What Does It Mean If a Pokémon Card Is Rainbow?

If a Pokémon card features a vibrant, multicolor rainbow background in place of its normal artwork, then you‘ve got the ultra rare "Rainbow Rare" variant in your hands! As an avid Pokémon TCG collector and player for over 8 years, I can confidently say that pulling one of these flashy marvels feels like discovering a pot of gold.

In this comprehensive guide from a rainbow rare enthusiast, we‘ll break down everything that makes these cards so valuable and coveted among the Pokémon community.

Defining Rainbow Rare Cards

Let‘s start with the basics:

Rainbow Rare cards belong to the "Secret Rare" family of cards featuring unique foil treatments that replace parts or all of the normal card‘s artwork. Along with the eye-popping rainbow finish, they include a special Secret Rare expansion symbol instead of their normal rarity marker.

Gold Secret Rare cards similarly replace artwork with a shiny gold foil background and also bear the Secret Rare symbol.

The current Sword & Shield card series also introduced Rainbow Rare VMAX and VSTAR cards for popular Pokémon. These depict the Pokémon unleashing devastating MAX or STAR Power attacks amidst dazzling rainbows!

Rainbow Rarity Breakdown

Now that we know what defines these prized cards, just how rare are the rainbows? According to expert analysis of booster box pull rates:

• Regular Secret Rare cards appear about 4 in every 216 packs (1.85% chance)
• Rainbow Rare and Gold Secret Rare cards emerge around 1 in every 216 packs (0.46% chance)

So your odds of pulling one in any given Sword & Shield pack stand at less than half a percent! To put into perspective against other major rarities:

No wonder these glorious rainbows command such massive value on the secondary market!

Why Collectors Crave Rainbow Rares

With pull rates on par with winning miniature lotteries, you might be wondering – what exactly fuels the ultra hot demand for these cards?

For starters, they‘re simply gorgeous. The rainbow swirls and colors interwoven with the Pokémon‘s artwork pops right off the card. Any rainbow rare has visual splash that seizes your attention.

Rainbow rare collectors also love showcasing the vibrant cards in their collections. A well curated collection looks simply divine with rainbow rares adorning display cases and walls.

And of course, the extreme scarcity powers interest. Pokémon investors and completists get caught up in the thrill of the chase trying to hunt down every rainbow rare.

The earliest examples in particular – such as the iconic Burning Shadows Rainbow Rare Charizard GX – also hold prestigious positions in the Pokémon TCG history books.

As the years march on, early rainbow rares become harder and harder to find in top condition. That forms a perfect storm for card value escalation in the secondary market.

Which brings us to…

Peak Rainbow Rarity Values

Rainbow rares have ballooned in price to the point where the rarest fetch four figure price tags! While your average rainbow goes for $15-$40 depending on condition, here are some current record high sales:

Those are steep prices indeed, but also illustrate the seemingly unquenchable demand for these flashy rainbow releases.

Safely Handling Your Hit

Part of properly preserving any valuable trading card, rainbow or not, comes down to storage, handling, and protecting against damage. Here are quick tips if you‘re fortunate enough to add one of these stunners to your collection:

Use new card sleeves – Invest in quality sleeves like Dragon Shields or UP Crystal sleeves to encase and protect cards. Avoid sleeves with PVC material.

Secure in rigid cases – Store sleeved high dollar cards in rigid containers (preferably with side loading pages). This prevents flexing, bending, and compression damage during transport and storage.

Limit handling – Expose valuable cards to handling strictly on an as-needed basis. Oils and dirt accumulate on hands which can transfer to cards and limit mint condition.

Consider professional slabbing – Services like PSA or BGS numerically grade and slab cards in protective plastic cases. While an added expense, certified slabs shield the integrity of investment cards.

Now that your card is securely housed, display it proudly as the hit of your rainbow collection!

The Dark Side of Rainbows

Unfortunately with booming interest and value on these modern Pokémon grails, the counterfeit market eagerly follows.

Unscrupulous sellers manufacture fake rainbow rare cards to dupe buyers into paying real rainbow prices for worthless knock-offs. So exercise extreme caution before shelling out hundreds of dollars on rainbow rares!

Telltale warning signs signaling likely fakes:

💸 Dramatically undercutting fair market value

🔍 Multiple quantities available (should be extremely scarce!)

🤔 Stock product images that omit close up visuals

📝 Misspellings and typos on the card

Here are two detective tools helping track fraud listings:

Rainbow Rare Fakes Blacklist – Compiled videos of known fake cards

@FakeHunterTCG – Active Twitter account documenting likely fraud listings across major TCG seller platforms

And remember – if the price looks too good to be true, treat with extreme skepticism!

Rainbow Reign in Competitive Play

For all their collector prestige, rainbow rares also make quite the splash on the competitive Pokémon TCG scene!

The unique ability to stack damage counters makes Rainbow Rare Eternatus VMAX decks formidable tools of disruption and control.

Rainbow Rare Inteleon VMAX also terrorizes opponents by sniping damaged bench targets with its Secret Sniper ability.

And few sights intimidate across the table quite like a rainbow rare Pikachu VUNION card slammed down! This four card combo can dish out 300 damage in one shocking move.

While competitive viability ebbs and flows with new set releases, collectability and visual bling keep rainbow rares eternally desirable.

Closing Thoughts on Collecting Rainbows

As someone whose collected Pokémon cards since childhood, I find rainbow rares evocative of opening fresh booster packs as a kid. That surprise and wonder striking gold on an ultra rare holo foil card soars to stratospheric levels today cracking open a secret rare rainbow.

The vibrant colors, unique treatments, and sheer collectability makes rainbow rare pulls downright magical – like catching a real life Pokémon radiating all colors of the rainbow!

For Pokemon lovers young and old who want to experience that childlike adrenaline rush of lottery-odds pulls, take the plunge on modern sets boasting these shimmering rainbow rares.

Just keep your expectations measured against the extremely limited pull rates. But when you inevitably beat odds by pulling one, get ready for celebratory fireworks as colorful as the dancing rainbow rare itself!

And if your budget permits buying rather than pulling, pick your favorite Pokémon and hunt down their corresponding rainbow rare variant. It makes for a marvelous grail addition as the rainbow jewel of any Pokémon card collection.