Phantasmal Flames Booster Box: 36 Packs & the Best Chase Cards

A Phantasmal Flames booster box is the biggest single step you can take into Phantasmal Flames, the second main set of the Mega era. The set launched worldwide on 14 November 2025 with Mega Charizard X ex as its headline Pokémon, and a sealed box gives you 36 booster packs in one go. This guide covers what is inside, which cards collectors hope to find, what a box is best used for and how it compares with the other products from the set.

If you are weighing up several boxes from the era, our Mega Evolutions booster box comparison lines them all up. Here we focus on what makes this one different.

What’s in a Phantasmal Flames booster box

Every Phantasmal Flames booster box contains 36 booster packs, and each English pack holds 10 cards and 1 Basic Energy. That is 360 cards in total, drawn from a set of 130: 94 cards in the main set and 36 secret rares beyond it.

• Set code: ME02, released on 14 November 2025, including in Australia and New Zealand.
• Headliners: Mega Charizard X ex, with Mega Gengar ex alongside it.
• Mega Pokémon ex: six in total: Mega Heracross ex, Mega Charizard X ex, Mega Diancie ex, Mega Gengar ex, Mega Sharpedo ex and Mega Lopunny ex.
• Other Pokémon ex: Oricorio ex, Rotom ex, Mismagius ex and Empoleon ex.
• Secret rares: 13 illustration rares, 17 ultra rares, 5 special illustration rares and 1 Mega Hyper Rare.

Unlike an Elite Trainer Box, a booster box has no sleeves, dice or promo. It is all about the packs, which is exactly why players and collectors who open in volume tend to prefer one.

The Mega Charizard X ex chase

Mega Charizard X ex is the card most people associate with this set, and it appears four times. The regular double rare is #13, the ultra rare is #109, the special illustration rare by danciao is #125, and the Mega Hyper Rare at #130 closes the set. The double rare, ultra rare and Mega Hyper Rare are all illustrated by takuyoa. Charmander and Charmeleon are in the set too, so the whole evolution line can come out of a Phantasmal Flames booster box.

The Pokémon Company’s launch announcement for Phantasmal Flames highlights Mega Charizard X ex and Mega Gengar ex for their increased HP and attack damage compared with regular Pokémon ex. It also points out that the ultra rares show Mega Pokémon ex in dynamic detail, sometimes with a silhouette of the original form in the artwork, a nice touch to look for as you sort.

Mega Gengar ex and the other secret rares

Mega Gengar ex co-stars as a Stage 2 Darkness-type card at #56, with Gastly and Haunter in the set to evolve it. Interestingly, its more elaborate versions live elsewhere: the Mega Attack Rare and special illustration rare of Mega Gengar ex arrived later in Ascended Heroes, covered in our Pokémon Ascended Heroes guide. In a Phantasmal Flames booster box, the other special illustration rares to look for are:

• Rotom ex (#126), illustrated by Yoshimi Miyoshi
• Mega Sharpedo ex (#127), illustrated by nagimiso
• Mega Lopunny ex (#128), illustrated by Kinu Nishimura
• Dawn (#129), a Supporter special illustration rare by Atsushi Furusawa

The 13 illustration rares are a highlight of their own, with Piplup, Zacian, Flygon, Meowth and Togedemaru among them.

What a booster box is best for

A Phantasmal Flames booster box suits a few specific goals:

• Box breaks with friends: 36 packs split evenly between two, three, four, six, nine or twelve people, which makes a box a fun group event.
• Working towards the set: 360 cards gives you a big pile of the set to sort, so you can see exactly which cards are still missing.
• Deck building: extra copies of Trainers such as Dawn, Battle Cage, Firebreather, Grimsley’s Move and Punk Helmet are handy if you play.
• Keeping one sealed: some fans like to keep an unopened Phantasmal Flames booster box on the shelf as a display piece.

If you keep a box sealed, store it flat in a cool, dry place out of direct sunlight, and leave the shrink wrap on. If you open it, sleeve the full-art cards as they come out and sort the rest by number to make tracking easy.

Running a fair box break

Opening a Phantasmal Flames booster box with friends is more fun with a few ground rules agreed up front:

1. Agree the split first. Decide whether everyone keeps what they open, or whether you pool the cards and take turns picking.
2. Shuffle the pack order. Let each person choose packs at random from the box rather than in a fixed sequence.
3. Open one pack at a time. Going around the table keeps the excitement going and means every pull gets its moment.
4. Have sleeves ready. Keep sleeves and top loaders on the table so special cards are protected straight away.

Phantasmal Flames booster box vs ETB vs Ultra-Premium Collection

Three products from the set cover very different needs:

• Phantasmal Flames Booster Box: 36 packs and nothing else. The most packs per product, ideal for breaks and set building.
• Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box: 9 packs, a full-art Charcadet promo, 65 sleeves, 40 Energy cards, a player’s guide, dice, a coin-flip die, a plastic coin, a collector’s box with 6 dividers and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.
• Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection: 18 booster packs, foil Mega Charizard X ex and Oricorio ex promos, a playmat, 65 sleeves, a deck box, a metal coin, 6 damage-counter dice and a code card.

As a rule of thumb, choose the Phantasmal Flames booster box for volume, the Elite Trainer Box for a starter kit and a promo, and the Ultra-Premium Collection if you want a Mega Charizard X centrepiece with premium accessories. You can also combine the two: a box for the packs and an ETB for the storage, sleeves and promo.

The Japanese counterpart: Inferno X

Phantasmal Flames is adapted from the Japanese set Inferno X, released in Japan on 26 September 2025 with Mega Charizard X ex as its central Pokémon. The format is quite different. A Japanese Inferno X M2 Booster Box holds 30 packs of 5 cards, against 36 packs of 10 cards in a Phantasmal Flames booster box, and the Japanese set has 116 cards rather than 130.

Japanese cards are printed in Japanese, so they appeal most to collectors who love the earlier release, the smaller packs and the chance to compare artwork across languages. Players building English decks will get more from an English Phantasmal Flames booster box.

Shop the range

• Phantasmal Flames Elite Trainer Box
• Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection
• Japanese Inferno X M2 Booster Box

A Phantasmal Flames booster box is the most direct way to chase Mega Charizard X ex and the rest of this fiery set. For the bigger picture, read our guide to Mega Evolution, or browse the full Pokémon TCG range.

Phantasmal Flames Booster Box FAQs

How many packs are in a Phantasmal Flames booster box?

A Phantasmal Flames booster box contains 36 booster packs. Each English pack has 10 cards and 1 Basic Energy.

What are the chase cards in Phantasmal Flames?

The headline cards are the Mega Charizard X ex Mega Hyper Rare (#130) and special illustration rare (#125). Special illustration rares of Rotom ex, Mega Sharpedo ex, Mega Lopunny ex and Dawn are also popular.

When was Phantasmal Flames released?

Phantasmal Flames was released worldwide on 14 November 2025, including in Australia and New Zealand. It has 130 cards: 94 in the main set and 36 secret rares.

Should I choose a Phantasmal Flames booster box or an Elite Trainer Box?

Choose the Phantasmal Flames booster box if you want the most packs for breaks or set building. Choose the Elite Trainer Box if you want a Charcadet promo, sleeves, Energy cards and storage with fewer packs.

What is the Japanese version of Phantasmal Flames?

Phantasmal Flames is adapted from the Japanese set Inferno X, released on 26 September 2025. Japanese Inferno X boxes hold 30 packs of 5 cards.