Phantasmal Flames: the Charizard everyone wants, twelve first-time Illustration Rares, and what the set is worth

Phantasmal Flames: Mega Charizard X ex in its Ultra Rare, Special Illustration Rare and Mega Hyper Rare printings, with Dawn and Mega Sharpedo ex

Some sets are about a mechanic. Phantasmal Flames is about one card. The second set of the Mega Evolution era landed on 14 November 2025 with 94 cards in the main list, 130 once the secret rares are in, and a Mega Charizard X ex at the top of it that has been the most talked-about pull of the year. Here is why, which Pokémon finally got the illustration treatment, and what everything in the set is worth today, with every price live from our catalog.

The chase: Mega Charizard X ex, four ways

You get four shots at the same 360 HP Stage 2. The Double Rare #13 is the version most people will open. The Ultra Rare #109 pushes it into neon pink and green. The Mega Hyper Rare #130 is the gold one, and it is exactly as loud as a gold Charizard should be. And then there is the Special Illustration Rare #125: danciao's full-art painting of Mega Charizard X wreathed in blue flame under a night sky, a small Charmander looking up at what it will become. It is the card the whole set is built to sell, and the market agrees.

The attack is the same on every version. Inferno X discards any amount of Fire Energy from among your Pokémon and does 90 damage for each card you discard, so the ceiling is whatever you are willing to burn. Today the four run from $4.22 for the Double Rare to $583.73 for the Special Illustration Rare, with the gold Hyper Rare at $184.15 and the Ultra Rare at $20.37.

Finally: 12 Pokémon get their first Illustration Rare

Illustration Rares have been around since 2023, and plenty of Pokémon have been waiting their turn. This set hands 12 of them their first one: Meowth, Piplup, Wigglytuff, Flygon, Zacian, Dewgong, Yamper, Ludicolo, Togedemaru, Ambipom, Toxtricity and Nymble. The two the market has picked out are Meowth #106 by Uninori, already the most expensive Illustration Rare in the set at $14.06, and Piplup #98 by Jiro Sasumo at $10.71. Paldean Wooper is back for a second Illustration Rare.

The Special Illustration Rare club

Five cards get the full-frame treatment, and four of the five are getting it for the first time. Mega Sharpedo ex #127 by nagimiso bursts out of the water at you; Rotom ex #126 by Yoshimi Miyoshi and Mega Lopunny ex #128 by Kinu Nishimura round out the Pokémon, and the trainer slot goes to Dawn #129 by Atsushi Furusawa, riding a red bicycle through a mountain valley. Dawn is the priciest of the four at $17.53, with Sharpedo at $17.37, Rotom at $10.91 and Lopunny at $11.66.

For the Mega faithful, the set carries 6 Mega ex cards: Mega Heracross ex, Mega Charizard X ex, Mega Sharpedo ex, Mega Lopunny ex, Mega Diancie ex and Mega Gengar ex.

What the set is worth

Of the 130 cards with a market price on 2 November 2026: 95 are under a dollar, 26 sit between one and ten dollars, 7 between ten and fifty, and 2 above fifty. The value is in a handful of cards, and a pull that is not one of them is worth very little on its own. That is normal for a modern set, and it is why the two Charizard variants at the top decide whether a booster box pays for itself.

Rarity Cards
Common 43
Uncommon 31
Rare 10
Double Rare 10
Illustration Rare 13
Ultra Rare 17
Special Illustration Rare 5
Mega Hyper Rare 1

The fifteen most valuable cards

Card # Rarity Artist Market
Mega Charizard X ex #125 Special Illustration Rare danciao $583.73
Mega Charizard X ex #130 Mega Hyper Rare takuyoa $184.15
Mega Charizard X ex #109 Ultra Rare takuyoa $20.37
Dawn #129 Special Illustration Rare Atsushi Furusawa $17.53
Mega Sharpedo ex #127 Special Illustration Rare nagimiso $17.37
Rotom ex #126 Special Illustration Rare Yoshimi Miyoshi $10.91
Meowth #106 Illustration Rare Uninori $14.06
Mega Lopunny ex #128 Special Illustration Rare Kinu Nishimura $11.66
Piplup #98 Illustration Rare Jiro Sasumo $10.71
Wigglytuff #105 Illustration Rare REND $4.98
Dawn #118 Ultra Rare Yuu Nishida $5.48
Flygon #101 Illustration Rare Ryota Murayama $3.33
Zacian #100 Illustration Rare Yoriyuki Ikegami $3.18
Dewgong #97 Illustration Rare satoma $3.69
Mega Charizard X ex #13 Double Rare takuyoa $4.22

The promos with the same names

44 names from this set also exist as Mega Evolution Black Star Promos: Ceruledge, Zacian, Flygon, Toxtricity, Charcadet, Mega Charizard X ex, Oricorio ex, Meloetta, Haunter, Charmander, Piplup, Mega Gengar ex, Toxel, Charmeleon, Meowth, Oddish, Ludicolo, Moltres, Murkrow, Suicune, Smeargle, Misdreavus, Pawmi, Paldean Wooper, Pawmot, Jigglypuff, Mimikyu, Carvanha, Reshiram, Genesect, Darumaka, Buneary, Gliscor, Cresselia, Togedemaru, Snubbull, Aipom, Seviper, Duraludon, Alcremie, Bronzong, Gastly, Absol, Sableye. Those come from promo products and events rather than booster packs, and they are separate printings with their own numbers. The Charizard's page lists all six of its printings side by side, promos included.

Buying and selling

Every card above links to its own page, which shows what we have in stock and, for anything we do not, where to get it. The full list is on the Phantasmal Flames page, and every Pokémon set we cover is on the sets index.

Prices are TCGplayer market prices from our catalog feed on 2 November 2026 and move daily.