Pokémon TCG: Phantasmal Flames — Set Guide, Chase Cards & Binder Layout
By the NinePocket team · Updated August 14, 2026 · 6 min read
Phantasmal Flames is the second Mega Evolution-era set, 130 cards deep with Mega Charizard X 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: November 14, 2025Cards: 94 + 36 secret raresSeries: Mega Evolution
Phantasmal Flames (set code ME02) is the second main expansion of the Mega Evolution era, released worldwide on November 14, 2025. It pairs Fire and Darkness under a single 'Shadow and Flame' theme — the idea that the darkest shadows are cast by the brightest flames — with Mega Charizard X ex and its searing blue fire at the center of the set. In Japan the parent set is Inferno X, with a handful of cards drawn from the MEGA Starter Set products for Mega Gengar ex and Mega Diancie ex.
Mega Gengar ex
Phantasmal Flames · $1.88
Ghost-type Mega Gengar ex, one of the two Megas the set draws from the MEGA Starter Set products.
Phantasmal Flames is a 130-card set: 94 cards in the printed, numbered base set and another 36 secret rares numbered past it. The rarity spread is 43 commons, 31 uncommons, 10 rares, 10 double rares, 17 ultra rares, 13 illustration rares, 5 special illustration rares, and a single Mega Hyper Rare. Six Mega Evolution Pokémon ex anchor the set — Mega Charizard X, Mega Gengar, Mega Lopunny, Mega Heracross, Mega Diancie, and Mega Sharpedo — with the headliner Mega Charizard X ex appearing in several versions, from a standard ultra rare up to the top-end special illustration rare and the gold Mega Hyper Rare that is the only card in the whole set at that rarity.
Rotom ex
Phantasmal Flames · $18.23
Yoshimi Miyoshi's Rotom ex — the only special illustration rare in the set that is neither a Mega nor a Trainer.
Mega Charizard X ex’s special illustration rare (#125) by danciao is the top card of the set, trading near four figures well after release. Behind it, the gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Charizard X ex (#130) is the single scarcest pull in the set. The quiet surprise is Uninori’s Meowth illustration rare, which has been running ahead of several of the set’s Mega special illustration rares — a small Pokémon outpacing the Megas. For a Trainer-art pick, Atsushi Furusawa’s Dawn special illustration rare is the one to watch. Keep in mind these are prices from months after the November 2025 release, once the early rush had already cooled.
Phantasmal Flames binder layout
The layout is simple math. The 94-card printed set fills ten 9-pocket pages plus four pockets on the eleventh, leaving five pockets empty. The full 130-card master set, secret rares included, takes fifteen pages — fourteen full pages plus four cards on the fifteenth — so a standard 360-card zip binder holds the whole thing with room to spare. 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 slotting 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:
130 cards = 15 pages of 9-pocket, or 9 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 13 illustration rares and 5 special illustration rares come to 18 cards, which is exactly two facing pages, and the single gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Charizard X ex — the only card in the set at that rarity — is the obvious opener for the page after them. That puts every card in Phantasmal Flames anyone is actually chasing inside three pages.
Phantasmal Flames on NinePocket
The full set page is live: every one of the 130 cards with market prices, illustrator credits, and card-by-card detail. The most-valuable Phantasmal Flames 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, so you can plan the binder around what you actually pulled.
Every rarity in the set
Common
Mimikyu
#42
Uncommon
Jumbo Ice Cream
#91
Rare
Moltres
#14
Double Rare
Mega Charizard X ex
#13
Ultra Rare
Mega Charizard X ex
#109
Illustration Rare
Meowth
#106
Special Illustration Rare
Mega Charizard X ex
#125
Mega Hyper Rare
Mega Charizard X ex
#130
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.
The quiet outlier: Uninori’s Meowth illustration rare trades ahead of several of the set’s Mega special illustration rares, a rare case of a small Pokémon outpacing the Megas.
Phantasmal Flames (ME02) released worldwide on November 14, 2025, as the second main expansion of the Mega Evolution Series. Its Japanese parent set, Inferno X, arrived earlier on September 26, 2025.
What’s the most valuable card in Phantasmal Flames?
The top card is Mega Charizard X ex’s special illustration rare (#125) by danciao, which trades near four figures. The gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Charizard X ex (#130) is the scarcest card in the set — the only one at that rarity — while a surprise non-Mega, Uninori’s Meowth illustration rare, runs ahead of several of the Mega special illustration rares.
How many cards are in Phantasmal Flames?
There are 130 cards total — 94 in the printed, numbered base set plus 36 secret rares numbered past it. Six of them are Mega Evolution Pokémon ex: Mega Charizard X, Mega Gengar, Mega Lopunny, Mega Heracross, Mega Diancie, and Mega Sharpedo.
What is the best binder layout for Phantasmal Flames?
Set-number order, which keeps the 94-card printed set and the 36 secret rares as two unbroken runs rather than mixing them; as a master-set binder that is fifteen 9-pocket pages in one run. If you would rather build a display page, the 13 illustration rares and 5 special illustration rares are exactly 18 cards — two facing 9-pocket pages — with the gold Mega Hyper Rare Mega Charizard X ex opening the next.
How many binder pages do you need for Phantasmal Flames?
Eleven 9-pocket pages for the 94-card printed set — ten full pages plus four pockets on the eleventh, leaving five empty. Fifteen pages for the complete 130-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.
Does the pack trick work on Phantasmal Flames?
Yes. Like every Scarlet & Violet-era set, Phantasmal Flames packs are pre-sorted with the rare toward the back. Set the code card aside, shift the single Energy card to the front, and flip through — the rare comes out last, with a reverse holo just before it. See /guides/pokemon-pack-trick for the method on any set.
How many cards do you move to the front in Phantasmal Flames?
One. Phantasmal Flames follows the Scarlet & Violet-era pack order, so the cards arrive already sorted with the hit near the back — set the code card aside, move the single basic Energy card to the front, and the last card you flip is the rare or illustration rare, with a reverse holo just before it.
Does the Phantasmal Flames card trick work?
Yes, and "card trick" and "pack trick" are two names for the same thing. Phantasmal Flames 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.
