Which Destined Rivals chase cards should I look for?
Our Pokémon Destined Rivals chase picks include Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex, Cynthia’s Garchomp ex, Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex. Choose the artwork you enjoy; these editorial picks are not a complete set checklist or a price ranking.
FoilFox market estimates refresh separately from the article review date. Each USD quote is for the pictured version, with its source observation date. Ungraded prices vary with condition and are not a guaranteed sale. Missing or stale quotes stay labelled.
How to tell the versions of one Pokémon apart
One Destined Rivals Pokémon can come as a regular ex card with its art inside a window, a full-art Ultra Rare, a Special Illustration Rare and a gold Hyper Rare, and each version has different demand. The collector number in the corner tells them apart, so Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex is SIR #231 in one version and Hyper Rare #240 in another. Check the foil treatment as well before you add the card to your collection.
The dollar amount on each card below is FoilFox’s market quote for the exact version pictured, so a quote for a Special Illustration Rare does not tell you what the gold Hyper Rare or the Ultra Rare of the same Pokémon costs.
How often do the chase cards turn up?
TCGplayer’s count of more than 8,000 Destined Rivals packs found a Special Illustration Rare in about one of every 94 packs, and any one specific Special Illustration Rare, such as Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex, in about one of every 1,033. Those are community figures from opened packs, not a promise about any box.
Gold Hyper Rares were scarcer still as a group, and Illustration Rares were the easiest of the chase rarities to find. The table gives TCGplayer’s odds for one specific card, so you can weigh the chance of pulling it against buying the single.
| Card | Collector # | Finish | Odds for this card (TCGplayer) | Why collectors want it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex | SIR #231/182 | Textured Special Illustration Rare | 1 in ~1,033 packs | Full-art SIR by Iwamoto05; the full-art printing illustrated here |
Cynthia’s Garchomp ex | SIR #232/182 | Textured Special Illustration Rare | 1 in ~1,033 packs | Cynthia’s Pokémon as a textured SIR |
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex | SIR #230/182 | Textured Special Illustration Rare | 1 in ~1,033 packs | Ethan’s partner, the legendary Pokémon from Johto |
Team Rocket’s Crobat ex | SIR #234/182 | Textured Special Illustration Rare | 1 in ~1,033 packs | Team Rocket’s Pokémon as a textured SIR |
Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex | HR #240/182 | Etched Gold Hyper Rare | 1 in ~894 packs | Same Pokémon as #231, in etched gold |
Cynthia’s Garchomp ex | HR #241/182 | Etched Gold Hyper Rare | 1 in ~894 packs | The gold version of #232 |
Misty’s Psyduck | IR #193/182 | Full-Art Illustration Rare | 1 in ~278 packs | Misty’s Pokémon as a full-art Illustration Rare |
Misty’s Lapras | IR #194/182 | Full-Art Illustration Rare | 1 in ~278 packs | The second Misty Illustration Rare |
Team Rocket’s Giovanni | SIR #238/182 | Textured Supporter Full-Art | 1 in ~1,033 packs | Team Rocket’s boss as a Supporter SIR, which is a Trainer card |
The cards people open packs for
Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
Iwamoto05’s SIR is the full-art printing shown here, and the Hyper Rare is the same Pokémon in etched gold, sold as a separate card.
Cynthia’s Garchomp ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
Two versions carry Cynthia’s name: the textured full-art SIR and the gold Hyper Rare. A listing that only says “the Garchomp” still needs to tell you which one.
Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
The third headline SIR, a full-art card with the Destined Rivals set stamp. Ho-Oh cards from other sets carry other set symbols and numbers.
Team Rocket’s Nidoking ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
Team Rocket nostalgia in the SIR slot. The regular Nidoking ex, #119, and the full-art Ultra Rare, #216, are different cards, so check for the SIR number before you pay for this one.
Team Rocket’s Moltres ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
The only one of Team Rocket’s legendary birds with an ex card and an SIR. Team Rocket’s Articuno and Zapdos are regular Rare cards in this set, and the bird promos in 30th Celebration’s Poster Collection come from a different product.
Team Rocket’s Crobat ex
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
Another name with two versions, the textured SIR and the gold Hyper Rare, and both are separate Destined Rivals cards.
Misty’s Psyduck
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
An Illustration Rare with Misty’s name and no ex. Art of Trainer’s Pokémon is what this set is about, and Psyduck offers a smaller-rarity companion to the SIRs.
Ethan’s Adventure
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
A Trainer SIR. Its full-art layout means it can hide in a stack of reverse holos until you read the rarity and number.
Misty’s Lapras
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
The other Misty Illustration Rare. Check its collector number and rarity symbol, because a reverse-holo Lapras from an older set has a different number and finish.
Team Rocket’s Giovanni
Price unavailableExact-version market quote unavailable
Team Rocket’s boss as a full-art Supporter SIR. The Destined Rivals stamp and number separate him from Giovanni cards in other sets.