Destined Rivals Special Illustration Rares, Ranked: Which sv10 SIRs Are Worth Chasing?
By Dexhaul Team · September 6, 2026
The Destined Rivals SIR tier works differently from every other recent Scarlet & Violet expansion.
In most SV sets, the top-value Special Illustration Rares spotlight Pokémon ex in sweeping full-art compositions. Destined Rivals, released May 30, 2025 as the tenth expansion of the Scarlet & Violet era, flips that pattern.
The three most expensive SIRs all feature Team Rocket's Pokémon alongside trainer portraits. Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex (231/182) trades in raw near-mint condition for over $600. Team Rocket's Giovanni's SIR sits at around $30.
Understanding why that gap exists tells you something useful about which cards to target and which to pass on.
What Makes Destined Rivals' SIR Tier Unusual
Destined Rivals is a Team Rocket set in a way no previous English TCG expansion has been. According to The Pokémon Company, the expansion contains 244 cards total across the standard and secret rare tier, with 83 cards tied to Team Rocket characters or Pokémon. That is a remarkable concentration for a single thematic faction.
The set features ten Trainer's Pokémon ex cards: iconic Pokémon (Mewtwo, Nidoking, Moltres, Ho-Oh) paired with their associated trainer in a single card. This mechanic drives the SIR premium. A Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR shows Mewtwo and Giovanni together in one illustration, and that combined nostalgia is what separates the top-tier SIRs from a comparable Pokémon ex SIR in a standard set.
The non-Team Rocket trainers in the set include Cynthia (Sinnoh Champion), Ethan (the protagonist from Gold/Silver), Arven, Misty, Marnie, and Steven Stone. Their SIRs trade at different levels depending on character popularity and whether they are paired with a Pokémon ex or appearing on a Trainer Supporter card.
The Top Tier: Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex (231/182)
Mewtwo is the most iconic Team Rocket-associated Pokémon in the franchise. The SIR at card 231/182 pairs the Genetic Pokémon with Giovanni in a dramatic composition that rewards the combined nostalgia investment directly.
Raw near-mint copies list from around $640 right now. Graded PSA 10 copies appear at $1,150 and above.
That gap over the lower SIRs is not primarily about art quality: every Destined Rivals SIR uses the same full-bleed illustration format. The premium is almost entirely Mewtwo's cultural weight and the Team Rocket brand.
If you are building a Giovanni or Mewtwo collection and the price fits, this is the defining card of the set. If you are buying Destined Rivals sealed product specifically hoping to pull it, the realistic expectation is that you will not: it shares the SIR slot with every other card in this tier, and opening to an SIR at all is a low-probability outcome in any single box.
The Premium Non-Rocket Tier: Cynthia's Garchomp ex (232/182) and Rocket's Nidoking ex (233/182)
These two SIRs occupy a similar price band and make for an interesting contrast in who is driving the demand.
Cynthia's Garchomp ex at $284.99 (Murph's Trading Cards) is the highest-value non-Team-Rocket SIR in the set. Cynthia is consistently polled as one of the most beloved Champions in the series, and her Garchomp pairing has been a collector target since the Platinum era. This SIR pairs both in full-bleed illustration format, which is the version most Cynthia collectors want on display.
Rocket's Nidoking ex (233/182) sits in a similar price band. Raw ungraded copies from Burbank Cards list at $105; PSA 10 graded copies appear at $300. Nidoking's Team Rocket connection runs deep through the anime and original game lore, making it a specific Gen 1 nostalgia target for collectors building a comprehensive Team Rocket set.
The Mid-Range Tier: Team Rocket's Moltres ex (229/182) and Yanmega ex (228/182)
These two SIRs land in a similar $85 to $100 range, but they appeal to completely different collector types.
Team Rocket's Moltres ex (229/182) is the third entry in the Team Rocket Legendary Bird trio that was a major storyline element in the original anime and Pokémon Yellow. It sits at $93.75 in near-mint ungraded condition at Trading Card World. A stamped variant exists with a separate designation for event or product-exclusive copies; the stamped version commands a small additional premium.
Yanmega ex at number 228 is the set's most classically structured Pokémon ex SIR, featuring the Pokémon without a named trainer in the composition. A PSA 10 graded copy appears at $99.99. For collectors who want a strong Destined Rivals SIR display piece without committing to the Team Rocket theme, Yanmega ex is the cleaner choice at a comparable price to Moltres.
The Entry Tier: Ethan's Adventure (236/182) and Team Rocket's Giovanni
Both of these SIRs feature trainer portrait-forward artwork without the full Pokémon ex pairing, and their prices reflect it.
Ethan's Adventure (236/182) at $48 is the Johto fan-service entry. Ethan, the protagonist from Gold and Silver, appears rarely in the card game. An SIR format Supporter dedicated to him is a milestone for Johto collectors, and the price stays accessible because the demand base is narrower than the Team Rocket cards.
Team Rocket's Giovanni SIR lists around $30, the most affordable SIR in the set. Giovanni has appeared on Supporter cards before; the format familiarity keeps the price ceiling low. For set completionists it is the easiest entry; for dedicated Giovanni collectors, essential regardless of price direction.
What This Means for Buyers in September 2026
The Destined Rivals SIR range is the widest of any recent SV expansion: from $30 for Giovanni to $640 or more for Rocket's Mewtwo ex, all from the same set and the same pack structure. That width creates a clear decision point for different collector types.
If you are targeting the top end, buying singles from independent shops is the rational path. The pull probability from any booster box does not justify sealed product cost as a singles acquisition strategy. The Booster Box at $434.99 makes sense for set-completion collectors who want the full pulling experience; it does not make sense as a targeted path to one or two specific SIRs.
The mid-range tier offers a useful window. Both Yanmega ex and Team Rocket's Moltres ex show the Destined Rivals full-bleed illustration quality without the nostalgia premium attached to Mewtwo or Cynthia. For display-focused collectors who want this set on the shelf without committing four figures, either is a realistic choice.
The entry tier is legitimately underrated.
Giovanni's SIR at $30 and Ethan's Adventure at $48 share the same full-bleed illustration format as the $600 Mewtwo card. What scales with price in this tier is character weight and audience size, not illustration quality. For Giovanni or Johto collectors specifically, that difference makes the entry SIRs genuine value against the broader market.
Browse current Destined Rivals listings from independent shops on DexHaul, where sellers list everything from individual SIR singles to sealed booster boxes side by side.