Pokémon TCG

Pokémon Card Scanner

Hold a card under your phone's camera and it's in your collection. TurnZero HQ reads the set code and collector number printed along the bottom, the one part of a Pokémon card that says exactly which printing it is.

Scan your first stack

Free on iPhone and Android, with a typed option on the web.

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How it works

1. Open the scanner

In My Library, switch the game menu to Pokémon and tap Scan, beside the My cards and Add cards tabs. The camera opens with a running list of what has been added this session underneath it.

2. Hold up one card at a time

Keep the bottom edge of the card in view, where the set code and number are printed. The name helps too, but the number is what identifies the card.

3. Watch it land

Each recognized card is added to your collection the moment it is read, so switching apps halfway through a stack loses nothing. Undo on any row takes that copy back off.

4. Pick when it asks

If a read could be more than one card, the scanner shows the candidates and waits for you to tap the right one. Nothing is added on a guess.

What it reads, and in what order

A Magic scanner looks at the title, because a Magic card's name is its identity. A Pokémon scanner has to do the opposite. The phone reads every line of text on the card, and TurnZero HQ works through them in this order:

What's printedExampleWhat happens
Set code and numberSVI EN 025/198One card has that code and number, so it's the answer, even if the name was misread.
Number over set total58/102Older cards with no set code: the sets with that total, then the card whose name was also read.
A name with no numberPikachuCan't name a printing, so you're shown every printing of that name to pick from.

That's why the bottom edge matters most: keep the collector line in frame and out of glare, and most cards resolve on the first read. Where the set code and number are on each era of card →

Duplicates

The scanner reads a new frame about once a second, so it needs a rule for when a card is new. The rule is simple: a new card is one that reads differently from the last card added. Holding the same card up adds it once, and a blank frame between two identical cards doesn't reset that. For a second copy of the same card, tap +1 on its row.

Variants

The scanner adds each card as its headline version: Normal, or Holofoil where that is the card's only or main printing. A camera can't reliably tell a reverse holofoil from a normal copy, so rather than guess, it leaves that to you. Open the card from your collection and move the copy to the right variant, and its price follows. How to tell the variants apart →

Typing instead of scanning

Everything the camera does from a card's text also works from what you type. Enter the set code and number, or the number and printed total, and the card is found the same way:

✓

SVI 25: set code and number

✓

025/198: number and printed set total

✓

paf 232: capitals don't matter

That's how the web app adds cards, since a browser has no scanner camera, and it's often quicker on a phone for a card in a sleeve with glare across the bottom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the scanner read the bottom of a Pokémon card rather than the name?

Because the name doesn't identify the card. Pikachu is printed on dozens of different cards, while a line like "SVI EN 025/198" is printed on exactly one. TurnZero HQ reads the set code and collector number first and uses the name only to break ties.

Can it scan old Pokémon cards without a set code?

Often, yes. Cards from before the Scarlet & Violet era print no set code, only a number over the set's total, like "58/102". The scanner finds the sets with that printed total and then the card whose name also appears in what it read. When a number and name still fit more than one card, it shows you the choices.

Does the scanner know if my card is a reverse holo?

No, and it doesn't pretend to. A camera can't reliably see the difference between a reverse holo and a normal copy, so a scanned card is added as its headline version (Normal, or Holofoil for a card that only comes in holo). Change the variant on the card's page afterward if yours is different.

What if I scan two copies of the same card?

A card that reads the same as the one just added is treated as still being in the frame, so holding a card up doesn't add it over and over. To add a second copy, tap +1 on its row, or scan a different card in between.

Can I scan Pokémon cards on a computer?

The camera scanner is for phones. On the web you type what's printed at the bottom of the card instead, like "SVI 25" or "PAF 232", and the same matching finds it.

Does TurnZero HQ keep a photo of my cards?

No. The text on the card is read on your phone, and only those lines of text are sent to TurnZero HQ to match against the catalog. No picture of the card is uploaded or stored.

Turn a shoebox of Pokémon cards into a priced collection.

Scan them in one at a time and TurnZero HQ keeps the count and the value. Free to start.

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Pokémon and Pokémon character names are trademarks of Nintendo. ©Pokémon. ©Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK inc. TurnZero HQ is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by Nintendo, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc., or GAME FREAK inc. Card data comes from the open PokemonTCG dataset, and prices from TCGplayer.