Temporal Forces Chase Cards Ranked: The 8 Pulls Worth Grading

Temporal Forces Chase Cards Ranked: The 8 Pulls Worth Grading

SV05: Temporal Forces came out March 22, 2024 and built its high-value tier around Ghost-type nostalgia. Two and a half years on, Gastly 177/162 holds at $96.16, Morty's Conviction 211/162 at $65.03, and Gengar ex 193/162 at $59.09. These are settled prices, not launch spikes. Populations have had time to build, and the grading verdict is clearer now than it was at release.

The 229-card set has 12 cards with published price data in our catalog. Eight are worth discussing as submission candidates. The other four are below the level where a PSA or CGC fee makes financial sense at individual submission rates.

All prices are from the ZeroPop catalog as of September 26, 2026.

What to Know Before You Grade SV05

Most of Temporal Forces' Special Illustration Rares share a dark, ghost-type art direction. Dark backgrounds are forgiving on surface micro-scratches, but they are brutal on corner whitening. White fiber against a near-black frame is visible at arm's length. If the corner shows whitening under raking light, the card will not grade 10 no matter how clean the rest is.

The three Paradox Pokemon SIRs (Walking Wake ex, Gouging Fire ex, Iron Crown ex) have a different look: bright, mechanical, high-contrast. The risk axis shifts from corners to centering. The mechanical border framing amplifies a 1mm misalignment that a bleed-edge composition would absorb.

Scan the card before you decide. A $65 card with a soft corner is not a $65 submission candidate.

The 8 Cards, Ranked

Card	Number	Market (Sep 26)
Gastly	177/162	$96.16
Morty's Conviction	211/162	$65.03
Sawsbuck	166/162	$60.46
Gengar ex	193/162	$59.09
Gouging Fire ex	204/162	$52.13
Iron Crown ex	206/162	$51.64
Walking Wake ex	205/162	$49.62
Litten	167/162	$39.63

8. Litten 167/162

$39.63. The Alolan starter SIR has a warm orange and cream palette that stands apart from the ghost-heavy cards above it. That visual contrast is why it sells, not playability. Light backgrounds make corner whitening read immediately; this card grades harder than its art style suggests. At this price, individual submission economics do not work. Add it to a large batch order or sell raw.

7. Walking Wake ex 205/162

Walking Wake ex at $49.62. The card's competitive history has kept demand alive, but competitive demand tracks format rotation in a way pure collector demand does not. The bright mechanical SIR art is grading-friendly on surface but unforgiving if centering is even slightly off. Decent submission candidate if the copy is clean and you are already shipping a batch; not worth buying raw to grade.

6. Iron Crown ex 206/162

Iron Crown ex at $51.64. The narrowest collector base of the three Paradox Pokemon SIRs. Skip this one unless you already own a clean copy with tight centering. The graded premium over raw is real but modest.

5. Gouging Fire ex 204/162

Gouging Fire ex at $52.13. The strongest submission case among the Paradox Pokemon trio because the Entei connection gives it collector demand that runs independent of whatever format rotation does to the card's playability. If the scan is clean, this one grades above the other two Paradox SIRs on pure collector durability.

4. Gengar ex 193/162

Gengar ex at $59.09. Gengar collector demand does not depend on the SV timeline. The ex SIR is the most recognizable standard Pokemon in the high-value tier, and that name recognition sustains prices independent of set context.

The purple and black color field hides micro-scratches but shows corner whitening immediately. The $59 price sits below Gastly's $96 in part because Gengar ex has a larger graded population after two-plus years, and PSA 10 prices compress as the pop grows. Submit now if the copy is clean; wait and the math gets harder as more copies grade.

3. Sawsbuck 166/162

$60.46. A deer in bright seasonal colors against a landscape, flanked on both sides by ghost and psychic SIRs. That visual contrast is the whole case for this card: it stands out in a binder where everything else is dark. The bright greens and yellows make a 2mm centering shift obvious at a glance. A centered, clean copy grades 10 reliably and carries a premium precisely because it looks different from the set's dominant aesthetic. Worth submitting.

2. Morty's Conviction 211/162

Morty's Conviction at $65.03 is the only trainer-character SIR in the set's high-value tier. Most SIR collections are Pokemon cards. A trainer protagonist at $65 is a different shape of collectible.

