Journey Together will be releasing on March 28, 2025 and is the first main Pokemon TCG set since the days of Gym Challenge to include Trainer’s Pokemon. You can bet that these cards will be highly sought after especially given the current Pokemon TCG craze kicked off by the massive popularity sets like Surging Sparks and Prismatic Evolutions inspired.

But which Journey Together cards will be the most expensive?

Below, let’s look at the cards that are likely to be the most expensive Journey Together Pokemon TCG chase cards of them all.

#1 Lillie’s Clefairy ex is the most expensive Journey Together card

You know a Trainer is popular when the Pokemon company bases a tournament collection after them. That’s just what we’re getting with Lillie. However, in this card Clefairy is the real star of the show, and she’s got an ability that has already turned a lot of heads in anticipation of this set. Essentially, Clefairy leans into the fairy type weakness dragon Pokemon have in the games. While there is no fairy type in the Pokemon TCG, Clefairy ex has an ability that turns the weakness of dragon type Pokemon into psychic. This makes Clefairy an optimal counter to any dragon deck out there.

This is worth noting as previously dragon Pokemon have largely gone unchecked in the Pokemon TCG meta, with top tier dragon decks making their way to the top partly due to this lack of weakness.

While Clefairy can work in its own deck, it is particularly powerful in the Tera Box deck. A deck that focuses on hitting for weakness against every deck, this Tool Box deck is one of the strongest decks post 2025 rotation.

Clearly, Clefairy ex’s combination of beauty, rarity, collectibility and competitive viability puts it at number one on this list of Journey Together chase cards.

#2 Iono's Bellibolt ex – Special Illustration Rare

Coming in at number two is this Iono’s Bellibolt ex SIR card. Iono is an iconic trainer from the Scarlet and Violet game, and SIR cards featuring her have done incredibly well in the past.

One interesting thing to note about these trainer’s Pokemon is that they count as their own distinct Pokemon. Just like there’s only one Ash’s Pikachu in the show, you can’t evolve a trainer’s Pokemon from any ordinary Pokemon. Iono’s Bellibolt ex will need to evolve from Iono’s Tadbulb.

At the same time, trainer’s Pokemon also tend to get unique boosts from other card effects that only work for that specific line of Pokemon. All of that being said, Iono’s Bellibolt ex doesn’t need a huge reason for it to see play outside of its own ability. With a solid energy accelerant combined with a powerful attack, this card will be quite enticing to fit into Raging Bolt ex decks and others wanting to take advantage of the brand new Kilowattrel card also coming out in this set.

#3 N’s Zoroark ex – Special Illustration Rare

Featuring another popular trainer, N’s Zoroark should fair very well on the secondary card market.

Not only does it feature exciting artwork seeing these two fan favorites getting ready to face off against their competition, Zoroark itself features a powerful mechanic that should do very well competitively. N’s Zoroark has the powerful Trade ability – one that lets you discard one card to draw two more cards. This is especially relevant for Pokemon TCG players in a post-rotation world without the likes of Radiant Greninja – a card which was once the most popular card to ever see play on Pokemon TCG Live.

#4 Salamence ex – Special Illustration Rare

Like most Dragon type Pokemon, Salamence is a very memorable Pokemon. Unlike some of the other top chase cards on this list, Salamence isn’t a trainer’s Pokemon. It’s just a good old fashioned regular Pokemon featured with beautiful art.

Despite not having a trainer to do battle with, this powerful psuedo-legendary Pokemon will likely be worth quite a bit. Rare, beautiful and powerful, it’s got the hallmarks of a top chase, even if Salamence itself doesn’t reach the utmost heights of popularity in the Pokémon world.

One thing it does have going for it is the fact that it hails from the highly memorable Ruby/Sapphire generation of the Pokemon VGC. I’m sure plenty of trainers like myself remember grinding out experience with their Shelgon to get this guy to evolve.

