Each set's index starts at 100 in its own release month: Feb 2026 for Ascended Heroes, the first full month after its Jan 30 release, and May 2025 for Destined Rivals. At the Oct 12 mark Ascended Heroes sat at 74.83, eight months on, and Destined Rivals at 58.08, seventeen months on. Line the two up by age and Ascended Heroes was ahead in every month, but its lead has shrunk from about 52 points three months in to about 12 points eight months in. Over the live weekly marks since Aug 24 the order flips: Destined Rivals has lost less (−15.5% vs −18.3%). Ascended Heroes has the bigger chase cards: its top three add up to $2,110.00 in sold comps against $725.65. Mewtwo goes the other way. Both sets print a Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR, and the Destined Rivals one sells for $399.90 (median of 41 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10) against $244.50 for the Ascended Heroes version (46 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10). Sealed, Destined Rivals is the cheaper entry: Elite Trainer Box lowest asks $115.00 vs $147.99 on Oct 11.
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Short answer. If you mean which set has kept more of its value, Ascended Heroes: its index has kept about 75% of its release-month level in eight months, and Destined Rivals kept about 63% at the same age. If you mean which Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex is worth more, the Destined Rivals SIR, by $155.40 raw. If you mean the cheaper sealed product to open, Destined Rivals, by $32.99 on the Elite Trainer Box ask.
All three answers are dated below, with the count of sales behind each one. None of them is a call on where prices go next.
Two set indices, seven sold comps, five sealed asks. The index rows decide the headline. The Aug 24 rows show the one window where Destined Rivals leads. The chase rows show where Ascended Heroes wins. The sealed rows are asks.
| Read Oct 11, 2026 | Ascended HeroesME2.5 · released Jan 30, 2026 | Destined RivalsSV10 · released May 30, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Set index levelOct 12, 2026 mark · sold basis · 100 = the set's release month | 74.83Ascended Heroes Chase Index · 100 = Feb 2026 (release) · 70 cards priced | 58.08Destined Rivals Chase Index · 100 = May 2025 (release) · 62 cards priced |
| Since releaserelease month to the Oct 12 mark | −25.2%100 (Feb 2026) → 74.83, about eight months | −41.9%100 (May 2025) → 58.08, about seventeen months |
| Eight months after releasethe same age for both sets | 74.83Oct 12, 2026 live mark | 63.07Jan 2026 · monthly reconstruction from PriceCharting price history, not a live mark |
| Latest weekOct 5 → Oct 12 mark | −4.3%78.19 → 74.83 · sixth straight weekly fall | −3.1%59.94 → 58.08 |
| Since Aug 24the first weekly mark both indices share | −18.3%91.58 → 74.83 in eight weekly marks | −15.5%68.76 → 58.08 in eight weekly marks |
| Change from Aug 24, mark by markAug 31 · Sep 7 · Sep 14 · Sep 21 · Sep 28 · Oct 5 · Oct 12 | +0.3% · −2.0% · −3.1% · −6.1% · −11.5% · −14.6% · −18.3% ahead on Aug 31, Sep 7 and Sep 28 |
−2.4% · −3.7% · −2.3% · −4.2% · −12.3% · −12.8% · −15.5% ahead on Sep 14, Sep 21, Oct 5 and Oct 12 |
| Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIRone in each set · sold comp, ungraded | Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR #281/217$244.50median of 46 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR #231/182$399.90median of 41 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| #1 chase cardsold comp, ungraded | Mega Gengar ex SIR #284/217$825.00median of 48 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR #231/182$399.90same card as the row above |
