Pokémon TCG: Chaos Rising — Set Guide, Chase Cards & Binder Layout
By the NinePocket team · Updated August 14, 2026 · 6 min read
Chaos Rising is here — the fourth Mega Evolution-era set, 122 cards deep with Mega Greninja ex leading the way. Here’s what’s inside, which cards are worth hunting, and how to fit the whole set in a binder.
Release date: May 22, 2026Cards: 86 + 36 secret raresSeries: Mega Evolution
Chaos Rising (set code ME04) is the fourth main expansion of the Mega Evolution era, released worldwide on May 22, 2026. It continues the Pokémon Legends: Z-A storyline set in Lumiose City: Mega Floette ex blossoms into an agent of chaos and brings havoc to the streets, and as night falls Mega Greninja ex rallies other Mega Evolution Pokémon ex — Mega Pyroar ex and Mega Dragalge ex among them — to ward off the threat. In Japan the parent set is Ninja Spinner.
Frogadier
Chaos Rising · $7.62
Frogadier, the stage before the set's headliner, by Susumu Maeya — the same artist behind Mega Greninja ex's special illustration rare.
Chaos Rising is a 122-card set: 86 cards in the printed, numbered base set and another 36 secret rares numbered past it. The rarity spread is 38 commons, 26 uncommons, 12 rares, 10 double rares, 18 ultra rares, 11 illustration rares, 6 special illustration rares, and a single Mega Hyper Rare. The headliner is Mega Greninja ex, which appears in four printings — from a base Double Rare up to Susumu Maeya’s special illustration rare (#116) and a gold Mega Hyper Rare (#122) that is the only card in the whole set at that rarity. Mega Floette ex, Mega Dragalge ex, Mega Pyroar ex, and a run of illustration rares fill out the premium layer.
Mega Floette ex
Chaos Rising · $33.37
Teeziro's special illustration rare of Mega Floette ex, the agent of chaos the storyline turns on.
Mega Greninja ex’s special illustration rare is the top card of the set — it opened its launch window around $265 and has been settling since; the card gallery further down this page carries current market prices. The launch surprise was Cinccino ex, whose special illustration rare traded ahead of two of the set’s Mega SIRs (Mega Dragalge ex and Mega Floette ex) out of the gate. For a Trainer-art pick, OKACHEKE’s AZ’s Tranquility special illustration rare is the one to watch. A brand-new set is at its most expensive in its first weeks; early numbers usually cool as more product gets opened.
Chaos Rising binder layout
The layout is simple math. The 86-card printed set fits ten 9-pocket pages — nine full pages plus five pockets on the tenth, leaving four empty. The full 122-card master set, secret rares included, takes fourteen pages, so a standard 360-card zip binder holds the whole thing several times over. Set-number order is the sort worth using here: it keeps the printed set and the 36 secret rares as two unbroken runs instead of mixing them together, so the binder reads the way the set is numbered. Sleeve your pages and decide penny-sleeve or double-sleeve before you start sorting the hits, not after.
The whole set, page by page
How a 9-pocket page of these cards would look in a real binder. Pick a page layout:
122 cards = 14 pages of 9-pocket, or 8 pages of 4×4.
Where the chase cards go
The 36 secret rares divide into exactly four 9-pocket pages with nothing left over — the cleanest split anywhere in the set. If you would rather build a display spread than follow set order, the 11 illustration rares, 6 special illustration rares and the single gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Greninja ex come to 18 cards, which is exactly two facing pages: every card in Chaos Rising anyone is actually chasing, side by side, with no gaps to fill. Put a divider in front of each run and the printed set stays intact as you slot hits in behind it.
Chaos Rising on NinePocket
The full set page is live: every one of the 122 cards with market prices, illustrator credits, and card-by-card detail. The most-valuable Chaos Rising ranking is up as well, and the printables — binder dividers, a master-set checklist, and placeholder cards — are free to download. Everything is ready to use now that the set has released.
Every rarity in the set
Common
Frogadier
#21
Uncommon
Transformation Tome
#83
Rare
Keldeo
#19
Double Rare
Mega Greninja ex
#22
Ultra Rare
Mega Greninja ex
#100
Illustration Rare
Froakie
#88
Special Illustration Rare
Mega Greninja ex
#116
Mega Hyper Rare
Mega Greninja ex
#122
Sealed products: what's a fair price
MSRP is what each in-print product is meant to cost at retail. If a listing sits meaningfully above these numbers, you're paying the early-window markup — and while a set is in print, restocks come around often, so there's rarely a reason to overpay.
Chaos Rising (ME04) released worldwide on May 22, 2026, the fourth main expansion of the Mega Evolution era. Prerelease events ran at local game stores starting May 9, and the cards became tournament-legal on June 5.
What is the most valuable card in Chaos Rising?
Mega Greninja ex’s special illustration rare (#116, by Susumu Maeya) is the top card of the set, trading around $265 in the launch window. The gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Greninja ex (#122) is the next tier, and the surprise runner-up is Cinccino ex’s special illustration rare (#119). Launch-window prices tend to cool as more packs get opened.
How many cards are in Chaos Rising?
122 cards total: an 86-card printed base set plus 36 secret rares numbered past it. That breaks down to 38 commons, 26 uncommons, 12 rares, 10 double rares, 18 ultra rares, 11 illustration rares, 6 special illustration rares, and one Mega Hyper Rare. The full master set fits in fourteen 9-pocket pages.
What is the best binder setup for Chaos Rising?
The layout most collectors use is set-number order, which keeps the 86-card printed set and the 36 secret rares as two unbroken runs rather than mixing them. If you would rather build a display page, the 11 illustration rares, 6 special illustration rares and the single gold Mega Hyper Rare add up to 18 cards — exactly two facing 9-pocket pages.
How many binder pages do you need for Chaos Rising?
Ten 9-pocket pages for the 86-card printed set — nine full pages plus five pockets on the tenth, leaving four empty. Fourteen pages for the complete 122-card master set with the secret rares included, and the 36 secret rares on their own come to exactly four pages. A standard 360-pocket zip binder holds either one with room to spare.
How do you do the pack trick on Chaos Rising?
Chaos Rising packs come factory-sorted the Scarlet & Violet-era way — commons up front, the rare near the back with the Energy and code card behind it. Take the code card off, move that one Energy forward, and the last card you flip is the hit. The full every-set guide lives at /guides/pokemon-pack-trick.
How many cards do you move to the front in Chaos Rising?
One. Chaos Rising is a Scarlet & Violet-era set, so the pack arrives already sorted with the hit near the back — take the code card off and move the single basic Energy card to the front, and the last card you flip is the rare, ultra rare, or illustration rare. Older sets needed more: four cards from Sun & Moon through Crown Zenith, three before that.
Does the Chaos Rising card trick work?
Yes, and "card trick" and "pack trick" are two names for the same thing. Chaos Rising packs follow the Scarlet & Violet-era order, so the cards sit in a fixed sequence with the rarest at the back. Peel off the code card, move the single basic Energy to the front, then thumb through — the last card is your holo, ultra rare or illustration rare, and the one before it is a reverse holo. It tells you where the hit is inside a pack you are already opening. It cannot identify a good sealed pack from the outside and it does not change the printed pull rates.
