# How to Scan Pokémon Cards with Your iPhone: Identify Any Card in Seconds

> Point your iPhone camera at a Pokémon card and know exactly which card it is, which set it’s from and what it’s worth. Here’s how to scan Pokémon cards with EvoScan, step by step.

- Author: [Oleg Kasarin](https://evoscan.app/authors/oleg-kasarin), Pokémon TCG Collector
- Published: 2026-10-23
- Canonical URL: https://evoscan.app/blog/how-to-scan-pokemon-cards
- App: [EvoScan - Pokémon Card Scanner](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6758313135)

Typing card names into a search box works for one card. It doesn’t work for a binder, a stack of new pulls or a box of old cards from your childhood. Scanning Pokémon cards with your iPhone camera turns that job into seconds per card: you hold the card up, and the app tells you which card it is, which set it comes from and what it’s worth today.

The EvoScan Pokémon card scanner reads the card the way a collector would. It looks at the name, the HP, the illustrator and the card number printed at the bottom, and matches them against a catalog of English and Japanese Pokémon TCG cards. From the result, you can check the card’s market price and add it to your collection in one tap.

## What You Need Before Getting Started

To scan Pokémon cards, download the EvoScan Pokémon card scanner from the [App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6758313135?pt=128028811&ct=blog&mt=8). It’s free to download, and you can start scanning right away, without creating an account. EvoScan works on iPhone and iPad with iOS 18 or later. The first time you open the scanner, allow EvoScan to use your camera. If you skipped that prompt, turn it on in **Settings → Apps → EvoScan → Camera**.

## How To Scan a Pokémon Card

Follow these steps to scan your first card:

1. Tap the scan button at the bottom of the dashboard to open the scanner.
2. Hold the card in front of the camera, so the whole card fits inside the yellow frame.
3. EvoScan detects the card on its own and shows its price right on it. If it doesn’t pick the card up, touch and hold the orange button to help the camera focus on the card.
4. The card appears in the bottom corner, with the total value of everything you’ve scanned so far. Scan the next card the same way.
5. Tap Organize to open your Scanned Cards, then tap Add to Collection to save them.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner on iPhone scanning Pikachu ex 149/128 from 30th Celebration inside the yellow frame, showing its price of $37.13, the card in the corner with Total: $37.13, and the Organize button](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-camera-scan.DxA91VYA.png)

*Hold the whole card inside the yellow frame: EvoScan reads it, shows its price on the card and adds it to the running total next to Organize.*

## Check Your Scanned Cards

Tap Organize in the scanner to open the Scanned Cards screen. At the top, you see the total value and the number of cards you’ve scanned. Below, each card is listed with its name, set, card number, variant and current market price, so you can check every scan before anything goes into your collection.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Scanned Cards screen on iPhone with Mew ex 152/128 from 30th Celebration, Holofoil, priced at $64.80, and the Add to Collection button](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-scanned-cards.B8I0uenI.png)

*Scanned Cards: each card with its set, number, variant and price, plus the total value of everything you’ve scanned.*

Many cards were printed in more than one variant, such as Holofoil and Reverse Holo, and each variant has its own price. The scanner reads the card itself, so check that the variant matches the card in your hands. Tap the variant under the card and pick the one you hold, and the price updates to match.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Scanned Cards on iPhone with the variant menu open for the Japanese Pikachu 001/028 from 25th Anniversary Collection, offering Holofoil and Reverse Holo](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-choose-variant.Bnvze4aE.png)

*Tap the variant under a card to pick the version you hold, such as Holofoil or Reverse Holo.*

If you own more than one copy of a card, change the number with the plus and minus buttons. Remove any card you don’t want to keep, then tap Add to Collection to save them all at once.

## Scan a Pokémon Card from a Photo

You don’t need the card in your hands to scan it. If you took a picture of a card at a card shop, at a trade night or in an online listing, tap the photo button at the bottom left of the scanner and pick that photo from your library. EvoScan reads the photo exactly like a camera frame and adds the matching card to your Scanned Cards.

Scanning from a photo is also handy for cards in sleeves or top loaders that reflect a lot of light: take the photo at an angle where there’s no glare, then scan it.

## When Several Printings Match Your Card

Some Pokémon cards were printed more than once with the same name and the same number. For example, the Shining Celebi reprinted in 30th Celebration: Classic Collection carries the same 106/105 number as the original from Neo Destiny. From the text alone, both are a perfect match. Our guide to [30th Celebration](/blog/pokemon-tcg-30th-celebration) explains which other reprints in that set work the same way.

When that happens, EvoScan doesn’t guess. It asks “Which printing is it?” and shows the matching printings side by side, each with its image, set name, card number and price, so you can tap the exact version you own. If none of them is right, close the chooser and keep scanning.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner on iPhone asking “Which printing is it?” with Shining Celebi 106/105 from Neo Destiny at $3,000.00 and from 30th Celebration: Classic Collection at $24.32](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-choose-printing.HSeVPnUo.png)

*Two printings of Shining Celebi share the number 106/105, but not the price: the set name, and the Pikachu stamp on the reprint, tell them apart.*

If the card you’re holding isn’t among the suggestions, tap “Not here?” to search by name and add the right card in one tap.

## Search Cards by Name, Number, Set or Artist

When a card won’t scan, for example because it’s in a scratched sleeve or badly worn, you can still find it in a few seconds. Tap the search field on the dashboard and pick a tab: By Card finds cards, By Expansion finds sets and By Artist finds illustrators. You can search in four ways:

- Name: type the Pokémon’s name, such as Charizard, to see every card of it with its current price.
- Printed number: type the number from the bottom of the card, such as 136/135, to go straight to the exact card.
- Expansion: on By Expansion, type a set name, such as Plasma Storm or 30th Celebration, to see matching sets with your progress, and open one to browse its cards.
- Artist: on By Artist, type an illustrator’s name, such as Mitsuhiro Arita, to see their cards. You can also tap the artist on any card’s details.

