once: which Japanese product your English set was made from, and how long the wait was. On the 22 sets where we could measure both dates, the gap came to 56 days — about 8 weeks.

The card counts need one word of explanation, because they look wrong at first. The official count is the denominator printed on the card: "128/159" means 159. But sets always contain cards numbered above that — 160/159, 161/159 and up. Across every set in this table there are 3,354 cards inside the numbering and 1,357 beyond it. That second number is not a rounding error, it is roughly a quarter of everything printed.

Biggest set in the table: SVP Black Star Promos (SVP), with 225 cards in its official numbering. Worth knowing before you decide to complete one — set size varies enormously, and "I'll collect the whole set" means very different amounts of work depending on which one you pick.

4 sets in the table have no Japanese set beside them, and that is information rather than a gap in our data. Some products only ever existed here: basic Energy sets, promo collections, sets assembled out of pieces of several Japanese releases at once. Where we could not verify a single Japanese origin, we leave the cell empty rather than pick the likeliest one.

Every set with its printed code, its release date and the Japanese set it came from
Code	Set	Series	Released	Cards	Japanese set	Out in Japan
PBL	Pitch Black	Mega Evolution	17 July 2026	84	M5 Abyss Eye	22 May 2026
CRI	Chaos Rising	Mega Evolution	22 May 2026	86	M4 Ninja Spinner	13 March 2026
POR	Perfect Order	Mega Evolution	27 March 2026	88	M3 Nihil Zero	23 January 2026
ASC	Ascended Heroes	Mega Evolution	30 January 2026	217	M2a MEGA Dream ex	28 November 2025
PFL	Phantasmal Flames	Mega Evolution	14 November 2025	94	M2 Inferno X	26 September 2025
MEG	Mega Evolution	Mega Evolution	26 September 2025	132	M1L Mega Brave + M1S Mega Symphonia	1 August 2025
MEP	MEP Black Star Promos	Mega Evolution	26 September 2025	0	—	—
MEE	Mega Evolution Energy	Mega Evolution	25 September 2025	8	—	—
BLK	Black Bolt	Scarlet & Violet	17 July 2025	86	SV11B Black Bolt	6 June 2025
WHT	White Flare	Scarlet & Violet	17 July 2025	86	SV11W White Flare	6 June 2025
DRI	Destined Rivals	Scarlet & Violet	30 May 2025	182	SV10 Glory of Team Rocket + SV9a Hot Wind Arena	18 April 2025
JTG	Journey Together	Scarlet & Violet	28 March 2025	159	SV9 Battle Partners	24 January 2025
PRE	Prismatic Evolutions	Scarlet & Violet	17 January 2025	131	SV8a Terastal Festival ex	6 December 2024
SSP	Surging Sparks	Scarlet & Violet	8 November 2024	191	SV8 Super Electric Breaker + SV7a Paradise Dragona	18 October 2024
SCR	Stellar Crown	Scarlet & Violet	13 September 2024	142	SV7 Stellar Miracle	19 July 2024
SFA	Shrouded Fable	Scarlet & Violet	2 August 2024	64	SV6a Night Wanderer	7 June 2024
TWM	Twilight Masquerade	Scarlet & Violet	24 May 2024	167	SV6 Mask of Change + SV5a Crimson Haze	26 April 2024
TEF	Temporal Forces	Scarlet & Violet	22 March 2024	162	SV5K Wild Force + SV5M Cyber Judge	26 January 2024
PAF	Paldean Fates	Scarlet & Violet	26 January 2024	91	SV4a Shiny Treasure ex	1 December 2023
PAR	Paradox Rift	Scarlet & Violet	3 November 2023	182	SV4K Ancient Roar + SV4M Future Flash + SV3a Raging Surf	27 October 2023
MEW	151	Scarlet & Violet	22 September 2023	165	SV2a Pokémon Card 151	16 June 2023
OBF	Obsidian Flames	Scarlet & Violet	11 August 2023	197	SV3 Ruler of the Black Flame	28 July 2023
PAL	Paldea Evolved	Scarlet & Violet	9 June 2023	193	SV1a Triplet Beat + SV2P Snow Hazard + SV2D Clay Burst	14 April 2023
SVI	Scarlet & Violet	Scarlet & Violet	31 March 2023	198	SV1S Scarlet ex + SV1V Violet ex	20 January 2023
SVE	Scarlet & Violet Energy	Scarlet & Violet	31 March 2023	24	—	—
SVP	SVP Black Star Promos	Scarlet & Violet	31 March 2023	225	—	—

What is out in Japan and has not reached us yet

1 Japanese sets are on sale over there with no international release announced. Those cards are real: people are buying and playing them right now, and they will land here — historically about 56 days after their Japanese release.

We do not know the dates. The publisher announces them and they appear in no card data, so we are not going to put one in front of you. What we can do is show you the gap we measured on the sets that already made the trip, and let you do the arithmetic yourself.

This is also why we read the Japanese sets card by card in the Journal, two months before anyone can read them in English. The numbers on those cards — HP, damage, Energy costs — need no translation at all: they are printed as digits, and they are identical to the ones that will ship here. Only the sentences have to wait.

Questions people ask

What do the three letters on a Pokémon decklist mean?: They are the set code — the shorthand for the expansion a card comes from. "TWM 130" means card 130 of Twilight Masquerade. Every decklist uses them because two cards can share a name and play completely differently, so the code is what tells you which one the player actually used. All 26 codes are in the table above.
Where is the set symbol on a Pokémon card?: In the bottom strip, next to the collector number. On modern cards you will usually see the three-letter code there as well. If your card only has the symbol, use the number instead: the denominator ("128/159") tells you how many cards the set holds in its official numbering, which is enough to find the right row in the table.
How many Pokémon TCG sets are there?: This table holds 26, counted on 9 August 2026, across 2 series. It covers the modern era rather than every set ever printed: these are the ones whose cards our catalogue reads, which is also what makes it possible to give you a card count and a Japanese origin for each one instead of just a name.
What is a secret rare, and why is my card numbered 192/191?: Because sets print cards past their own official numbering. The denominator is the count of cards in the main set; anything numbered above it was printed as an extra. Across the sets in this table there are 1,357 such cards against 3,354 inside the numbering. They play exactly like their ordinary versions — it is the print run that differs, not the card.
Does the set code tell me whether I can play the card?: No, and this is worth getting right before a tournament. Legality is decided by the single letter in the small box at the bottom left of the card, not by the set. A card from an older set can be perfectly legal, and a card from a recent one can be about to leave. Turn the card over and read the letter, every time.

Where all of this comes from

Built from poko's own set table, assembled on 9 August 2026 from the public TCGdex API for the international sets and from the publisher's own Japanese database for the Japanese ones. Codes, release dates and card counts are read off those sources, never typed by hand. The pairing between an international set and its Japanese origin is verified set by set; where we could not verify one, the cell is empty instead of holding a guess. The 56-day gap is the median measured on the 22 sets where both dates are known.