Help Has anyone seen this error card

ATMandeville

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Looking to find value of this error card. My son just got it in a pack. Card title says Alolan Vulpix but it is an Alolan Moewth
20200102_183455.jpg
[/URL][/IMG]
 

Number51x

Blasting off at the speed of light!
Member
Did you get said pack at a swap meet? There are so many things wrong with that card, it is probably fake.
 

Otaku

The wise fool?
Member
To give you an idea, @ATMandeville here is a scan of the real card from the official database at pokemon.com:

SM8_EN_118.png


I can't make out finer details, but from what I can see, the card's name, Energy requirements, and Resistance are clearly wrong. I'm no expert on error cards versus counterfeits, but that many things wrong make me think it was a fake. You say you got the packs at Target... were they packs from a normal booster boxs, from an "official" item of merchandise (like a tin), or just one of those third-party pack collections?
 

Number51x

Blasting off at the speed of light!
Member
In genuine Pokemon product or some sort of re-pack like a mystery box? Without getting super detailed like fonts or spacing and the like, besides the wrong name, the borders are way too wide even for being off center, the resistance and weakness are both the wrong type, and the attack cost should be for no energy, not colorless. You don't really see multiple errors stacked up like this or of this level of egregiousness. Has to be fake.
 

JakeTheGearHeart

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I don't know how since you said your son opened this in a pack from target, but this card is almost a guaranteed fake. The energy symbols (notably the psychic energy symbol in the resistance) are not ones used by any official TCG card to my knowledge, and certainly not any in the last decade.
 

ATMandeville

Aspiring Trainer
Member
To give you an idea, @ATMandeville here is a scan of the real card from the official database at pokemon.com:

SM8_EN_118.png


I can't make out finer details, but from what I can see, the card's name, Energy requirements, and Resistance are clearly wrong. I'm no expert on error cards versus counterfeits, but that many things wrong make me think it was a fake. You say you got the packs at Target... were they packs from a normal booster boxs, from an "official" item of merchandise (like a tin), or just one of those third-party pack collections?


Here is a picture of it outside the plastic sleeve. It matches the one you posted of the correct card info. Everything but the name.

URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/atminneola/media/Mobile Uploads/20200109_152717.jpg.html
20200109_152717.jpg
[/URL]
 

ATMandeville

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I don't know how since you said your son opened this in a pack from target, but this card is almost a guaranteed fake. The energy symbols (notably the psychic energy symbol in the resistance) are not ones used by any official TCG card to my knowledge, and certainly not any in the last decade.

Yes, it came out of a pack from Target.

Here is a better picture of it

URL=http://s24.photobucket.com/user/atminneola/media/Mobile Uploads/20200109_152717.jpg.html
20200109_152717.jpg
[/URL]
 

Otaku

The wise fool?
Member
Here is a picture of it outside the plastic sleeve. It matches the one you posted of the correct card info. Everything but the name.

No, it doesn't. ^^'

Ignoring the stuff that is more technical (don't trust myself there), besides the incorrect name the Energy cost is clearly different on the attacks. Try zooming in on the official scan; some attacks in Pokémon require no Energy attached to that Pokémon in order to use them. This results in them having a blank Energy symbol. At a glance, it might look like the Colorless Energy symbol, but look closer.

I was mistaken about the Resistance... sort of. Unless it is a trick of the lightning, the Psychic Energy symbol used for your card's Resistance seems to be the wrong color. It really could be a trick of the lighting, but between the wrong name and wrong attack cost, odds seem good your card is a fake. Feel free to try Pokémon's customer service line, though; if they say its a misprint, come back and let us know!
 

snoopy369

Aspiring Trainer
Advanced Member
Member
Agree - it's a fake, not an error. https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/sm-series/sm8/53/ is the Alolan Vulpix from that expansion - the errors on the card definitely aren't any more like that card.

Did you get it from an official Pokémon pack, like this one?

https://www.target.com/p/pokemon-tr...-s8-lost-thunder-blister-bundle/-/A-53938519#
GUEST_a180d315-a8f6-4e55-9837-1d46b682b592


Or did it come from something else, probably something that said "guaranteed foil" or "one GX per box" or something like that? Here's one example from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pokemon-Mystery-Power-Cube-Trading-Cards/355589746

9cc277e8-fca5-4aaa-8bd2-0ebf8c227a5e_1.4dbf50ee2391d484e8d8d5ad4e06d62c.jpeg
 

snoopy369

Aspiring Trainer
Advanced Member
Member
I see every energy symbol on card on this website

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type_(TCG)
Look at the difference in color in the resistance, in particular. That's supposed to be dark purple - but it's actually bright pink, and not centered very well.

Also, the "Alolan Vulpix" text isn't spaced well at all. And Spoil the Fun shouldn't cost an energy, it should be free.

These are the indicators of a fake, usually - small but significant errors like that. A true "error" card wouldn't mix bits of two cards in such a complicated way, anyway - they don't print the cards in such a way that would make sense.
 

