Destined Rivals is releasing on May 30, 2025 and we already have an early look at many officially revealed cards from the set in English! These cards are noteworthy not only because they contain the English version of the cards we’ve already seen released in the Japanese sets Heat Wave Arena and Glory of Team Rocket but because they also act as official confirmation that these cards will indeed be part of the international Destined Rivals set.

Below, we’ll be taking a deeper look at each of the Destined Rivals English cards revealed so far, as well as providing some context around their in-game playability and potential rarity.

Destined Rivals English Main Set List

Cynthia’s Roselia and Roserade

Cynthia’s Garchomp ex will be one of the main new Destined Rivals decks. While I’ve not seen a list yet that has Roserade teched-in, it could certainly be a solid tool to help bolster your Garchomp ex’s attack to do considerably more damage.

Dwebble

Ethan’s Cyndaquil

Ethan’s Cyndaquil will be very popular thanks to the powerful new Ethan’s Typhlosion single prize deck coming out in this set. Of course, being one of the second generation starters, Cyndaquil holds a special place in the hearts of many.

Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex

Ethan’s Pokemon get plenty of support in Destined Rivals, including this enticing Ho-Oh ex. Pair it with Ethan’s Magcargo for the biggest impact in the Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex deck strategy!

Misty’s Psyduck

Misty’s Psyduck feels sort of useless at first. However, when you combine it with the powerful Misty’s Gyarados, its Flustered Leap ability suddenly makes a lot of sense.

Misty’s Magikarp and Gyarados

Surprising enough Misty’s Gyarados is actually included as stamped Prerelease Promo in the Destined Rivals Build and Battle Box. These decks are the prebuilt decks you get to customize at prerelease events, and Misty’s Gyardos is fairly strong in that format.

In regular constructed, however, you could wreck some havoc with this deck as well. Magikarp’s So Submerged ability prevents it from getting hit by the likes of Dragapult ex’s Phantom Dive making it possible for this Pokemon to stick around long enough to evolve.

Additionally, Psyduck’s Flustered Leap gives you easy fuel to power up Gyarados’s Splashing Panic attack.

Misty’s Staryu and Starmie

While the main power of any Misty deck will come from Gyarados, you could use Misty’s Starmie to help bolster your offensive strategy.

Ethan’s Pichu

I love this Ethan’s Pichu card. First of all, how can you not love Pichu – he’s like an even cuter Pikachu. Second, this would be an insanely helpful card in the prerelease format, enabling you to draw an extra card without needing to add any energy.

Team Rocket’s Mareep

Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex

Funny enough, our first look at Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex was in its SIR form. The Double Rare version from the main set was spoiled when Pokemon announced that the Team Rocket’s Mewtwo ex deck would be one of the free decks available in the Destined Rivals Battle Pass in Pokemon TCG Live for free!

Regirock ex

Spoiled via the Pokemon TCG UK X account, Regirock ex is a powerful fighting type counter to Stage 2 Pokemon, enabling it to KO them in one shot if equipped with the right damage modifiers. This could be an interesting tech to include in fighting decks thanks to its relative ease to play as a basic Pokemon ex.

Marnie’s Scrafty

Arven’s Sandwich

Arven’s Sandwich is primarily here to be paired with Mabosstiff ex – enabling an insane 100 damage heal from it whenever you play it. The card isn’t exactly a game changer but should make for a fun mechanic in a format without a ton of healing effects.

Steven’s Metagross ex

Albeit fairly tanky, Steven’s Metagross ex probably doesn’t have what it takes to make it as a top deck given the fact it is a stage 2 Pokemon with relatively low payoff. However, it could potentially pair well with other decks and be used solely as an energy accelerator rather than as the primary attacker.

Ogerpons

Because of their thematic similarities, I’m including these four Ogerpon spoiled via an article on Pokemon’s site. Despite it being interesting that we’re getting a very recent Pokemon like Ogerpon in an otherwise very nostalgia-drive set, these various Ogerpon cards don’t seem to offer a lot in terms of competitive viability. For regular set cards, however, they boast good illustration.

