Temporal Forces: the Pokémon set explained
Pokémon's Temporal Forces set: its 218 cards, the ACE SPEC rarity, six Pokémon ex in four versions, every rarity counted, and the products Pokémon lists.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 8 min read
Temporal Forces is an expansion in Pokémon’s Scarlet & Violet series, released March 22, 2024. It brought back ACE SPEC cards, first seen in the Black & White series, in a new magenta design, now as a rarity of its own. The set has 218 cards: 162 inside the printed total and 56 numbered above it. Six Pokémon ex, among them Walking Wake ex and Iron Leaves ex, come in all four versions, and their hyper rares are the only hyper rares in the set. Of its 15 Pokémon ex, 12 also appear in two Japanese sets released together before it.
When did Temporal Forces come out?
On March 22, 2024. Pokémon announced it on January 10, 2024, and its launch notice of March 22 said it went on sale that day at Pokémon Center and other retailers worldwide.
Its code is TEF. It follows Paldean Fates of January 26, 2024, and comes before Twilight Masquerade of May 24, 2024.
The set features two new Pokémon, Walking Wake and Iron Leaves, first seen in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, and brings new cards of the Ancient and Future kinds, both Pokémon and Trainers. Gouging Fire ex and Iron Boulder ex appear in the Pokémon TCG for the first time here, as Paradox Pokémon ex.
What are ACE SPEC rares?
ACE SPEC is a class of Trainer cards that first appeared in 2012, in the Boundaries Crossed expansion of the Black & White series. Temporal Forces brought them back with three changes:
- A new look. The new ACE SPEC cards carry a magenta design.
- Energy cards too. They can be Trainer cards or Special Energy cards.
- A rarity of their own. ACE SPEC is a newly defined rarity, and Master Ball, a classic ACE SPEC card, comes back in this set.
The 7 ACE SPEC rares are four Items, two Pokémon Tools and one Special Energy, Neo Upper Energy at 162. All seven sit inside the printed total: the six Trainer ACE SPECs are numbered among the other Trainer cards and Neo Upper Energy among the Energy cards, and Master Ball is one of the Items, at 153. On Rip.fan’s price pages ACE SPEC Rare appears as a rarity for this set.
How many cards are in Temporal Forces?
- Cards 001 to 139 are Pokémon, 140 to 160 are Trainer cards, and 161 and 162 are Energy cards. The rarities run like this:
| Rarity | Mark | Cards | Numbers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Common | Black circle | 71 | Within 001 to 136 |
| Uncommon | Black diamond | 55 | Within 005 to 161 |
| Rare | Black star | 14 | Within 015 to 138 |
| Double rare | Two black stars | 15 | Within 012 to 123 |
| Illustration rare | One gold star | 22 | 163 to 184 |
| Ultra rare | Two silver stars, which Pokémon calls foil stars | 18 | 185 to 202 |
| Special illustration rare | Two gold stars | 10 | 203 to 212 |
| Hyper rare | Three gold stars | 6 | 213 to 218 |
The 15 double rares are 13 Pokémon ex and 2 Tera Pokémon ex; the 7 ACE SPEC rares are Trainer and Special Energy cards numbered within 141 to 162; and the 6 hyper rares are gold etched cards.
The set has 15 double rares. Both Pokémon ex and Tera Pokémon ex sit in the double rare tier.
- Commons. All 71 are Pokémon cards. The set’s Trainer cards start at uncommon.
- Ultra rares. 12 Pokémon ex and 6 Supporters.
- Special illustration rares. 6 Pokémon ex and 4 Supporters: Bianca’s Devotion, Eri, Morty’s Conviction and Salvatore, all four of which also have ultra rares.
- Hyper rares. All six are Pokémon ex. The set has no Trainer or Energy hyper rare, unlike Stellar Crown, Twilight Masquerade and Obsidian Flames.
Rip.fan’s page for Temporal Forces uses the same nine rarities. Each mark is explained in our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols.
In card number order. Images from Scrydex.
Which Pokémon ex come in which versions?
