Destined Rivals: 244 Cards and Amazing Team Rocket Chase Cards

Destined Rivals is the Scarlet & Violet expansion where Team Rocket finally takes the stage. Released on 30 May 2025 with the code SV10, it sets Giovanni and Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex against some of the best-loved Trainers in the series, including Ethan and Cynthia. This guide breaks down the villains, the rivals, the chase cards and the sealed products that open the set.

Destined Rivals in brief

The set has 244 cards: 182 in the main set and 62 secret rares. Prerelease events began on 17 May 2025, and digital play in Pokémon TCG Live opened on 29 May, a day before the cards reached stores. It builds on the Trainer’s Pokémon mechanic that returned in Journey Together, and pushes it much further – 90 of the 182 main-set cards are Trainer’s Pokémon.

The official announcement highlights 83 Team Rocket cards and 17 Pokémon ex, ten of which are Trainer’s Pokémon ex. The secret rares are made up of 23 illustration rares, 22 ultra rares, 11 special illustration rares and six gold hyper rares, while the main set holds 85 commons, 62 uncommons, 18 rares and 17 Double Rare ex cards. There are no ACE SPEC cards this time.

Team Rocket takes centre stage

The Pokémon Company International describes the set as starring the nefarious Team Rocket, led by Giovanni and Mewtwo ex, and Bulbapedia notes that the pair feature on the booster artwork. Across the main set you’ll find 46 Team Rocket’s Pokémon, from Team Rocket’s Ekans and Team Rocket’s Meowth to a full Nidoran family and a Porygon line that ends in Team Rocket’s Porygon-Z.

Team Rocket’s Pokémon ex

Five of the ten Trainer’s Pokémon ex belong to Team Rocket:

• Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex – the face of the set
• Team Rocket’s Moltres ex
• Team Rocket’s Nidoking ex
• Team Rocket’s Crobat ex
• Team Rocket’s Persian ex

Collectors of Kanto’s Legendary birds get a treat too: Team Rocket’s Articuno and Team Rocket’s Zapdos appear as Rares, so you can line up all three birds in Team Rocket colours.

The Team Rocket Trainer cards

The Trainer section is where the villains really show up. Giovanni leads a run of Supporters that includes the Executives Archer, Ariana, Petrel and Proton, all printed as Team Rocket’s cards. There are two Stadiums, Team Rocket’s Factory and Team Rocket’s Watchtower, Items such as Team Rocket’s Great Ball, Team Rocket’s Transceiver, Team Rocket’s Venture Bomb and Team Rocket’s Bother-Bot, and a Special Energy, Team Rocket’s Energy, to close the main set at 182.

The rivals standing in their way

Facing Team Rocket is a line-up of heroes from across the series, each with their own Trainer’s Pokémon:

• Ethan – Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex leads a team that includes the Cyndaquil line up to Ethan’s Typhlosion, Ethan’s Pichu and Ethan’s Sudowoodo, plus the Supporter Ethan’s Adventure.
• Cynthia – Cynthia’s Garchomp ex heads a team with Cynthia’s Roserade, Cynthia’s Milotic and Cynthia’s Spiritomb, backed by the Pokémon Tool Cynthia’s Power Weight.
• Steven – Steven’s Metagross ex, with Steven’s Skarmory, Steven’s Claydol and Steven’s Carbink.
• Marnie – Marnie’s Grimmsnarl ex alongside Marnie’s Morpeko, Marnie’s Liepard and Marnie’s Scrafty, with the Stadium Spikemuth Gym.
• Arven – Arven’s Mabosstiff ex, Arven’s Toedscruel and Arven’s Greedent, plus the Item Arven’s Sandwich.
• Misty – a Water-type team of six, including Misty’s Gyarados, Misty’s Starmie, Misty’s Lapras and Misty’s Psyduck.

The regular Pokémon ex round things out: Yanmega ex, Arboliva ex, Rabsca ex, Cetitan ex, Dondozo ex, Electivire ex and Regirock ex.