Destined Rivals secret rare cards

Ethan’s Adventure – Ultra Rare

Ethan’s Adventure makes up the backbone of what will likely be a popular deck: Ethan’s Typhlosion. While not a huge chase in itself, the popularity of that deck could drive some decent value for this ultra rare trainer card.

Ethan’s Ho-Oh ex – Ultra Rare

This Ho-Oh Ultra Rare bears the same design concept as the Trainer’s Pokemon Ultra Rare cards in Journey Together. The colors are fairly startling here. That combined with Ho-Oh’s nostalgic appeal as well as the fact it fairs relatively well in its own deck could help this chase see some solid value.

Team Rocket’s Mewoth – Illustration Rare

As far as iconic Pokemon go, it’s hard to get more Iconic than Team Rocket’s Meowth. This guy's been a key component of the Pokemon universe since the beginning. Although here he’s depicted next to Giovanni meaning it’s probably a different Meowth than the one we know and love from the anime, it’s still a nice allusion to our beloved character that collectors will go nuts for.

Cynthia’s Roserade – Illustration Rare

This card is so beautiful and has such a mystique about it that I already included it on my list of most expensive Destined Rivals cards. While it’s not nearly the kind of chase card that Cynthia’s Garchomp ex is, it does serve to show a gentler side of the famous trainer. With the circling wind and azule landscape in the background, you can bet this card is going to be highly valuable for an Illustration Rare.

Misty’s Psyduck – Illustration Rare

Another card that’s just as eye-catching if not quite as beautiful is Misty’s Psyduck Illustration Rare. We’ve already talked about how handy this card is going to be in battle. Additionally, the card should be worth high value as it includes one of Pokemon’s most notable trainers.

I would have loved getting an IR of Misty’s Gyarados as well, but I’ll settle for this.

Team Rocket’s Orbeetle – Illustration Rare

I’m not seeing where Rocket Brain is going as an ability off the top of my head, but I am certainly loving the water-painting artwork featured in this dazzling IR.

Kangaskkhan – Illustration Rare

This artwork totally reminds me of My Neighbor Totoro. The nolstagic vibe int his artwork could create some value here, but Kengaskhan probably isn’t a popular enough Pokemon to drive incredible value – despite being one of the original 151.

Rocket's Mewtwo ex – Special Illustration Rare

Saving the best for first: this Mewtwo ex SIR! Team Rocket’s Mewtwo is one of the most anticipated cards coming out in Destined Rivals, and it should be the most valuable. Of course, it’s not just collectors looking for this Pokemon: Rocket’s Mewtwo ex is also a strong deck for players. You probably won’t want to sleeve up this beauty and use it in battle, however: it’s likely to be worth well over $300 once the set drops in full.

Team Rocket’s Crobat ex – Special Illustration Rare

Zubat and its evolved forms (including Crobat) play an important role alongside Team Rocket in the video games. In the earlier games, you’re always running into a Team Rocket Grunt in some cave and duking it with your Pokemon vs. their bats. This SIR pays homage to that history with every single Zubat evolution swarming around a Team Rocket Grunt.

Cynthia’s Garchomp ex – Special Illustration Rare

Getting official confirmation of Cynthia’s Garchomp ex as well as an early look at the English version of the card is exhilarating. Without a doubt it will be one of the top chases from Destined Rivals, and could be the most expensive card overall with its only main competition being Rocket’s Mewtwo ex.

Destined Rivals Prerelease Promos

In addition to the main set of cards, we’re also getting four promos with the “Destined Rivals” stamp on them. These Destined Rivals Prerelease Promos will be available exclusively in the Build and Battle Boxes given out at prerelease events, and can be seen below.

Destind Rivals special retail promos

Two additional promo spoilers have been confirmed by the Pokemon Company in the form of Team Rocket’s Moltres and Team Rocket’s Zapdos. You can get the Zapdos by making a qualified purchase from GameStop and the Articuno (with the Destined Rivals stamp) from Best Buy. The promotion starts the same day as Destined Rivals’s official release: May 30, 2025.

Internationally released Destined Rivals cards

While as usual I’ll be focusing primarily on the English cards revealed for the set, cards in additional languages have been released. You can see them below.

Destined Rivals English Spoilers and Card List