RE: The "Merchandise Help" Thread
Holos are cards that's have a holographic design over the picture of a Pokémon, such as
this Kyogre. Different eras have different holo style; the current XY holo style is kind of a diagonal flat sheen, so it doesn't show on scans well which is why I chose an older card for this example. Only certain cards will be found as holos, cards marked as an R in Japanese, or cards marked with a start in English (not all English star cards are holos, though, since there are some non-holo rares in English sets).
Unlike holos, Reverse Holos (or RHs) can be made of any common, uncommon, or rare card. Instead of a holo over the picture, the holo is over the rest of teh card (which is where the "reverse" in the name comes from). Like holos, RH styles are different in different generations, but the XY RHs feature a energy type patten in the background that matches the cards type; they look like
this. Older styles commonly just had a flat shine to them, like
this card which is the RH version of the original holo I linked above.
"EX" and "ex" are 2 separate card types. EXes are a type of card introduced in the BW series that have continued on in XY. They are more powerful cards, and as such, give the opponent 2 prize cards if they manage to knock one out. If an evolved Pokémon is an EX card, it does not need to evolve and is treated like a basic Pokémon, such as
this Venusaur EX. "ex" (in lowercase) is an older Pokémon mechanic from the XY-era of Pokémon cards. These were similar in mechanic to the current EX Pokémon, but still had to evolve, as you can see by looking at
this Venusaur-ex.
Lv. X Pokémon were another extra rare card that came after "ex" Pokémon; this was a mechanic in the DPPt era of the Pokémon TCG. Lv. X Pokémon were an additional "level up" and were played on top of a card of the same Pokémon. For example,
this Glaceon Lv. X had to be played on top of a regular Glaceon. Pokémon Lv. X are more powerful than their base Pokémon and can use their attacks, etc. as well as their own, but do not give multiple prize cards like EX or ex Pokémon.
EX, ex, and Lv. X Pokémon all have a shiny star in their English sets to reflect their special rarity status, so they are easy to find, in addition to the type of card being listed in the Pokémon name.