| #2 chase cardsold comp, ungraded | Pikachu ex SIR #276/217$800.00median of 40 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Cynthia's Garchomp ex SIR #232/182$189.50median of 44 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| #3 chase cardsold comp, ungraded | Mega Dragonite ex SIR #290/217$485.00median of 45 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → | Ethan's Ho-Oh ex SIR #230/182$136.25median of 44 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · ungraded · PriceChartingShop on eBay → |
| Top three, added upsum of the three medians above | $2,110.00sold comps, read Oct 10 | $725.65sold comps, read Oct 10 |
| Elite Trainer Boxlive eBay asks, sealed only · lower is the cheaper entry | $147.99lowest ask · 14 live · Oct 11, 2026 · an ask, not a saleShop ETBs on eBay → | $115.00lowest ask · 22 live · Oct 11, 2026 · an ask, not a saleShop ETBs on eBay → |
| Booster bundlelive eBay asks, sealed only · six packs | $70.99lowest ask · 32 live · Oct 11, 2026 · about $11.83 a pack · an ask, not a saleShop bundles on eBay → | $50.99lowest ask · 22 live · Oct 11, 2026 · about $8.50 a pack · an ask, not a saleShop bundles on eBay → |
| Booster boxlive eBay asks, factory-sealed 36-pack display | —no factory booster box listing came back on Oct 11 | $499.50lowest ask · 3 live · Oct 11, 2026 · about $13.88 a pack · an ask, not a saleShop boxes on eBay → |
Green edge marks the side the row favors; on the sealed rows that is the cheaper entry. Singles are sold comps: PriceCharting completed sales, the median of every ungraded sale in the 30 days to Oct 10, 2026, read by our nightly sold-marks job; the count is printed in each cell. Sealed figures are live eBay asks on Oct 11, 2026, read through our comps endpoint with cases, lots, multi-box listings, single packs, sleeved art sets, opened or damaged boxes, loose-pack “box equivalents”, foreign-language product and Pokémon Center exclusives filtered out by title; counts are the listings that survived the filter among the 50 lowest-priced the endpoint returned. An ask is what a seller wants, not what a box sold for. Per-pack figures divide the ask by the pack count the listings state (6 in a bundle, 36 in a display). Index levels are sold-basis, 100 = each set's release month, re-marked weekly on Mondays; months before Aug 24, 2026 are a monthly reconstruction. ShopCardHub participates in the eBay Partner Network.
Comparing a set that is eight months old with one that is seventeen months old flatters the younger set. This table lines them up by age instead. Each row is the same number of months after release for both sets, on each index's own base of 100 in its release month.
| Age | Ascended Heroes | Destined Rivals (all reconstruction) | AH lead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Month 0 | 100Feb 2026 · base | 100May 2025 · base | — |
| Month 1 | 101.06Mar 2026 | 71.99Jun 2025 | +29.07 pts |
| Month 2 | 127.26Apr 2026 · its high | 75.57Jul 2025 | +51.69 pts |
| Month 3 | 124.58May 2026 | 72.85Aug 2025 | +51.73 pts |
| Month 4 | 119.09Jun 2026 | 85.83Sep 2025 | +33.26 pts |
| Month 5 | 109.26Jul 2026 | 86.74Oct 2025 | +22.52 pts |
| Month 6 | 91.87Aug 31, 2026 live mark | 71.87Nov 2025 | +20.00 pts |
| Month 7 | 81.01Sep 28, 2026 live mark | 64.13Dec 2025 | +16.88 pts |
| Month 8 | 74.83Oct 12, 2026 live mark | 63.07Jan 2026 | +11.76 pts |
Months 0–5 for Ascended Heroes and every Destined Rivals row are monthly reconstructions from PriceCharting price history on today's basket, not live marks. Ascended Heroes months 6–8 are its live weekly marks (the last mark of Aug and Sep, and the latest Oct mark). Bars are drawn to the same scale. Source: data/indices.json, AH26 and DR25, Oct 12, 2026 marks.
Ascended Heroes was above Destined Rivals at every age. The gap peaked at about 52 points in months 2 and 3, when Ascended Heroes ran up to 127.26 and Destined Rivals sat in the low 70s. It has narrowed every month since, to about 12 points at month 8. Destined Rivals kept going after month 8: it reached 75.75 in May 2026 (month 12) before falling to 58.08 at the Oct 12 mark.
