Destined Rivals Chase Cards: The 10 Everybody Wants, Ranked

Destined Rivals Chase Cards: The 10 Everybody Wants, Ranked

Destined Rivals (SV10) is over a year old, and it is about to get more interesting, not less. Pokemon TCG: Scarlet & Violet, Destined Rivals released May 30, 2025, built its 244 card checklist around rival duos like Team Rocket and its trainer owned Pokemon, and now sits at the center of one of 2026's biggest sealed product stories: a wave of reprinted booster boxes and Elite Trainer Boxes hitting distributors this month, which has already pulled booster box prices down from a peak near $644 toward roughly $470. Here are the 10 Destined Rivals cards collectors still chase hardest, ranked by current price, with the grading verdict on each ahead of the restock.

Why Destined Rivals Chases Still Matter After the Reprint

Most sets fade once the next release pulls attention away. Destined Rivals never really did, because its chase list leans on trainer nostalgia rather than a single mascot, and that demand holds up longer than a launch week spike. The set's headline mechanic paired iconic human trainers, mostly the Team Rocket roster, with their signature Pokemon in Special Illustration Rare full art treatments, and it worked well enough that Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex became one of the defining chase cards of the entire Scarlet & Violet era at a pull rate near 1 in 1,033 packs.

That demand is exactly why the reprint matters. Multiple distributors have reported orders of more than 25,000 Destined Rivals booster boxes landing in late August and early September 2026, over a year after the original print run sold out and secondary prices climbed well past retail. Sealed product is already correcting: regular Elite Trainer Boxes that briefly touched $276 during the supply crunch are back near $125, and booster boxes have given back a third of their peak value. Singles have not moved as sharply yet, but a flood of fresh packs tends to soften even the biggest chases within a few weeks.

Destined Rivals is not the only recent set leaning on trainer nostalgia for its top chase. The completely unrelated Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex from Mega Evolution: Ascended Heroes has held a steady $384 for months on the strength of the same Team Rocket demand, even though it is a different card from a different set released nearly a year later. That is the pattern worth watching here: a well drawn trainer chase can hold its price independent of the set around it, reprint or not.

How We Ranked These

This countdown ranks by current secondary market price, the clearest read on collector demand a year after release, rather than pull rate on release day. For the grading read on each card, we weigh the specific risk that caps its PSA 10 rate: corner whitening on the full art border, edge chipping on the foil stamped treatments, and centering measured to the printed frame rather than the card's physical edge, where most near miss submissions actually lose the point.

The Destined Rivals Countdown: 10 Cards Worth Grading

10. Misty's Lapras, Illustration Rare (194/182)

Why everybody wants it. Misty's roster gets the same trainer plus Pokemon treatment as the Team Rocket cards, and Lapras's serene water scene is one of the calmer Illustration Rares in a set otherwise dominated by villain energy. It is the accessible entry point for collectors who want a Misty card without spending SIR money.

The grade that matters. The pale blue background shows edge wear quickly, so check the border corners under raking light before you submit.

Price check. Around $40, and stable. This is a fine bulk submission candidate if you are already shipping a batch.

9. Ethan's Adventure, Special Illustration Rare (236/182)

Why everybody wants it. A Trainer card rather than a Pokemon, which makes it a rarer archetype in the SIR tier, and Ethan's typhlosion themed backdrop ties directly to his other Destined Rivals pulls for anyone building a matched set.

The grade that matters. Trainer SIRs in this printing carry dense foil texture across the full card face, which means surface is the axis to scrutinize, not just the corners.

Price check. Around $44, holding since release. Not a headline chase, but a real one.

8. Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, Hyper Rare (240/182)

Why everybody wants it. The gold foil Hyper Rare printing of the set's biggest chase is a separate pull from the Special Illustration Rare below, and master set collectors need both. It reads as a pure rarity flex on top of an already famous card.

The grade that matters. Gold foil hides scratches under normal light and reveals them under angled light, so a scan under multiple lighting angles matters more here than on the matte SIR version.

Price check. Around $70. Cheaper than the SIR because collectors chasing the card for its artwork already own the other version.

7. Team Rocket's Crobat ex, Special Illustration Rare (234/182)

Why everybody wants it. A darker, moodier entry in the Team Rocket lineup, and one of the cleaner full art compositions in the set for anyone building a complete Team Rocket SIR run.

The grade that matters. The dark purple background is forgiving on centering reads but shows print line texture on close inspection, which is the surface risk that tends to cap this card at PSA 9.

Price check. Around $73, steady since release with no meaningful reprint impact yet.

6. Misty's Psyduck, Illustration Rare (193/182)

Why everybody wants it. The most purely charming pull in the set, and a genuine crossover chase for collectors who do not otherwise follow competitive Pokemon TCG trends. Psyduck's headache themed art is one of the most requested non SIR pulls of 2025.

The grade that matters. Bright, high contrast background art makes even small whitening on the corners obvious to a grader, so this card grades harder than its price tier suggests.

Price check. Around $79, one of the strongest Illustration Rare prices in the set relative to its rarity tier.

5. Team Rocket's Moltres ex, Special Illustration Rare (229/182)

Why everybody wants it. The first of the Team Rocket legendary bird trio to appear in the set, and legendary bird demand travels regardless of the set it lands in.

The grade that matters. The fiery orange and red color field is bright enough that edge chipping shows immediately, which is the sub grade most likely to hold this card back from a 10.

Price check. Around $103, a real number for a card that is not even the top tier of the set's SIR lineup.