Additionally, Salamence does look like he could fair pretty well in the game. What with its powerful 300 damage dealing attack and another that enables you to attack the bench, its got a lot going for it – assuming you can find the energy to power these high cost attacks up!

#5 Articuno – Illustration Rare

While Articuno’s lower level of rarity likely bars it from taking the top few spots on this list, it’s certainly going to be a valuable card, and likely a top chase for many more nostalgia-driven collectors. Indeed, this card is one of the most beautiful Articuno Pokemon cards we’ve ever had, and denotes a return to more realism-based artwork that’s welcome compared to Prismatic Evolutions which focused on more abstract/symbolic backgrounds.

#6 Hop’s Zacian ex – Special Illustration Rare

While Zacian was once a killer Pokemon in the Sword and Shield days of the Pokemon TCG, we’ve not seen a meta relevant Zacian since then. And while this card doesn’t possess anything that screams “play me,” many will still appreciate this legendary Pokemon painted against a beautiful and contemplative backdrop that brings to mind an almost Studio Ghibliesque illustration quality.

Here, of course, Zacian is portrayed alongside the well-known Hop trainer who is also from the same generation as the legendary.

Collectors will surely go crazy for this enticing card, and I love the way the artist plays with colors and shadows to draw us in to the close relationship between trainer and Pokemon.

#7. Meowth – Illustration Rare

Journey Together continues the Scarlet & Violet era tradition of including a few super nostalgic cards alongside more contemporary characters and Pokemon. In this set we don’t just get Articuno hailing from the early days of Pokemon history – we also get a gorgeous Meowth Illustration Rare.

As a card, this Meowth speaks for itself. Apart from this iconic Pokemon, I appreciate the backdrop which clearly calls to mind the design of the buildings in the early Pokemon games like Red, Blue, and even Gold and Silver.

#8 & 9 – Trainer Pokemon Gold Cards

In this set, we’re also getting two hyper rare versions of two key trainer Pokemon: N’s Zoroarkroark ex and Iono's Bellibolt ex. We’ve seen that hyper rare cards have the potential to do very well value-wise in the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokemon TCG, with a great example being the Pikachu gold card found in both Surging Sparks and Prismatic Evolutions.

While these cards aren’t likely to fetch nearly the same price as the SIR versions, they’re a solid pull to be proud of, especially given the uniqueness of this set’s focus on trainer Pokemon.

#10 Volcanion ex – Special Illustration Rare

The final SIR of the set is Volcanionion ex. Once again in this artwork we have a return to the hyper-realistic setting design that was a keynote of previous Scarlet & Violet sets like Temporal Forces. This works very well in this card that just emotes action. You can almost feel the heat of the volcano and the power of its eruption as Volcanion prepares for attack.

The mythical Pokemon itself is also so photo realistic it almost appears created with CGI, complete with a pair of piercing blue eyes looking directly at you.

While Volcanion is not a trainer Pokemon, it’s a rare card and also has some competitive merits. I could see this card faring well in Poison control decks given its powerful burn effect that could be used in tandem with other special condition effect cards to quickly dominate the game.

#11 Lillie’s Clefairy ex – Ultra Rare

The Ulta Rare version of Lillie’s Clefairy should do pretty well on the secondary card market. Indeed, it’s already in the top ten from Japan’s sister set in terms of value. While not quite as artistically fleshed out as the SIR, the ultra rare is especially gorgeous for a card of this rarity, featuring the named trainer traced in the background behind Clefairy.

#12 Iono’s Kilowattrel Illustration Rare

You absolutely gotta love it when favorite trainers appear in Chibi style on rare Pokemon cards. Iono may be taking a break alongside her buddy in this illustration and eating a sandwich, but certainly don’t underestimate this card. It should do very well on the secondary card market and could even be a force in the meta. Post rotation many decks won’t have access to the kind of draw power they currently do, making Flashing Draw a potential advantage, especially if paired with Iono’s Bellibolt ex.

Otherwise we just adore the playful effects and cartoon quality of a card that should be decently valuable.

The 12 Most Expensive Journey Together Cards