Morty is the Ecruteak City gym leader, and his appearance in the same set as Gastly and Gengar makes Temporal Forces something close to a Ghost-type collector event. The dense foil texture across the full card face is the primary grading risk: surface haze accumulates on trainer foils faster than on a typical Pokemon card. Our community scans have reached grade 9. A 10 requires a fresh, unhandled copy. The trainer SIR category has a narrower graded population than most Pokemon SIRs, so a PSA 10 here sits against a smaller supply ceiling.

1. Gastly 177/162

Gastly at $96.16 is the set's most expensive card by a 48% margin over the next pull.

A pre-evolution card at $96 means the demand is purely art-driven. No one is buying Gastly for its HP. That makes the price sticky: it does not move with Standard rotation, with competitive meta shifts, or with new Gengar releases. Collectors who want this specific scene want it regardless of what is happening in format.

The dark background plays in the card's favor on surface. It does not play in its favor on corners. Any whitening visible at arm's length costs the grade. Our community scans confirm a 10 is achievable on a clean copy. At $96 raw with a realistic PSA 10 multiplier, the submission math is straightforward. If you own a clean copy, grade it.

The ZeroPop Verdict

Grade now: Gastly and Gengar ex. Both carry Gengar-line collector demand that runs independent of the competitive meta, both show grade 10 results in our community scans, and both have dark backgrounds that are forgiving on surface. Gastly at $96 has the clearest math.

Grade if clean and fresh: Morty's Conviction and Sawsbuck. The trainer SIR category is undersupplied at PSA 10 because fewer collectors recognized its value at pull. Sawsbuck grades well when centered. Neither is worth buying raw specifically to grade, but a clean pulled copy earns a submission slot.

Gouging Fire ex only of the Paradox trio. At $52, the Entei connection gives it the collector durability the other two lack. Walking Wake ex and Iron Crown ex are fine bulk additions but not priority submissions.

Skip: Litten. $39 does not support individual submission economics. Sell raw or add to a 20-plus card batch.

The set directly above this one, Twilight Masquerade (SV06), shares several dark-background SIRs with similar grading considerations. If you are building a Scarlet & Violet collection batch, that post covers the next step in the chain. For the current break-even math on any specific card, the is your card worth grading calculator runs the actual numbers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most valuable card in Temporal Forces?

Gastly 177/162, a Special Illustration Rare, leads the set at $96.16 as of September 26, 2026. It is 48% more expensive than the next card (Morty's Conviction at $65.03), pulled from a 229-card set released March 22, 2024.

Is Morty's Conviction from SV05 worth grading?

At $65.03 with a smaller graded population than most Pokemon SIRs, a PSA 10 Morty's Conviction carries a meaningful multiplier. The full-card foil texture is the risk: only submit a fresh, unhandled copy. A copy with any visible surface haze will land at PSA 9.

Why does Gastly cost more than Gengar ex in Temporal Forces?

Gastly 177/162 ($96.16) outruns Gengar ex 193/162 ($59.09) because the pre-evolution SIR has a smaller graded population and stronger art-driven demand. Gengar ex has accumulated more PSA 10 copies since 2024, and supply growth compresses graded premiums over time.

Are the Paradox Pokemon ex SIRs in SV05 worth grading?

Gouging Fire ex ($52.13) has the strongest case because its collector base runs independent of format rotation. Walking Wake ex ($49.62) and Iron Crown ex ($51.64) have more competitive-driven demand, which follows rotation and does not sustain grading premiums as reliably. Submit Gouging Fire; sell the other two raw unless they are already clean in your hand.

What makes SV05 SIRs harder to grade than typical Pokemon cards?

The ghost-type art direction means most high-value SIRs have dark backgrounds where corner whitening reads immediately against a near-black frame. Scan under raking light before deciding to submit. The mechanical SIRs (Walking Wake, Gouging Fire, Iron Crown) have a different risk: bright framing amplifies centering misalignment.

Which Temporal Forces cards are not worth grading?

Litten 167/162 at $39.63 does not support individual submission economics. Metagross 178/162 ($35.43), Lickitung 180/162 ($31.66), Drampa 184/162 ($27.09), and Reuniclus 171/162 ($16.55) are below the threshold where a grading fee produces a meaningful return outside a large concurrent batch.