4. Team Rocket's Nidoking ex, Special Illustration Rare (233/182)

Why everybody wants it. A less obvious chase than the legendary birds, but the composition is one of the most detailed in the set, and Nidoking's fanbase is deep enough on its own to sustain independent demand.

The grade that matters. Dense background detail means print registration issues are easier to spot than on simpler compositions, so check for any color misalignment before submitting.

Price check. Around $105, and one of the more consistent risers in the set's mid tier over the past year.

3. Ethan's Ho-Oh ex, Special Illustration Rare (230/182)

Why everybody wants it. Ho-Oh's SIR debut in this set outsold expectations, driven by the Pokemon's enduring legendary status and a genuinely striking rainbow foil composition.

The grade that matters. The rainbow foil treatment is the single hardest surface read in the set. Rainbow foil shows fingerprint oils and micro scratches that a plainer background would hide entirely, so handle this one with gloves before it ever reaches a grader.

Price check. Around $177, roughly a third of the top chase's price and the clearest value tier standout in the set.

2. Cynthia's Garchomp ex, Special Illustration Rare (232/182)

Why everybody wants it. Cynthia remains one of the most requested trainers in the entire franchise, and Garchomp is her signature Pokemon. This is the card competitive nostalgia collectors specifically call out as the set's most complete pairing of character and Pokemon.

The grade that matters. A darker background than most of the set's SIRs, which is forgiving on surface but unforgiving on corners, since white corner wear shows starkly against the dark frame.

Price check. Around $274, holding well over a year after release and one of the strongest long term stores of value in the set outside the top chase.

1. Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, Special Illustration Rare (231/182)

Why everybody wants it. The defining chase card of Destined Rivals and one of the most recognized Special Illustration Rares of the Scarlet & Violet era. Team Rocket's signature Pokemon, drawn in a composition that collectors and pull rate trackers both point to as the set's genuine headliner, at odds of roughly 1 in 1,033 packs.

The grade that matters. The card's clean white border and simple color field make it easier to read for centering than most SIRs in the set, which is good news, but the same simplicity means even minor corner whitening stands out immediately to a grader. This is a card where a marginal scan is not worth the submission fee.

Price check. Around $553, by a wide margin the most valuable card in the set. Whether that number holds through the reprint is the open question for anyone deciding whether to grade now or wait.

The ZeroPop Verdict: What's Still Worth Submitting

Grade the top three now if the scan is clean. Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, Cynthia's Garchomp ex, and Ethan's Ho-Oh ex have each held their price for over a year on a population that had time to build before this month's reprint news broke, and that durability is the strongest signal a card's grading premium is real rather than a launch week fluke. A fresh wave of packs adds supply gradually, and a card that survived a full year at four figures is unlikely to collapse in a single restock cycle.

Watch the mid tier before you commit. Ethan's Adventure, Team Rocket's Crobat ex, and the Hyper Rare Mewtwo sit in the $44 to $73 range where a modest supply increase could compress the grading math. These are fine cards to grade if you already own them and the scan is clean, but they are not worth buying raw specifically to submit right now.

Sell raw rather than grade the accessible tier, unless you are bulk submitting anyway. Misty's Lapras and Misty's Psyduck are charming, inexpensive pulls where the PSA fee eats a large share of any realistic graded premium. If you already have a batch heading to PSA or CGC, toss these in. Otherwise the raw market is the better exit. Run the actual numbers with our is your card worth grading breakeven math first.

Anyone still holding graded slots from Journey Together, the SV set immediately before this one, will recognize the calculus. Our full Journey Together countdown found the same split: a handful of true outliers worth grading aggressively, and a long tail better sold raw. Destined Rivals just adds a live reprint story on top, which is the detail worth watching over the next few weeks.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most valuable card in Destined Rivals?

Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, the Special Illustration Rare numbered 231/182, is the set's most valuable card at around $553, driven by a pull rate near 1 in 1,033 packs and the card's status as one of the defining chases of the Scarlet & Violet era.

When did Destined Rivals release, and is it getting reprinted?

Destined Rivals released May 30, 2025. Multiple distributors have reported reprint orders of more than 25,000 booster boxes landing in late August and early September 2026, over a year after the original print run sold out.

Will the Destined Rivals reprint hurt card values?

Sealed product has already corrected, with booster boxes down from a peak near $644 to roughly $470 and Elite Trainer Boxes down from a supply crunch high near $276 to around $125. Singles have not moved as sharply yet, but fresh packs typically soften even strong chases within a few weeks.

How many Special Illustration Rares are in Destined Rivals?

The chase tier is built around trainer and Pokemon pairings, led by the Team Rocket roster (Mewtwo, Moltres, Nidoking, and Crobat) alongside Misty's, Ethan's, and Cynthia's signature Pokemon, printed as Special Illustration Rares numbered 229 through 236 out of the set's 182 card base run.

Is Destined Rivals still worth grading in 2026?

Yes, for the proven top tier. Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex, Cynthia's Garchomp ex, and Ethan's Ho-Oh ex have each held their price for over a year, which is a stronger signal than a fresh set's release week hype. The accessible Illustration Rare tier is better sold raw unless you are already bulk submitting other cards in the same shipment.

Should I submit Destined Rivals cards to PSA right now?

Check PSA's current backlog status before you ship anything. PSA's lower cost Value tiers remain paused, which pushes budget conscious submitters toward Regular service or a competing grader. Pull the live population numbers with our guide to reading a PSA pop report so you know exactly how scarce a PSA 10 of your specific card actually is before you pay to find out.