This is the question most people type with this pair. Destined Rivals prints Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex three times in our basket. Ascended Heroes has its own Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR at #281, the only Ascended Heroes Mewtwo our basket prices. Raw figures are the median of every ungraded sale in the 30 days to Oct 10. Graded figures count only sales whose own listing title names the grade, in the 30 days to Oct 4.
| Card | Rawsold comp, ungraded | GradedPSA 9 · PSA 10 |
|---|---|---|
| Destined Rivals #231/182Special Illustration Rare | $399.90median of 41 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · three weeks earlier (30 days to Sep 19) $445.49, down 10.2%Shop raw on eBay → | $939.00PSA 10 median of 30 sales, Sep 4–Oct 4 · PSA 9 median $421.00 of 29 sales, same windowShop PSA 10 on eBay → |
| Ascended Heroes #281/217Special Illustration Rare | $244.50median of 46 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · three weeks earlier (30 days to Sep 19) $285.95, down 14.5%Shop raw on eBay → | $570.00PSA 10 median of 28 sales, Sep 4–Oct 4 · PSA 9 median $267.41 of 25 sales, same windowShop PSA 10 on eBay → |
| Destined Rivals #240/182Hyper Rare | $51.99median of 43 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · three weeks earlier $57.00, down 8.8%Shop on eBay → | $170.50PSA 10 median of 24 sales, Sep 4–Oct 4 · PSA 9 median $67.00 of 9 sales, same window |
| Destined Rivals #213/182Ultra Rare | $18.49median of 40 sales, Sep 10–Oct 10 · three weeks earlier $19.76, down 6.4%Shop on eBay → | $110.00PSA 10 median of 30 sales, Sep 4–Oct 4 · PSA 9 median $40.00 of 10 sales, same window |
The Destined Rivals SIR sells for about 1.6 times the Ascended Heroes version raw, and the gap held in PSA 10. For both SIRs the PSA 10 median is about 2.3 times the raw median (graded read Oct 4, raw Oct 10). Both have fallen over the last three weeks, the Ascended Heroes card faster. The cheapest way to own a Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex from either set is the Destined Rivals Ultra Rare at $18.49 raw.
Measured from release, Ascended Heroes has held its value better. Its index has kept about 75% of its release-month level in eight months; Destined Rivals has kept about 58% in seventeen. At the same age Destined Rivals was at 63.07 (Jan 2026, a reconstruction), so Ascended Heroes is ahead on a like-for-like basis too.
The lead is shrinking. Ascended Heroes was about 52 points ahead of where Destined Rivals stood three months in. Eight months in, it is about 12 points ahead. Its index has fallen six weeks running and sits about 41% below its Apr 2026 high of 127.26. Over the eight live weekly marks since Aug 24, Destined Rivals has actually lost less, −15.5% against −18.3%.
The case for Ascended Heroes is the chase list. Mega Gengar ex SIR and Pikachu ex SIR each sell for about twice Destined Rivals' best card. If you are opening for one big hit, the ceiling is higher in Ascended Heroes. You pay for that: its Elite Trainer Box asks $32.99 more and its booster bundle $20.00 more than Destined Rivals' on Oct 11.
On Mewtwo, Destined Rivals wins. The Destined Rivals Team Rocket's Mewtwo ex SIR (#231) sells for $155.40 more raw than the Ascended Heroes version (#281), and $369.00 more in PSA 10. Buying the card, not the packs, is the cheaper way to own either one.
What the tape does not say. Both baskets are below their release month, so “held value better” means lost less. Each index has eight live weekly marks; everything before Aug 24 is a reconstruction from PriceCharting price history on today's basket (method). The sealed figures are asks, so they show where sellers are, not where boxes clear. Several of the cheapest Destined Rivals Elite Trainer Box listings call themselves a “2026 reprint”; we have not read a maker statement on a reprint for either set, so none is claimed here. The next mark lands on both index pages whether it helps this verdict or not: Destined Rivals Chase Index (62 cards) and Ascended Heroes Chase Index (70 cards).