Inferno X
Phantasmal Flames
The set that crystallised the Mega era. Inferno X gave collectors what they had been waiting for since the format launched — Mega Charizard X ex in full, glorious Super Illustration Rare.
From the moment Inferno X (M2) was announced, one card dominated the conversation: Mega Charizard X ex SIR. Japan got the set on 26 September 2025 and the pre-order queues were extraordinary — hobby shops in Akihabara reported selling out their allocation within 45 minutes of opening. The international community watched JP box breaks closely, with secondary market prices for the SIR establishing above £600 before the EN edition even had a release date confirmed. Phantasmal Flames launched in the West on 14 November 2025. The EN version expanded the set from 94 to 130 cards with additional SIR and UR slots, but the Charizard X SIR remained the headline. The MHR variant — a matte holographic alternative art — offered collectors a different style at a more approachable price and has found a dedicated audience of its own. This is widely considered the set that proved the Mega Evolution era had the commercial gravity to rival SV's biggest releases.
Chase Pulls
Takashi Yamaguchi's Mega Charizard X ex SIR is the standard against which every other Mega pull in this era is measured. The black and blue colour scheme of Mega Charizard X — unique among Charizard forms — suits the deep, dramatic lighting of a night sky fractured by electric blue flames. Yamaguchi places the dragon on the edge of a mountain ridge, illuminated from below by its own fire, wings folded back in the instant before a dive. It is emphatically not a cute card. It is a statement. The price decline since launch reflects the natural post-hype correction of a very widely opened set rather than any diminishment of the card's stature.
Mitsuhiro Arita — the artist behind the original Base Set Charizard — was brought back to illustrate the Matte Holo Rare variant. It's a deliberate piece of fan service and it lands perfectly: Arita's style is looser and warmer than contemporary digital work, and the MHR Charizard X has a different energy to the SIR. Where Yamaguchi's version is a modern cinematic production, Arita's feels like a reunion. For many collectors, this is the more emotionally significant of the two cards.
Dawn (Hikari in Japanese) makes her ME era appearance here with Yuu Nishida's characteristic warmth — pink scarf, confident posture, a Piplup nestled at her feet. Trainer SIRs in Mega sets have generally underperformed price-wise relative to SV, and Dawn is no exception. However, her fanbase is loyal and her card maintains demand better than many SIR Trainers from earlier ME releases.
Mega Sharpedo ex is Saki Hayashiro doing what she does best: deep-water atmosphere, bioluminescent colour palette, and a predator absolutely in its element. The card captures Sharpedo's speed — it's framed from slightly below, rushing directly toward the viewer, the water parting around the enlarged jaw. A strong illustration that benefits from the SIR treatment and an underrated pull in a set dominated by Charizard.
Mega Lopunny ex receives a vivid, high-contrast treatment here — warm pinks and creams against a deep evening sky, mid-kick with the fighting-type energy its Mega form is built around. Gunjima brings a kinetic quality that makes the card feel like a still from an animation sequence. Mega Lopunny has a niche but dedicated collector fanbase; pricing is still settling post-release.
Edition Notes
Inferno X (M2) is a 94-card Japanese set. The JP print run was tightly allocated, with initial supply selling out rapidly across Japan. The JP Mega Charizard X ex SIR is considered by many collectors to be the definitive version — the thinner JP card stock and distinctive JP holo finish give the predominantly black-and-blue colour scheme a different character than the EN print. The MHR slot features Mitsuhiro Arita's work, which alone drew significant attention given his original Base Set Charizard legacy.
Phantasmal Flames (ME2) expanded to 130 EN cards, adding new SIR and UR tier cards not in the JP base. EN release on 14 November 2025 was the widest-distributed Mega set to date, with major retailers stocking it across North America, Europe and Oceania. The EN MHR and SIR share the same artwork as JP but on heavier card stock. EN card numbers diverge past 94. The EN expansion introduced Mega Sharpedo ex SIR and Mega Lopunny ex SIR, both absent from the JP base.