Journey Together released everywhere on March 28, 2025 and is the first main Pokemon TCG set since the days of Gym Heroes/Challenge to include Trainer’s Pokemon. While many of the top chase cards from this set are valuable, they are a far cry from the kind of insane prices we saw in Prismatic Evolutions, and could signal a general cooling in the Pokemon TCG market. But again, that’s not to say you can’t still pull some impressively rare and valuable cards.

But which Journey Together cards are the most expensive?

Below, let’s look at the Journey Together Pokemon cards that are most in demand based on market data derived from real sales!

#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. 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 N’s Zoroark ex – Special Illustration Rare

Featuring another popular trainer, N’s Zoroark is currently trending at second most valuable Journey Together card overall.

Not only does it feature exciting artwork seeing these two fan favorites getting ready to face off against their competition, Zoroark itself has a powerful mechanic that should do very well competitively. That is 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.

Playability aside, the astute use of shadows and light in this card draw you visually into the card, and perhaps more than any other trainer’s Pokemon in the set these two visually feel like a total team ready to take on the world.

#3 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 pseudo-legendary Pokemon stuns the collector’s world by landing a spot in the top three most expensive Journey Together cards.

Beyond value, one thing Salamence ex also has 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!

#4 Hop’s Zacian ex – Special Illustration Rare

While Zacian was once a killer Pokemon card 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.

#5 Iono's Bellibolt ex – Special Illustration Rare

Coming in at number five 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.

#6 & 7 – Trainer Pokemon Gold Cards

In this set, we’re also getting two hyper rare versions of two key trainer Pokemon: N’s Zoroark 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.

#8 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.

#9 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.

#10 Lillie’s Clefairy ex – Ultra Rare

Whoever bought this card for over $100 at the beginning of prerelease season has seen this card lose a ton of value. Although it was originally selling at heights that put it at the top of the list, since Journey Together’s full release, the Ultra Rare version of Lillie’s Clefairy ex has dropped massively in 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.

It may not be worth big money, but it’s still an exciting chase that would look exceptional in a blinged out Tera Box deck.

#11 Wailord – Illustration Rare

Next we’ll talk about the biggest among the Journey Together chase cards – at least in regards to the Pokemon’s size – and that’s this beautiful Wailord Illustration Rare card.

I can only imagine how tough it might be to make an oversized Pokemon like Wailord look good in artistic renderings. This card goes a long way towards achieving that aim, however. Here Wailord takes up the center of the image. Meanwhile, all around it is teaming with colorful water-life. Above surface is a mysterious ship making its way through the sunset.

#13 N’s Reshiram – Illustration Rare

While pulling N’s Reshiram Illustration Art won’t exactly make you rich, it’s already fetching a decent value on the secondary card market. There’s a surprising amount of confusion around this particular card as there’s another version of it with a Journey Together stamp also available. That one you can only get from special enhanced Booster Boxes. However, a regular Illustration Art version of the card is also out there in the wild, available in regular old Journey Together booster packs.

#14 N’s Reshiram – Journey Together Stamped

Speaking of the stamped version of the card, N’s Reshiram stamped is worth just a few dollars less than the Illustration Rare you get from packs.

#15 N’s Zoroark ex – Ultra Rare

N’s Zoroark ex is one of the most exciting Pokemon to come out in Journey Together. While not as universally used or valuable as Lillie’s Clefairy, the Ultra Rare version is still a solid pull, and features some pretty gorgeous artwork and colors, with N looking out confidently from behind his Pokemon.

#16 Spiky Energy – Hyper Rare

Spiky Energy probably won’t see much play so I would expect this card to drop in value overtime. Typically for a hyper rare to retain value, it either needs to be a super populr Pokemon or a very popular item/energy.

#17 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 over time.

#18 Lillie’s Ribombee

Lillie’s Ribombee is an Illustration Rare that slipped under my radar for a bit before it was officially announced in English. It’s actually a pretty gorgeous card, and definitely one of my favorite from the set. Through a combination of an excellent color palette, fitting and highly detailed composition, and a tranquil interaction between trainer and Pokemon, this artwork is actually one of the more memorable from the set.

That being said, it is only an Illustration Rare and the Clefairy ex also featuring Lillie will inevitably steal some of this underrated card’s thunder.

#19 Iono’s Bellibolt ex – Ultra Rare

Iono’s Bellibolt ex is another of the main trainers’ Pokemon from this set which also got an SIR print that is also very valuable even in its Ultra Rare version. That’s great news for collectors as Ultra Rare cards are typically much less hard to get than their SIR counterparts. While it may not be worth anywhere near the value of the SIR, it’s a great deck blinging option for players as well.

#20 Furret – Illustration Rare

This Furret may take up the last spot on our list, but the card itself looks pretty cool, bringing to mind something captured in a documentary about Pokemon in the wild.

The 20 Most Expensive Journey Together Cards