Primal Clash

What Primal Clash is

Primal Clash is the fifth main expansion of the XY Series, released in English on February 4, 2015 under the set code PRC. It has 160 cards in the numbered set plus 4 secret rares, 164 in total, and combines the Japanese Gaia Volcano and Tidal Storm expansions, released together in Japan on December 13, 2014 with 80 cards each. The set is based on Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire and returns to Hoenn with Generation VI card designs, Pokémon-EX and M Pokémon-EX.

Primal Clash introduced Ancient Traits, special effects that give certain Pokémon advantages in battle. Ancient Trait cards use a layout in which the artwork fills three quarters of the card and the remaining quarter is colored with the Pokémon's type, with a bar across the top of the artwork naming the trait and its effect. Primal Groudon-EX and Primal Kyogre-EX are the headline Ancient Trait cards, joined by M Gardevoir-EX and M Aggron-EX among the Mega Evolutions. Starting with this expansion, M Pokémon-EX were printed as both regular and full art cards, and the set added new Spirit Link and Special Energy cards including Shield Energy.

The set holds 12 Pokémon-EX, 16 full art ultra rares covering every Pokémon-EX and four Supporters, and 4 secret rare Item cards numbered 161 to 164: Dive Ball, Enhanced Hammer, Switch and Weakness Policy.

What makes Primal Clash different

• Ancient Traits debut Primal Clash is the first set with Ancient Traits, and their cards look unlike anything before them: the artwork takes three quarters of the card with the last quarter in the Pokémon's type color and a trait bar across the top of the picture.
• Primal Reversion on cards Primal Groudon-EX and Primal Kyogre-EX bring the Primal forms of Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire to the card game, each with a regular print and a full art print, and each Legendary also appears as a regular Groudon-EX or Kyogre-EX.
• Full art Mega Evolutions From Primal Clash onward, M Pokémon-EX were printed as both regular and full art cards. The full art M Gardevoir-EX 156, M Aggron-EX 154, Primal Groudon-EX 151 and Primal Kyogre-EX 149 are the result, and M Gardevoir-EX leads the set's market.
• The Hoenn Supporters Archie's Ace in the Hole, Maxie's Hidden Ball Trick, Professor Birch's Observations and Teammates appear as full art Supporters at 157 to 160, and the Archie and Maxie cards became the engines of well known competitive decks.
• Two Japanese sets in one Gaia Volcano and Tidal Storm, the fifth expansion block of the Japanese XY era, were combined into Primal Clash, which is why the English set is far larger than either of its 80 card sources.

How Primal Clash arrived

Primal Clash released in English on February 4, 2015, three months after Phantom Forces on November 5, 2014 and seven weeks before the Double Crisis special set on March 25, 2015. In Japan, Gaia Volcano and Tidal Storm released on December 13, 2014, following Phantom Gate and preceding Emerald Break, the source of Roaring Skies.

The launch came with two Theme Decks, Earth's Pulse for Groudon and Ocean's Core for Kyogre, each with an exclusive Cracked Ice Holofoil print of its featured Pokémon, four blister packs and an Elite Trainer Box in Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre designs, the first to include a code card for a deck box and sleeves in the Pokémon Trading Card Game Online.

Three card Mini Packs sold at Dollar Tree stores from March 2015, and a second run of Elite Trainer Deck Shields tins released on April 15, 2015 with two Primal Clash packs inside each tin.

Primal Clash products

Primal Clash was sold in booster packs, booster boxes, blisters, two Theme Decks, two Elite Trainer Boxes and collection boxes for the Primal Legendaries. The sealed table above tracks the products still trading today.

Collecting and grading Primal Clash

The full art ultra rares from 145 to 160 hold the top of the market. M Gardevoir-EX 156 leads, with Sharpedo-EX 152, Groudon-EX 150, Primal Groudon-EX 151, M Aggron-EX 154, Kyogre-EX 148 and Primal Kyogre-EX 149 behind it, and Teammates 160 and Archie's Ace in the Hole 157 the strongest Supporters. The live chase list above ranks every tracked card by PSA 10 value.

XY era full arts have textured surfaces that scratch and show whitening on the edges, so PSA 10 copies of the top cards carry a wide premium over PSA 9 and raw, widest on M Gardevoir-EX. The four secret rare Items are far cheaper and complete the 164 card master set.

Sealed Primal Clash is one of the more affordable XY era boxes, and the sealed table above tracks what boxes, packs, blisters and Elite Trainer Boxes trade for today.