All Sets / Pokémon / Mega Evolution / Ascended Heroes
Mega Evolution · ME02.5
Ascended Heroes
The largest English Pokémon TCG set ever printed. 295 cards, 78 of them secret rares, pulled from two Japanese releases and packed into one January expansion.
- Released
- 30 Jan 2026English
- Cards
- 295217 main + 78 secret
- Master set
- 512with reverse holos
- Set code
- ME02.5me02pt5
- Booster pack
- $13.89market
- Top card
- $1,060Pikachu ex 276/217
What Ascended Heroes actually is
The short version
Ascended Heroes is the January 2026 Mega Evolution expansion, and at 295 cards it is the biggest English set the Pokémon TCG has ever put out. That size is the whole story of the set. It exists because The Pokémon Company folded two separate Japanese products into one English release, so you get a High Class Pack's worth of secret rares sitting on top of a full main set.
The marketing leads on three Mega Evolution ex cards: Mega Dragonite ex, Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex. Worth knowing before you buy that the market disagrees. Only Mega Dragonite ex made the top ten by price. The two cards actually carrying the set are a pair of Pikachu ex special illustration rares and Mega Gengar ex, none of which appear on the box art.
For collectors the practical consequence of 78 secret rares is that a master set is a serious project. 512 cards including reverse holos, and secret rares do not get reverse variants.
What's in the set
295 cards by rarity
| Rarity | Cards | Share of set |
|---|---|---|
| Common | 84 | |
| Uncommon | 69 | |
| Double Rare | 39 | |
| Illustration Rare | 33 | |
| Rare | 25 | |
| Special Illustration Rare | 22 | |
| Ultra Rare | 14 | |
| Mega Attack Rare | 7 | |
| Mega Hyper Rare | 2 |
Where it came from
Japanese source sets
English Mega Evolution sets are assembled rather than translated. Ascended Heroes takes its main set and most of its secret rares from a High Class Pack, then folds in a starter deck collection, which is why the card count runs so far past a normal expansion.
MEGA Dream ex (M2a)
High Class Pack · 28 Nov 2025
The bulk of the set, and the source of nearly all the special illustration rares that carry its value.
Start Deck 100 Battle Collection
Deck product · 19 Dec 2025
Supplies much of the main set filler that pushes the total to 217 before secrets.
Chase cards
Top ten by market price
| Card | Number | Rarity | Market | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pikachu ex | 276/217 | Special Illus. | $1,059.87 |
| 2 | Mega Gengar ex | 284/217 | Special Illus. | $1,051.08 |
| 3 | Mega Dragonite ex | 290/217 | Special Illus. | $668.24 |
| 4 | Mega Charizard Y ex | 294/217 | Mega Hyper | $405.34 |
| 5 | Pikachu ex | 277/217 | Special Illus. | $363.16 |
| 6 | Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex | 281/217 | Special Illus. | $323.32 |
| 7 | Mega Dragonite ex | 295/217 | Mega Hyper | $243.95 |
| 8 | Lillie's Clefairy ex | 280/217 | Special Illus. | $161.57 |
| 9 | N's Zoroark ex | 286/217 | Special Illus. | $149.35 |
| 10 | Mega Feraligatr ex | 274/217 | Special Illus. | $132.90 |
The box art is not the chase
Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex front the packaging but neither cracks the top ten. If you are buying singles to hold, the set's value is concentrated in the two Pikachu ex special illustration rares and Mega Gengar ex, which together account for more than the next five cards combined.
Sealed product
Current market prices
Booster Pack
$13.89Single 10-card packBooster Bundle
$80.616 packsElite Trainer Box
$169.469 packs plus promoMini Tin Display
$298.42Full display casePack price against ETB price is the number worth watching. At $13.89 a pack, nine loose packs run about $125, so the ETB carries roughly a $44 premium for the accessories and the promo. That gap has been the usual shape for Mega Evolution boxes.
Go deeper
Everything else on this set
More Mega Evolution
Every set in the series
Common questions
Ascended Heroes FAQ
How many cards are in Ascended Heroes?
295 in total. 217 in the main set and 78 secret rares numbered above 217. A master set including reverse holos comes to 512, since secret rares have no reverse variant.
When did Ascended Heroes release?
30 January 2026 in English.
What is the most valuable card in Ascended Heroes?
Pikachu ex 276/217, a special illustration rare, at roughly $1,060 on the current market. Mega Gengar ex 284/217 sits within a few dollars of it.
Is Ascended Heroes worth buying sealed?
Nine loose packs cost about $125 against $169 for an Elite Trainer Box, so the ETB premium is around $44 for the accessories and promo. With 78 secret rares in the pool, hit rates per pack are thinner than a standard expansion, which pushes most collectors toward singles for specific cards.
Which Japanese sets is Ascended Heroes from?
Mainly MEGA Dream ex (M2a), a High Class Pack released 28 November 2025, combined with the Start Deck 100 Battle Collection from 19 December 2025.
Card and sealed prices from live market data · updated daily