A name alone often isn’t enough. Searching “Charizard” returns dozens of cards from different sets, at prices from a few dollars to thousands.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Search on iPhone for “Charizard” By Card, with Charizard-GX at $2,527.04, Charizard ex at $1,699.99, M Charizard-EX and Charizard](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-search-by-name.B8vvOfv4.png)

*Searching by name shows every card of that Pokémon, with its price.*

The card number is the fastest way to the exact card. Typing 136/135, for example, finds just one card: the secret rare Charizard from Plasma Storm.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Search on iPhone for the card number 136/135, showing a single result, Charizard at $1,150.00](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-search-by-number.DetR9vr2.png)

*Search by the number printed on the card to go straight to the exact printing.*

By Expansion lists every set, English and Japanese, with how many of its cards you own and your progress, so you can jump into any set without browsing the dashboard.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Search By Expansion on iPhone listing 151, 25th Anniversary Collection, 30th Celebration at 4 of 161 cards, 30th Celebration: Classic Collection at 3 of 30 and the Japanese 30th セレブレーション](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-search-by-expansion.BII--7uv.png)

*By Expansion: every set with your progress, searchable by name.*

By Artist lists the illustrators with the number of cards each one drew. Open an artist to see all of their cards, a fun way to collect your favorite artwork style.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Search By Artist on iPhone listing 5ban Graphics with 3,645 cards, Ken Sugimori with 2,005, Mitsuhiro Arita with 1,420, Kouki Saitou and Kagemaru Himeno](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-search-by-artist.CvGfQ3uK.png)

*By Artist: illustrators with how many cards they drew, from 5ban Graphics to Ken Sugimori and Mitsuhiro Arita.*

## Where Your Scanned Cards Go

Every card you scan is also saved to Scan History, even if you don’t add it to your collection. Open it with the history button at the top of the scanner, or from Settings, behind the gear button on the dashboard. Each entry shows the card’s set, its variant, such as Holofoil or First Edition Holofoil, and its current price, so you can scan a whole pile first and decide later which cards to keep, trade or sell.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Scan History on iPhone listing Mew ex at $64.80, Mega Darkrai ex at $123.29, Pikachu from Pokémon Rumble at $899.99 and First Edition Holofoil Shining Charizard from Neo Destiny at $310.00](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-scan-history.8TMOziQz.png)

*Scan History: every card you’ve scanned, with its set, variant and current price.*

Cards you add go to My Collection, where EvoScan shows their total market value and how many cards you own. You can add different variants of the same card and EvoScan tracks each one separately. To learn more about what your cards are worth, read our guide on [how to check the value of your Pokémon cards](/blog/how-to-check-pokemon-card-value).

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner My Collection screen on iPhone with a total value of $6,253.94 and 16 cards, showing Sylveon ex and Mewtwo ex from 30th Celebration](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-my-collection.DVnJLrua.png)

*My Collection: your total value and card count at the top, every card you’ve added below.*

To keep your best pulls and chase cards in one place, tap the star on a card to add it to Favorites. Favorites shows each card with its set and current price, and you can search it like your collection.

![EvoScan Pokémon card scanner Favorites on iPhone with Mew ex at $64.80, Gengar ex at $59.77, Pikachu ex at $51.54 and Mew at $4,152.80 from 30th Celebration](https://evoscan.app/_astro/evoscan-pokemon-card-scanner-favorites.CFS5ACMJ.png)

*Favorites: the cards you starred, with their current prices.*

## Tips for Scanning Pokémon Cards

Good light makes the biggest difference. Scan under even daylight or a bright room light, and avoid a lamp shining straight onto the card, because the reflection can hide the name or the card number. Holo, reverse holo and full art cards reflect more than regular cards, so tilt them slightly until the glare disappears.

Scan one card at a time. If several cards are in the frame, for example on a binder page, the scanner can read text from the card next to yours. Hold the card so it fills most of the frame, and keep the bottom edge visible: the card number printed there is what tells similar cards apart.

In a dim room, turn on the flash with the lightning button at the top of the scanner, and tilt holo cards so the flash doesn’t reflect off the card. When you scan a big stack, keep the phone still, swap the cards inside the frame and watch the running total grow next to the Organize button. Japanese cards scan the same way, and our guide on [how to scan Japanese Pokémon cards](/blog/how-to-scan-japanese-pokemon-cards) covers what’s different about them.

## Troubleshooting

If a card isn’t recognized, check these common causes:

- The card number is cut off. Move the card back a little so the bottom edge is in the frame.
- There’s glare on the name or the number. Tilt the card or move away from the light.
- The room is too dark. Turn on the flash with the lightning button at the top of the scanner.
- The camera doesn’t focus on the card. Touch and hold the orange button to focus, or hold the card a little further away.
- The card is from a set that was released in the last few days. New Pokémon TCG sets are added to the catalog shortly after release; until then, search for the card by name.
- The card is damaged, heavily played or in a scratched sleeve. Take it out of the sleeve, or scan it from a photo instead.
- The camera doesn’t open. Allow camera access in **Settings → Apps → EvoScan → Camera**.

## Need Help or Have Feedback?

If you run into any issues, find a card that doesn’t scan, or have ideas for the scanner, you can always reach out through the [contact page](/contact). Your feedback helps improve the Pokémon card scanner for every collector.