Roaring Moon Collector's Guide 2026: Dragon/Dark, Four Card Tiers, and Why It Isn't Salamence
By Dexhaul Team · September 23, 2026
Roaring Moon looks like Salamence wearing ancient armor and fangs.
Its collector market runs by completely different rules.
Roaring Moon ex debuted in Paradox Rift (SV04, November 2023) with four distinct price tiers in that set alone, from under $1 for the Double Rare to $200-plus for a PSA 10 Special Illustration Rare. It then appeared again in Prismatic Evolutions (SV8, January 2025) at $155 or more for the same rarity tier. Knowing which card is which, and which product era carries what premium, is what separates a targeted Roaring Moon collection from an accidental one.
What Roaring Moon Actually Is
Roaring Moon is Pokémon No. 1005, classified as an Ancient Pokémon from the game's distant past. It shares visual DNA with Salamence but is a completely separate species with its own Pokédex entry, Dragon/Dark typing, and in-game lore tied to Area Zero in Scarlet.
The Dragon/Dark typing is the first thing that separates the two in the TCG. Salamence ex (Dragon/Colorless) and Roaring Moon ex (Dragon/Dark) are in different color categories entirely. A dark Dragon at the apex of the Ancient classification created a new kind of Dragon collector: one who specifically wants the "Ancient" sub-series rather than the broader Dragon-type pool.
In the TCG, Roaring Moon carries the "Ancient" keyword. This designation matters because specific Trainer cards in the Scarlet and Violet era support Ancient Pokémon as a group.
The mechanic is unique to SV-era sets beginning with Paradox Rift and cannot interact with any Salamence card from any prior era. Two Pokémon that look nearly identical have zero mechanical overlap in the card game. Players who build Ancient decks specifically want Roaring Moon ex, adding a competitive demand channel that collector-fan demand alone rarely sustains for a non-Legendary species.
The Paradox Rift Cards: Four Tiers in One Set
Paradox Rift released November 3, 2023 as a 265-card set. Roaring Moon ex appears four times across the rarity spectrum within a single release, an unusual density for a first appearance.
Tier 1: Double Rare (124/182)
The base ex card, numbered within the regular set at 124/182. This is the gameplay card players sleeve up for actual matches, with a clean full-body illustration on a standard SV holofoil. Current market price is under $1 in near-mint condition.
Tier 2: Art Rare (229/182)
Numbered beyond the base 182, this card carries an alternate full-art illustration at the Art Rare rarity level. Priced at $4 to $7, it is the entry point for collectors who want expanded artwork without paying the SIR premium. The illustration style is distinct from the Double Rare: the Pokémon is shown in a more dynamic environment with a busier background treatment.
Tier 3: Special Illustration Rare (251/182)
The collector centerpiece. The SIR uses a borderless landscape format with ancient-pattern detailing around the art frame. Current raw price is $37 to $46 depending on seller and condition.
A PSA 10 of this card sells for $200. The 38x spread between the $1 Double Rare and the $37-plus SIR is entirely driven by art format: the gameplay text is identical.
Tier 4: Hyper Rare (262/182)
The gold-border version of the ex card. Hyper Rares in Paradox Rift apply a gold etched border to the basic card art, making them visually distinct from all three tiers above. Current price is $6.99 to $10, making this the budget alternative to the SIR for display collectors who want something beyond the standard Double Rare frame.
Four price points, $1 to $200, all for the same Pokémon in the same set. This tier density is unusual even in the SV era and is part of why Paradox Rift Roaring Moon sustains collector interest two years after release.
Sealed Products and the Iron Valiant Pairing
The Roaring Moon ex Box was released simultaneously with the Iron Valiant ex Box on November 3, 2023. These two boxes were the first explicitly paired ex Box releases in the Scarlet and Violet era: one representing the "Ancient" paradox line, one representing the "Future" paradox line, designed as shelf-mate counterparts.
Each box contains one foil promo card, one oversize foil card, and four Paradox Rift booster packs. Current prices for the Roaring Moon ex Box range from $30.90 to $77 across independent sellers. A sealed pair of both boxes sells for $59 to $194 depending on condition and bundling.
The Roaring Moon ex Premium Collection adds a playmat and additional packs for $74.99. The Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box (Roaring Moon edition) is a premium variant at $208. All three sealed products include Paradox Rift packs, so the pull-odds for the SIR are consistent across formats.
Temporal Forces: The Non-ex Companion Card
Temporal Forces (SV05, March 2024) brought a standard non-ex Roaring Moon as card 109/162. This is not an ex card. It uses a different attack set from the Paradox Rift ex version and represents Roaring Moon in its basic form without the ex designation.
The standard holo sells for under $1. A reverse holo near-mint trades at $10.95 for the premium foil treatment. Collectors building a complete Roaring Moon set across all printings include this card as the base-level entry alongside the Paradox Rift versions.
Prismatic Evolutions: The Unexpected Premium SIR
Prismatic Evolutions (SV8, January 2025) included Roaring Moon ex as card 162/131, a Special Illustration Rare. Current raw price is $155 to $171.
That is the same rarity tier as the Paradox Rift SIR at $37 to $46. The gap is approximately 4x for identical rarity on the same Pokémon.
The entire difference is set premium. Prismatic Evolutions is one of the highest-demand sealed sets in the SV era, and its SIR pool carries a blanket price premium that has nothing to do with Roaring Moon specifically. Set prestige inflates every card in the pool regardless of which Pokémon is featured.
For collectors who want the apex Roaring Moon ex SIR at a lower cost, the Paradox Rift SIR at $37 to $46 delivers the same rarity designation with a different illustration at roughly one-quarter the price. For collectors who want the Prismatic Evolutions-era art as a display piece alongside other PE cards, the premium is the cost of set-specific sourcing.
The Graded Market
The Paradox Rift SIR 251/182 in a PSA 10 slab is $200. A CGC 9 of the same card trades around $50. The graded premium on the PSA 10 over raw ($37 to $46) is roughly 4.5x to 5x, a healthy but not extreme premium for a two-year-old SV SIR.
At $37 to $46 raw, grading submissions from pack pulls are viable. At $155 to $171 raw for the Prismatic Evolutions version, the proportional premium for a perfect-grade slab is compressed: the raw price is already high enough that the grade needs to be truly exceptional to justify submission costs.
CGC 9 Paradox Rift SIR at $50 is a useful data point for collectors who want a slabbed Roaring Moon SIR without paying PSA 10 prices. A CGC 9 is one grade below perfect and typically well-protected, centered, and visually clean.
Where to Start
The lowest entry is the Double Rare 124/182 at under $1, or the Temporal Forces holo at $0.47 for the non-ex form. Both are bulk prices. The Art Rare and Hyper Rare sit at $4 to $10 for collectors who want expanded art without paying SIR prices.
The SIR 251/182 at $37 to $46 is the natural apex for most display collectors. PSA 10 at $200 is the graded ceiling for the Paradox Rift print. The Prismatic Evolutions SIR at $155 to $171 raw is a separate target for collectors who want the PE-era illustration specifically.
Browse Roaring Moon on DexHaul to compare prices across independent sellers for every card tier and sealed product, in your currency. DexHaul is independent and unofficial: not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company.