On the fateful day of Monday, November 24, 2025, the Pokémon Center opened its doors to sell pre-orders of the limited-edition Pokémon Ascended Heroes Elite Trainer Boxes - and promptly sold out. There are already people capitalizing on the Pokémon Center editions of the upcoming high-value set, but if you're one of the unlucky few who didn't get it, here are a few stores I recommend looking to make your Ascended Heroes pre-orders ahead of the expansion's release.
While I doubt Pokémon TCG's Ascended Heroes expansion will trigger quite the same unbridled buying frenzy Prismatic Evolutions achieved one year before it, I have a good (or bad) feeling it will fly off shelves, physically and virtually, quite fast. The Mega Gengar ex from Japan's Mega Dream ex is already selling for $800, and that's a pretty big indication that there's a hefty mix of hype and FOMO going into Ascended.
We haven't seen a full list of cards yet and we don't know for sure what the most expensive Pokémon cards in the set will be, but we have an idea of what to expect. The chases from Pokémon Mega Dream ex will be included, and considering that launches this week (Friday, November 28, 2025, to be exact), we should have a good idea of what cards to look out for very soon. And we already know there will be a lot to collect for that master set, as there are 33 Illustration Rare Pokémon, as well as 22 SIRs, 14 Ultra Rares, the Mega Attack Pokémon cards shown off at Worlds, and, well, that's a lot of packs you'll need to open.
The official Pokémon Ascended Heroes release date is Friday, January 30, 2026 - but, as revealed by a recent press release, the actual schedule of product drops is going to be very unusual compared to most expansions. The only stuff actually coming out on that date are the blister packs and sticker collections. For Elite Trainer Boxes and mini tins, we have to wait until Friday, February 20, and the Booster Bundle isn't coming out until April.
It's no surprise the initial Pokémon Center version of the Ascended Heroes ETB was wildly popular to pre-order, considering it comes with an extra two packs and an exclusive stamped variant promo. That version is out of stock, but other retailers will receive the standard ETBs and other collections, so it's worth keeping your eyes peeled for other listings.
If you're looking to make your Pokémon Ascended Heroes pre-orders, I'd recommend bookmarking the following retailers and looking often, or taking advantage of invite systems:
- Chaos Cards - invite system (UK-based, global)
- Walmart (US)
- Sam's Club (US)
- Amazon (global)
- Magic Madhouse (global)
- Pokémon Center - out of stock (global)
Considering the staggered release, I think we're starting to see how difficult it is for The Pokémon Company to keep up with surging demand; for an Elite Trainer Box not to be the first major product released for a new expansion is unprecedented. With the Pokémon 30th Anniversary products just around the corner - and updated queue and captcha systems at Pokémon Center - I think we'd best be prepared for 2026's pre-order and launch day hype fests to be at least as fraught as the ones we've fought through in 2025.
If you're hoping to find in-stock listings of Pokémon Ascended Heroes or below/retail-priced products from previous sets, I'd suggest joining our Wargamer Discord server. We'll be sharing all of the news for Ascended Heroes and the rest of 2026's Pokémon sets so you can be kept up-to-date on the TCG.