ATMandeville

Aspiring Trainer
Member
[QUOTE="Otaku, post: 3004041,
Ignoring the stuff that is more technical (don't trust myself there), besides the incorrect name the Energy cost is clearly different on the attacks. Try zooming in on the official scan; some attacks in Pokémon require no Energy attached to that Pokémon in order to use them. This results in them having a blank Energy symbol. At a glance, it might look like the Colorless Energy symbol, but look closer.

I was mistaken about the Resistance... sort of. Unless it is a trick of the lightning, the Psychic Energy symbol used for your card's Resistance seems to be the wrong color. It really could be a trick of the lighting, but between the wrong name and wrong attack cost, odds seem good your card is a fake. Feel free to try Pokémon's customer service line, though; if they say its a misprint, come back and let us know![/QUOTE]


I am not sure what energy cost you are referring to but from the link below everything matches
https://www.trollandtoad.com/pokemo...an-meowth-118-214-common-reverse-holo/1328045

I will try customer service
 

JakeTheGearHeart

Aspiring Trainer
Member
I see every energy symbol on card on this website

https://m.bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Type_(TCG)
On your card, the coloring and shading of the symbols are completely different from anything printed on an official card. Here are some officially used variations of the psychic energy symbol:
https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/?cardName=Psychic+Energy
You can see that the basic design of the symbol is the same, but they don't all use the same render of the symbol. The one on your card is not used on any official card ever printed. You can also clearly tell that the official print of the card has no star symbol to the left of the "Spoil the Fun" text.
https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/sm-series/sm8/118/
On the official card, it is a blank white shaded circle. On your card, it has the star symbol for colorless attack costs.
 

Otaku

The wise fool?
Member
I am not sure what energy cost you are referring to but from the link below everything matches

If you're not sure what I'm referring to, then why are you so sure they match? XD

On Pokémon cards, there are Energy symbols to the left of an attacks name and text. The actual Alolan Meowth in question has a "blank" Energy symbol, by which I mean a white (light gray?) circle with a slightly discolored center. Your card has the traditional Colorless Energy symbol: still a while circle, but with a six pointed star in the center.

Good luck with customer service, though!
 

snoopy369

Aspiring Trainer
Advanced Member
Member
Ignoring the stuff that is more technical (don't trust myself there), besides the incorrect name the Energy cost is clearly different on the attacks. Try zooming in on the official scan; some attacks in Pokémon require no Energy attached to that Pokémon in order to use them. This results in them having a blank Energy symbol. At a glance, it might look like the Colorless Energy symbol, but look closer.

I was mistaken about the Resistance... sort of. Unless it is a trick of the lightning, the Psychic Energy symbol used for your card's Resistance seems to be the wrong color. It really could be a trick of the lighting, but between the wrong name and wrong attack cost, odds seem good your card is a fake. Feel free to try Pokémon's customer service line, though; if they say its a misprint, come back and let us know!


I am not sure what energy cost you are referring to but from the link below everything matches
https://www.trollandtoad.com/pokemo...an-meowth-118-214-common-reverse-holo/1328045

I will try customer service
Spoil the Fun costs *zero* (gray circle), not *one colorless* (whiteish circle with a star in it).
 

ATMandeville

Aspiring Trainer
Member
Agree - it's a fake, not an error. https://www.pokemon.com/us/pokemon-tcg/pokemon-cards/sm-series/sm8/53/ is the Alolan Vulpix from that expansion - the errors on the card definitely aren't any more like that card.

Did you get it from an official Pokémon pack, like this one?

https://www.target.com/p/pokemon-tr...-s8-lost-thunder-blister-bundle/-/A-53938519#
GUEST_a180d315-a8f6-4e55-9837-1d46b682b592


Or did it come from something else, probably something that said "guaranteed foil" or "one GX per box" or something like that? Here's one example from Walmart:

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pokemon-Mystery-Power-Cube-Trading-Cards/355589746

9cc277e8-fca5-4aaa-8bd2-0ebf8c227a5e_1.4dbf50ee2391d484e8d8d5ad4e06d62c.jpeg

Yes an official 10 card pack like the Target link you provided
 

snoopy369

Aspiring Trainer
Advanced Member
Member
Yes an official 10 card pack like the Target link you provided

Hmm, then it's less likely it's a fake, but not *impossible* certainly (and I think even if Pokemon had mailed you that pack directly, I'd still believe it was a fake). Target/etc. is pretty much a random shot - it's so easy for people to try and manipulate their packs (by unsealing them, removing valuable cards, and returning with a fake/less valuable card) that I'd basically assume any pack there is at risk. Buying from trusted sources such as a local game store, where you can be confident nobody is weighing packs (which shouldn't be possible anymore, but who knows) and nobody is accepting returns of opened/resealed packs is your only way to be confident you're getting valid cards.

In particular, I'd be *highly* suspicious if that was in the Rare slot (the one in front of the energy) or the Holo slot (the one in front of the rare), or in the very front, as any of those makes it likely that it was a replacement.
 
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