What are the best Pokémon chase cards in 2026? Which cards generated the most hype, which have held their value, and what should you have your fingers crossed for when you crack packs? We’ve done the research: these are the biggest Pokemon TCG chase cards this year.
Here’s the rules. I’ve chosen a sample of cards for each English Pokémon set released this year. Most cards are objectively the biggest chase cards in the set, the ones that would cost you the most to buy on the secondary market. Others are personal picks, cards that I want in my binder because I think they’re completely gorgeous!
Some cards are so rare I’ve included them in their own section. You’ve got pretty good odds of pulling one SIR from 80 booster packs, so which SIR you pull is an interesting question. When a card shows up in less than one in 1,000 booster packs, it’s not really part of that conversation!
We have a separate guide to the most expensive Pokémon cards of all time – at the time of writing, nothing on this list is close. But give it a few years…
2026’s uber-chase cards
Mega Hyper Rare cards are a feature of all the Mega Evolution sets, gold shiny cards that show up in less than one in 1,000 booster packs. If you pull a Mega Hyper Rare card, it’s definitely worth a bunch of money. But it’s not necessarily the most valuable card in the set, or even the most valuable version of that specific Pokémon – for example, in Ascended Heroes, the SIR version of Dragonite ex is worth more than the Mega Hyper Rare variant.
Why is that? My best theory is that Pokémon collectors value looks at least as much as they value rarity. The Mega Hyper Rares are frankly kind of gross – they look like the golden counterfeit cards you can buy all over the internet.
An altogether different matter are the RGB Mews from Pokémon 30th Celebration. These three cards look like printing errors, as if the printing press ran out of ink for one color when it made them. Their pull rate is estimated at one in a few thousand, and their value is very high – ungraded cards are selling for around $4,000.
Ascended Heroes
Ascended Heroes was the first and the biggest set of the year, and it was absolutely jam packed with cards that trainers are still clamoring for. At the time of writing, five SIRs were selling for more than $200: Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex #281, Mega Dragonite ex #290, Pikachu ex #276 AND #277, and Mega Gengar ex #284.
The prices for these make my eyes tingle: at the time of writing, ungraded copies of Mega Gengar ex and Pikachu ex #276 are both trading for near enough $1,000, and Mega Dragonite ex is $450. They are all incredibly charismatic cards, though, and despite the large pool of SIRs, I can see why they’re favorites.
Check out this article by (much missed) ex-writer Callum Self, about his luck pulling Ascended Heroes!
Perfect Order
Perfect Order is a small set with a small pool of SIRs. I’m a bit of a sucker for Mega Zygarde ex #120 because I have, truthfully, no idea what’s happening in its art – I just know it’s incredibly loud and energetic. I’m also a big Meowth stan, so I’m happy to see that Meowth ex #121 – an energetic Meowth, rather than a sleepy or surly one – is the most valuable chase in the set. But the fact that an ungraded card is only $88 is a good sign for how much less hype there was for this set overall!
We have a separate guide with more information about Perfect Order chase cards!
Chaos Rising
Chaos Rising proved to be another fairly unpopular set, without too much fuss about its rares – except for Mega Greninja ex #116, which at $145 dollars costs $100 more than the next nearest chase card. My favorites are actually the two trainer SIRs, the chill AZ’s Tranquility and punk Roxie’s Performance. They’re not really a paired set of cards, but they are
We have a separate guide with more information about Chaos Rising chase cards!
Pitch Black
With Pitch Black I am once again in total agreement with the market about what the coolest card in the set is – Mega Darkrai ex is incredible. This beast looks like a scrawl out of a Junji Ito manga, perfect for the nightmare Pokémon. If I had to pick a buddy for it it would be Morpeko ex, because I have never seen a better representation of the natural aggression of a hamster.
We have a separate guide with more information about Pitch Black chase cards!
30th Celebration
30th Celebration has particularly weird booster packs with. As well as the so-rare-you-should-forget-it-exists RGB Mews, there are ‘Futuristic’ Mew and Mewtwo, Classic Collection reprints of retro cards, and the dedicated Pikachu slot.
As a result, the most expensive cards in the set aren’t regular SIRs. The reprint of Lugia from Pokémon Aquapolis is going for $240 – hype for the reprint briefly pushes the original card’s market value through the roof! Then there’s the reprint of Base Set Charizard, which is going for $160. Makes me feel like I’m a lad again.
It’s hard to look at this set and not fantasize about opening multiple cards from the Classic Collection. If I had to narrow it down to just one, it’d be the reprint of the Illustration Rare Magikarp from 2023’s Paldea Evolved, because the juxtaposition of Shinji Kanda’s elegant art and the gormless fail-fish speaks to me.
We have separate guides with more information about 30th Celebration chase cards and the Classic Collection!
Which have your best pulls this year? Come and show them off in the Wargamer Discord community!
Source: Wargamer
