Scanning French Pokémon cards: what to check
The short answer
To scan French Pokémon cards, check that the app really saves them in French and not as their English equivalent. Not all of them do. FastScan TCG treats French and English as two separate cards: its catalogue of 21,440 cards has 21,255 French names and 18,595 images of French cards. It is free, with no scan limit.
Dracaufeu and Charizard are the same Pokémon, but a French card and an English card aren’t the same object. They don’t necessarily sell for the same price, and they don’t count the same way towards completing a set. A scanner that mixes them up leaves you with a wrong inventory, without telling you.
Three behaviours to look for
Faced with a French card, an app can do one of three things:
- It doesn’t recognise it, because its database has no French cards.
- It saves it as the English equivalent. The card is found, but your collection says Charizard rather than Dracaufeu.
- It saves it in French, as a separate card.
Only the third gives you a faithful inventory. To check, scan five French cards and look at the saved name, the language shown and the image displayed in the collection.
What the apps say
Read on their pages on 4 November 2026. We have not tested these apps.
- PokéCardex highlights its French card scans and presents itself as one of the few to offer them.
- Eyevo lists French among the eight card languages it covers.
- MyDex says it better recognises cards printed in French, matching them to their English equivalents in its catalogue.
- DittoDex states cards in English, Japanese and Simplified Chinese, without mentioning French.
- Pooka states English and Japanese.
Watch out: French in an App Store listing’s language list often refers to the interface, not the cards.
What FastScan TCG does
These figures come straight from our catalogue:
| Data | Count |
|---|---|
| Cards in the catalogue | 21,440 |
| With a French name | 21,255 |
| With an image of the French card | 18,595 |
A French card and its English equivalent are two separate entries in your collection. One concrete limit: about 2,800 cards in the catalogue have no French reference image. For those, check the language yourself during review.
Language is worth checking on every card anyway: two printings of the same artwork look extremely alike. That is why a search by name or number, with a French or English choice, is available on every line.
How to tell a card’s language
- Look at the language code at the bottom left of recent cards: FR, EN (where to find it).
- Read the name and attack text. This is the safest method on old cards.
- Don’t rely on the number. Cardmarket says Western languages follow the same numbering, while Asian languages follow Japanese numbering.
Why it matters for price
A card and its equivalent in another language don’t necessarily follow the same value. Comparing a French card to an English card’s price can mislead you in either direction. Always compare like with like, especially when buying or selling on an international marketplace.
For the rest of the method, read how to catalog bulk cards.
Frequently asked questions
Do a French card and its English equivalent have the same number?
Generally, yes. Cardmarket says Western languages follow the same numbering. So the number can't tell you the language: look at the language code on cards that have one, or at the card's text.
Should French and English cards be counted separately?
Yes, if you want an accurate inventory. They are two different objects, and their prices can differ. FastScan TCG saves them as two separate entries.
Does FastScan TCG recognise Japanese or German cards?
No. The catalogue covers French and English.
What if the app gets the language wrong?
On that line, search by name or number and pick the language, French or English. It remains something to check during review, especially if you mix the two.