Paldea Evolved

What Paldea Evolved is

Paldea Evolved is the second main expansion of the Scarlet & Violet Series, released in English on June 9, 2023 under the set code PAL. It has 193 cards in the numbered set plus 86 secret rares, for 279 cards in total, which made it one of the largest expansions of its era. It brings the three final evolutions of the Paldea first partners, Meowscarada, Skeledirge and Quaquaval, into the game as Pokémon ex, alongside the treasures of ruin Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, Wo-Chien and Chi-Yu.

The set combines three Japanese releases: Triplet Beat from March 10, 2023 and the paired Snow Hazard and Clay Burst expansions from April 14, 2023, plus cards from the ex Starter Set Pikachu ex and Pawmot deck and the Premium Trainer Box ex. It holds 14 Pokémon ex and three Tera Pokémon ex, 36 Illustration rares, 18 Ultra rare Pokémon ex and eight Ultra rare Supporters, 15 Special illustration rares and nine gold etched Hyper rares. Grass is the most common type at 39 cards and every card carries the G regulation mark.

For collectors the set's identity is its Illustration rare run, the largest of the series to that point, and the Illustration rares rather than the Pokémon ex hold most of the set's graded value.

What makes Paldea Evolved different

• 36 Illustration rares Cards 194 to 229 are Illustration rares, and they lead the set's value: Shinji Kanda's Magikarp 203, Mizue's Maushold 226, Toshinao Aoki's Raichu 211, Nurikabe's Tyranitar 222 and Atsuya Uki's Marill 204 all grade above most of the Pokémon ex.
• Built from a Japanese pair Snow Hazard, featuring Chien-Pao, contained no Fire or Lightning Pokémon, and Clay Burst, featuring Ting-Lu, contained no Water or Metal Pokémon; the English set merges both with Triplet Beat, which is why it runs to 279 cards.
• Fifteen Special illustration rares Meowscarada ex 256 (Kouki Saitou), Skeledirge ex 258 (kantaro) and Quaquaval ex 260 (Souichirou Gunjima) lead the first partners; Chien-Pao ex 261 (kodama), Ting-Lu ex 263 (KEIICHIRO ITO), Wo-Chien ex 257 and Chi-Yu ex 259 (AKIRA EGAWA) cover the treasures of ruin; Tinkaton ex 262 and Squawkabilly ex 264 complete the Pokémon, and Boss's Orders, Dendra, Giacomo, Grusha, Iono 269 (kirisAki) and Saguaro are the Supporters.
• Nine gold Hyper rares Meowscarada ex 271, Skeledirge ex 272, Quaquaval ex 273, Chien-Pao ex 274, Ting-Lu ex 275, Super Rod 276, Superior Energy Retrieval 277, Basic Grass Energy 278 and Basic Water Energy 279 close the set.
• Two stamped commons that became chase cards Pikachu 62 with the Rain City Showcase logo and Voltorb 66 with the Professor Program stamp from the Voltorb Drill are ordinary commons in the pack whose stamped versions carry real graded value. Iono 185 also exists as a Regional Championship staff promo.
• Chien-Pao 61, the tournament stamp card Chien-Pao 61 exists as a European gift with purchase jumbo, as 2024 Championships and Regionals stamped promos for Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hong Kong, and with a snowflake stamp from the 2024 Holiday Calendar.

How Paldea Evolved arrived

Japan released Triplet Beat on March 10, 2023 and the Snow Hazard and Clay Burst pair on April 14, 2023. The English set combined all three as Paldea Evolved on June 9, 2023, following the Scarlet & Violet base set in March and preceding the 2023 McDonald's Collection in July.

Prerelease tournaments began on May 26, 2023. Each Paldea Evolved Build & Battle Box held a 40 card deck, four booster packs, a tip sheet and a code card, with one of four SVP Black Star Promos (Baxcalibur 019, Tinkaton 020, Murkrow 021 or Pelipper 022) and non holofoil deck prints of Lokix 21, Baxcalibur 60, Tinkaton 105 and Boss's Orders 172.

The release also marked a change in printing. The Smoliv, Growlithe, Tinkatink and Varoom blister promos first appeared on the smooth cosmos holofoil paper used since late 2013, then The Pokémon Company International switched back to the older pixel cosmos holofoil, so Smoliv and Growlithe exist in both finishes and later runs of the three pack blisters carry pixel cosmos Varoom. Cards from the set kept surfacing afterwards: mirage holofoil Sprigatito 13, Fuecoco 34 and Delibird 46 in the Summer 2023 Collector Chest, cosmos holofoil Gyarados 43 and Luxray 71 in a Costco mini tin bundle, Pawmi 74 and Pawmo 75 in the Paldea Adventure Chest, Mankey 106 and Primeape 107 in the Annihilape ex Box, and Baxcalibur 60 and Tinkaton 105 in Temporal Forces and Paradox Rift blisters.

Paldea Evolved products and what came in them

The Elite Trainer Box features the Paldea first partners and holds nine booster packs, 65 card sleeves, 45 basic Energy cards, a player's guide, six damage counter dice, a competition legal coin flip die, two plastic condition markers, four dividers, a Pokémon TCG Live code card and a full art foil Pikachu promo (SVP Promo 027) that had been an early purchase bonus for the Scarlet and Violet video games in Japan. The Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box adds two more packs and a second Pikachu promo with a Pokémon Center logo stamp.

Single pack blisters carry Smoliv or Growlithe, three pack blisters carry Tinkatink or Varoom, premium checklane blisters reuse the Arboliva and Pawmot lines from the Scarlet & Violet base set, and Stage 1 blisters at stores such as Target carried the Charcadet and Armarouge or Tatsugiri and Dondozo lines. Every blister except the three pack version includes a jumbo Quaxly coin. Display boxes hold 36 packs (18 in European half displays) and the Booster Bundle holds six.

Collecting and grading Paldea Evolved

This is an Illustration rare set. Magikarp 203 is the most valuable card in Paldea Evolved, and Maushold 226, Raichu 211, Tyranitar 222 and Marill 204 follow it, ahead of the Pokémon ex Special illustration rares. The live prices above show how far each sits above its raw price, and the checklist below lists all 36 Illustration rares in order.

Stamped variants matter here. The Rain City Showcase Pikachu 62, the Professor Program Voltorb 66 and the Regional Championship staff Iono 185 trade as promos rather than as the commons and uncommons they are in the pack, and Chien-Pao 61 has a run of tournament stamps. Check the stamp before comparing prices; the checklist tracks those rows separately.

Scarlet & Violet stock grades well when centered, but the Illustration rare textures and the gold Hyper rares show edge wear and surface marks under angled light, and a card that looks clean out of the pack often is not a ten. Paldea Evolved was printed in volume, so sealed booster boxes, Elite Trainer Boxes and bundles remain plentiful; the sealed table above shows what they trade for today.