an old collector struggling with the new

hi
I use to collect pokemon cards when I was younger and have decided to start back up again.
I have full sets of base, jungle, fossil and team rocket (all twice over lol)

ive recently started collecting the black and white plasma storm but im struggling.
I don't understand how you can have two cards the same and with the same number with one being holo and one being not. its giving me a right headache when it comes to putting the in a folder.
eg
klink 088/135 has a normal non holo card and a holo card and dull picture.
infernape 017/135 has a normal non holo card and a holo picture but dull card.?
is there any way to tell which cards have duplicates so I can leave space for them in my folder?

why did they have to change it for things were so much simpler when all the shinys were at the front lol.

also I know you cant sell cards on here but can you trade?if so where

thanks in advance for any replies

You've been out of collecting for quite a while, haven't you? Reverse holos were introduced in the Legendary Collection back in 2002. Basically, they're alternate holofoil prints of cards.

Put in the simplest terms possible, every card except for Ultra rare (In the Black & White sets, these are EX Pokemon, Ace Specs, and full-art cards) and secret rare cards (these are cards that have a collector's number higher than the "official" collector's number for the set - for example, 115/114) have a reverse holofoil print. One of the reasons for this is that the cards have holofoil in places that would make it impossible to give it a "reverse" holofoil print (which is basically just giving it holofoil everywhere but the picture for most sets - some sets released between 2003 and 2006 took the approach of a holofoil picture with the set logo on the picture for "reverse" foils), and another is probably because they actually take the reverse holofoil's slot in a booster when they do appear in a booster.

As for your dislike of the new set orders, it's a pretty recent switch (it happened with the release of the first Black & White set in English) to change it to be more identical to Japanese sets. The way it goes is by type, then by Pokedex number. So any set that has Bulbasaur in it will have Bulbasaur as the first card by collector's number, and any EX cards are mixed in with the other Pokemon of their type by Pokedex number. The types are ordered as follows in a set: Grass, Fire, Water, Electric, Psychic, Fighting, Dark, Steel, Dragon, Colorless. And after that, it goes: non-Ace Spec Trainers, Energy, Ace Spec Trainers, full-art non-EX Pokemon, full-art EX's, full-art Trainers, and then secret rares bring up the rear of a set. Personally, I find this method easier to sort by because I only have to look at the color of a card when I'm prepping to put a newer set away instead of having to look at the collector's number and rarity symbol on every single card at every single level of sorting.

Trading cards is also not allowed here.

hi donavannj thanks for that info but not wanted to seem thick here does that mean there could be two or three variations of a card in each set for example two or three no 001 and so on ?what is each foil card called for instance a fully foil card but not the picture and just the picture .do you know anywhere that i could get a full list of the pokemon card sets including these variations as i have only managed to find ones with just the basic set for plasma stormand last 1 promise is there anywhere that you know of that have trading for pokemon cards in the uk

Typically, with most cards, there's 2 variations of the same collector number within a set, but some cards get alternate prints in theme decks (holofoil rares get a non-holofoil print, while non-holo rares get a "refractor" holofoil print), and in checklane blister packs (some have a "refractor" foil, while others have the traditional foil, while still others have the new standard foil from the Black & White era sets).

That's typically called a reverse holofoil. Some secret and ultra rare cards share characteristics with a reverse holofoil, though.

There's not really a good place that lists all possible alternate prints in one place for any given set. The closest would be the setlists over on Bulbapedia (http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net), but those don't typically list all the alternate prints.

As for places that allow trading, I know there's a large community of YouTube traders, some other Pokemon websites allow trading, and wherever a league is nearest to you would probably be a good place to check for people who want to trade.

hi all,
i was wandering if someone could tell me when they introduced the alternate card for sets like in plasma storm is it something they have done just for the black and white sets or does it go further back then that?im only used to one type of card in each set lol.

also does anyone know if there is a pokemon convention or some convention where pokemon cards will be for sale in the east midlands area of the uk especially leicestershire,nottinghamshire,coventry and birmingham in the coming months.
or a carboot sale that has good pokemon card sellers in leicestershire

thanks
pokemardan

They introduced the alternate foil prints back in 2002 with the Legendary Collection.
However, technically, the 1st Edition prints were alternate prints in the early sets, too (every set released before Legendary Collection except for Base Set 2 had a first edition print run). And the first set (known as Base Set) had multiple "alternate" prints simply because Wizards was experimenting with appearances during the initial print runs.

Regarding events in the UK, I'm not as familiar with conventions and the like in the UK. That'd be something to the users Drakow or Renpuu, since they're actually in the UK. Use the league locator to find a Pokemon league near you: https://www.pokemon.com/uk/account/events/

But other than providing you a means to find a local league, I'm afraid I personally can't help you with locating any unofficial Pokemon conventions in your area. I'm stuck way across the pond in America and am really not all that familiar with anything going on in the UK other than that big comic expo in London that happens every year.