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Variant Image Source Research
DeckPal Todoist task: 6hJWCm3QjVGWCJxw
Task ID: 6hJWCm3QjVGWCJxw
Date: 2026-09-22
Measured pair: n=1
Source discovery can complete: a public manual source and an inspected printing-distinct example were found. The pair is English MEW 151 Caterpie 010/165. The TCGdex normal catalog asset is a normal reference representation, not a photo authenticated as a physical normal specimen. The eBay reverse-holo listing supplies the public listing context and its reverse image was fetched locally.
The driver inspected both images: same Caterpie illustration and Leaf Munch attack; the normal catalog rendering has a plain green text field, while the eBay photo shows a distinct leaf/energy reverse-holo pattern around the art. The receipt records distinct SHA-256 hashes, image HTTP 200/MIME checks, and imagesActuallyInspected: true.
This is one manual reference pair, not independently authenticated controlled physical scans or a calibrated foil measurement. It is not all-era evidence or a stable bulk feed. Seller authenticity, image-to-physical provenance, and reuse rights are not established. No card pixels are embedded or published; local comparison does not decide the pending public-CC0 hosting policy.
| Candidate | Finding | Status |
|---|---|---|
| TCGplayer / TCGCSV | Catalog/subtype distinctions share a product image; that does not prove printing-specific pixels. TCGplayer product | Not variant-specific |
| PSA | Public cert/gallery labels can identify reverse examples. PSA cert | Manual lead; no bulk pair |
| CGC | Certification images are documented. CGC grading process | Manual lead; no bulk pair |
| Beckett | The checked grading route redirected to maintenance. | Redirected; not a proven route |
| Cardmarket | Prior indexed Caterpie evidence is a catalog/filter lead; a reader error is not evidence that the site is sitewide blocked. Cardmarket Caterpie | No proven image binding |
| pkmncards / Pokellector | Searchable catalog leads; no distinct pair was established. Pokellector 151 | Unverified pair/feed |
| TCG Collector | Variant concepts appear in the UI, but no variant-pixel feed or pair was established. | Unverified pair/feed |
| TCGdex / pokemontcg.io | Useful single-card baseline representations. | Normal-reference baseline |
The evidence supports a source lead suitable for human review and a concrete visual reference for later experiments. It does not support bulk download, licensing assumptions, production ingestion, or a claim that every reverse-holo image can be separated by the same cues. The receipt is the reproducibility anchor for the driver’s local inspection; future training or publication requires separate provenance and permission review.
The all-era classifier, controlled capture, and community pipeline tasks remain open. Next, make separate source/licensing and evaluation decisions. This result does not claim automated ingestion, schema support, application support, or a licensed bulk dataset. It answers the narrower task title: find a source.
Proof receipt: /mnt/c/Users/cheyr/Documents/Codex/deckpal-todoist-20260922/variant-pair-probe/receipt.json
Last updated by Codex / Ringer on behalf of @cheyras -- 2026-09-22