Meowth Across Eras: Team Rocket Origins, Mega Evolution SIR, and Everything Between
By Dexhaul Team · August 24, 2026
Meowth's collector story runs longer and stranger than most people realize. It appeared in the original Team Rocket set in 2000, returned as a Secret Rare numbered above its own set total in Black & White, and is now one of the breakout singles in the 2026 Mega Evolution series, where its Special Illustration Rare trades at prices that would have seemed implausible for a non-legendary cat Pokémon five years ago.
The catalogue across all of that history runs from $2 to $439 depending on era and condition. Here is what each phase of that history offers and what the current market looks like.
Why Meowth has a moment right now
Two releases have Meowth back in active conversation in mid-2026. The Team Rocket's Ambition expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket launches digitally on August 26, bringing a wave of Team Rocket-themed cards to the mobile game and refreshing interest in the character's TCG history. The physical side follows in October: the Deck Crafter's Collection ($9.99) ships October 23 with a Meowth ex foil card as its headline promo, making it the most accessible sealed format for the card in 2026.
Neither release is a reason to overpay. Both are a reason to know the full range before making a decision.
The WOTC baseline: Team Rocket set (2000)
The original Meowth in the Team Rocket set is card 62/82. The unlimited version trades at $2 (POKE JEUX), which puts a genuine piece of WOTC history within reach of almost any collector. The 1st Edition variant commands more, as it does across the entire Team Rocket print run, but the unlimited copy is the card most people grew up opening and it carries the same artwork.
For context, the Team Rocket set is also where Giovanni and Rocket's Pokémon first appeared in card form. Meowth 62/82 is framed as Team Rocket's Meowth rather than a wild Pokémon, which is one of the reasons the character read as inseparable from the villains long before the anime cemented it.
If you are building a Team Rocket era shelf, the 1st Edition at $4.23 (Spanky's Card Shop) is still attainable without the premium that 1st Edition Charizard or Blastoise commands. It is one of the cheapest entry points into WOTC-era 1st Edition cards.
The Black & White outlier: Noble Victories Secret Rare
The Noble Victories Meowth (102/101) is one of those cards that catches people off guard. It is numbered above the set total: 102 in a set of 101 cards. That is the Black & White era convention for Secret Rares, a category of full-art reprints printed in smaller quantities than standard holofoils.
This one trades at $96 to $104 (Mayhem Collectables). It has no gameplay relevance in 2026 but it sits at the intersection of two things collectors track: Secret Rares numbered above the set total and character-focused full-art reprints. For a Meowth-focused collection, it is the card that most people skip and regret skipping later when the price moves.
The Mega Evolution era: three distinct cards, three price points
The 2025–2026 Mega Evolution series is where the Meowth TCG story gets complicated in a useful way.
Meowth appeared first in ME02 Phantasmal Flames as card 106/094: an Illustration Rare numbered above the set total, featuring artwork that leans into the character's coin-obsessed persona. It trades at $19.85 to $22 across multiple sellers. At that price it is the most visually interesting modern Meowth card that does not require a significant budget.
ME03 Perfect Order introduced Meowth ex in two distinct finishes. The Full Art Ultra Rare (107/088) runs $14 to $30 depending on seller. The Special Illustration Rare (121/088) is the card that gets talked about: it trades raw at $124 to $187 across independent sellers, and a PSA 10 copy (JustEncased) lists at $439.
That raw-to-PSA-10 ratio is worth understanding. A $14 raw copy of the Full Art and a $439 PSA 10 of the SIR are not the same card, but they are in the same set. The spread exists because the SIR print quality control in ME03 makes gem-mint pulls genuinely uncommon, which makes grading economically sensible for anyone pulling one from a booster. The $169.99 raw NM market price on the SIR reflects that.
The Team Rocket connection: Destined Rivals (2025)
Separate from the Mega Evolution series, the 2025 Destined Rivals set included Team Rocket's Meowth as card 203/182, another Illustration Rare numbered above its set total. It trades at $27 to $33 currently.
It is explicitly framed as Team Rocket's Meowth rather than a generic one, which ties it directly to the narrative that the August 26 TCG Pocket expansion picks back up. If you are buying one modern Meowth card before the Team Rocket's Ambition launch, this is the one with the most thematic alignment to what is current.
Plush: three tiers across three sizes
The Meowth plush market clusters around three distinct options depending on how much shelf presence you want.
The Pokémon fit line produces the most accurate proportions at the smallest size. The Meowth fit plush at $24.99 (Common Lands) sits close to the in-game sprite silhouette, which reads well at desk scale and pairs naturally with a card display.
The Sanei All Star Collection 8" Meowth at $29.99 to $33.95 (Sweets and Geeks / Kawaii Gifts) is the mid-tier. Sanei produces officially licensed plush and the All Star Collection line has been consistent in quality across characters. Eight inches is large enough to register across a room without dominating a shelf.
The life-size Meowth at $65 (Joe's Japan Plushies) is the conversation-piece option. It is not subtle and it is not meant to be. If you have space and want a single piece that announces the collection to anyone who walks in, it earns that function at a price point well under most equivalent display figures.
Reading the full price range
The Meowth catalogue in 2026 runs from the $2 Team Rocket unlimited through the $22 ME02 Phantasmal Flames Illustration Rare, past the $96 Noble Victories Secret Rare and the $169.99 ME03 SIR raw copy, to the $439 PSA 10 and the $451 VMAX Special Collection Box at the top.
No single collector needs the full range. The practical read is this: the WOTC 1st Edition ($4.23) and the ME02 Phantasmal Flames IR ($22) cover two distinct eras for under $30 combined, which is the most efficient way to anchor a Meowth binder slot. The Noble Victories 102/101 ($96–104) is the card most absent from mid-range collections and the one that moves least predictably when interest in the character spikes. The ME03 SIR is a long-term hold or a grading play, not an impulse buy.
The Deck Crafter's Collection (October 23, $9.99) with its Meowth ex foil is the clearest value entry into sealed product with a Meowth card: sub-$10 MSRP for a foil card plus a Pitch Black booster pack, with no premium over the retail price at launch.
Search all current Meowth listings across independent shops at DexHaul's Meowth search. DexHaul is independent and unofficial, not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or Nintendo.