Chase cards: villains versus heroes

The 11 special illustration rares split neatly between the two sides of the story, with one wild card:

• Team Rocket: Team Rocket’s Moltres ex (229), Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex (231), Team Rocket’s Nidoking ex (233), Team Rocket’s Crobat ex (234), Team Rocket’s Ariana (237) and Team Rocket’s Giovanni (238)
• The rivals: Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex (230), Cynthia’s Garchomp ex (232), Arven’s Mabosstiff ex (235) and Ethan’s Adventure (236)
• Neither side: Yanmega ex (228)

The six gold hyper rares are Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex (239), Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex (240), Cynthia’s Garchomp ex (241), Team Rocket’s Crobat ex (242), and the Stadiums Jamming Tower (243) and Levincia (244). Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex SIR 231/182, Cynthia’s Garchomp ex SIR 232/182 and Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex SIR 230/182 are the headline chase cards of Destined Rivals.

The 23 illustration rares are worth a look as well, with Team Rocket’s Meowth, Team Rocket’s Murkrow, Ethan’s Typhlosion, Cynthia’s Roserade and Misty’s Psyduck among them.

From Japan: Glory of Team Rocket

The core of the English set comes from Glory of Team Rocket (ロケット団の栄光), released in Japan on 18 April 2025. The official Japanese product page shows packs of five cards, and a Japanese box holds 30 packs. According to Bulbapedia’s Destined Rivals page, the English release also draws on a smaller Japanese subset and two ex Starter Sets built around Marnie and Steven.

If you collect in both languages, the Japanese Glory of Team Rocket SV10 Booster Box lets you put Japanese Team Rocket’s Pokémon beside their English versions.

Sealed products for Destined Rivals

Three products cover most collectors:

• Destined Rivals Booster Box – 36 booster packs, each with 10 cards and a Basic Energy. The most direct route to the full set.
• Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box – nine packs, a full-art foil Team Rocket’s Wobbuffet promo (SVP 203), 65 sleeves, 45 Energy cards, dice, condition markers and a collector’s box with four dividers. A Pokémon Center version with 11 packs was also released.
• Team Rocket’s Moltres ex Ultra-Premium Collection – the premium option, built around the set’s fiery villain.

Inside the Team Rocket’s Moltres ex Ultra-Premium Collection

This collection includes three foil Team Rocket’s Moltres ex cards with different artwork, stamped with the Destined Rivals logo and matching the set’s Double Rare (031/182), Ultra Rare (208/182) and special illustration rare (229/182) designs. It also comes with a playmat, a deck box, a metallic coin, six damage-counter dice, a coin-flip die, two condition markers, 18 booster packs and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

New to Trainer’s Pokémon? Our Journey Together set guide explains how the mechanic returned with N, Iono, Lillie and Hop two months before Destined Rivals.

Shop the range

• Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box
• Team Rocket’s Moltres ex Ultra-Premium Collection
• Japanese Glory of Team Rocket SV10 Booster Box

Whether you’re drawn to Giovanni’s crew or the heroes lining up against them, Destined Rivals is one of the most story-driven sets of the Scarlet & Violet era. Read the official Destined Rivals announcement for the launch details, then explore more expansions in our Pokémon TCG range.

Destined Rivals FAQs

When was Destined Rivals released?

Destined Rivals was released on 30 May 2025. Its main Japanese source, Glory of Team Rocket, came out in Japan on 18 April 2025.

How many cards are in Destined Rivals?

There are 244 cards: 182 in the main set and 62 secret rares, made up of 23 illustration rares, 22 ultra rares, 11 special illustration rares and six gold hyper rares.

What are the chase cards in Destined Rivals?

Most collectors chase the special illustration rares of Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex (231/182), Cynthia’s Garchomp ex (232/182) and Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex (230/182), plus the gold hyper rares of those three Pokémon.

How many Team Rocket cards are in Destined Rivals?

The official announcement counts 83 Team Rocket cards across the set, and the main set alone includes 46 Team Rocket’s Pokémon.

What promo comes in the Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box?

The standard Elite Trainer Box includes a full-art foil Team Rocket’s Wobbuffet promo, numbered SVP 203, with nine Destined Rivals booster packs.