All 15 have a double rare inside the main list. Twelve go further:
| Pokémon ex | Double rare | Ultra rare | Special illustration rare | Hyper rare |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torterra ex | 012 | 185 | None | None |
| Scovillain ex | 022 | None | None | None |
| Iron Leaves ex | 025 | 186 | 203 | 213 |
| Incineroar ex | 034 | 187 | None | None |
| Gouging Fire ex | 038 | 188 | 204 | 214 |
| Walking Wake ex | 050 | 189 | 205 | 215 |
| Wugtrio ex | 060 | 190 | None | None |
| Iron Crown ex | 081 | 191 | 206 | 216 |
| Iron Boulder ex | 099 | 192 | 207 | 217 |
| Gengar ex | 104 | 193 | None | None |
| Farigiraf ex | 108 | 194 | None | None |
| Scizor ex | 111 | 195 | None | None |
| Koraidon ex | 120 | None | None | None |
| Miraidon ex | 122 | None | None | None |
| Raging Bolt ex | 123 | 196 | 208 | 218 |
Three patterns stand out:
- Six in all four versions. Iron Leaves ex, Gouging Fire ex, Walking Wake ex, Iron Crown ex, Iron Boulder ex and Raging Bolt ex. No other Pokémon ex in the set has a special illustration rare.
- Three stop at double rare. Scovillain ex, Koraidon ex and Miraidon ex. Koraidon and Miraidon also appear as plain rares, at 119 and 121.
- Six more stop at ultra rare. Torterra ex, Incineroar ex, Wugtrio ex, Gengar ex, Farigiraf ex and Scizor ex.
Which Japanese sets share its Pokémon ex?
Two Japanese sets went on sale together on January 26, 2024, both in 5-card packs:
| Japanese set | Code | Pokémon ex shared | Four-version ex among them |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Force (ワイルドフォース) | SV5K | Torterra, Gouging Fire, Walking Wake, Wugtrio, Gengar, Raging Bolt | Gouging Fire, Walking Wake, Raging Bolt |
| Cyber Judge (サイバージャッジ) | SV5M | Iron Leaves, Incineroar, Iron Crown, Iron Boulder, Farigiraf, Scizor | Iron Leaves, Iron Crown, Iron Boulder |
The English titles are translations. The 12 they hold are exactly the 12 with an ultra rare, and the three double-rare-only Pokémon ex are in neither. Each Japanese set has 100 cards, against 218 for Temporal Forces.
Which art cards share an illustrator?
The split above shows up in the illustrator credits too. Teeziro drew the special illustration rares of the three four-version ex from Wild Force (204, 205 and 208), and nagimiso drew the three from Cyber Judge (203, 206 and 207). A shared credit does not show that the cards were meant as a set.
Pokémon does name one pair: the Deerling and Sawsbuck illustration rares, at 165 and 166, whose artworks connect. Susumu Maeya drew both cards. Pokémon also features illustration rares of Pokémon in groups, such as Gastly marching with other Ghost-type Pokémon (177) and Grotle in a field (164), and the Minccino and Cinccino illustration rares (182 and 183) are by the same illustrator, Shibuzoh. Our guide to illustration rares sets the set’s counts beside others.
What products hold Temporal Forces packs?
Pokémon features six products: a Booster Display, a Sleeved Booster, a box with a 40-card deck, a Booster Bundle, an Elite Trainer Box and a Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box.
- The 40-card-deck box. This kind of box holds a smaller, 40-card deck.
- The Elite Trainer Box. It holds a little of everything, from card sleeves and Energy cards to full-art promo cards, booster packs and a guide.
- The Pokémon Center edition. It comes with two extra booster packs and one extra illustration rare-style promo card that carries the Pokémon Center logo. It was offered for preorder at Pokémon Center in the US, Canada and the UK.
The set is also sold in booster packs, in Elite Trainer Boxes and in special collections. Check a box’s printed contents or the seller’s listing for its pack count before you buy. Our guides to booster boxes and Elite Trainer Boxes cover what these products hold in other sets.
How do you check Temporal Forces card prices?
Temporal Forces has its own page in Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, listing the set’s cards with number, rarity and NM market price. Filter it to the ACE SPEC Rare rarity to see all seven together, or sort it by number and Raging Bolt ex’s four cards sit at 123, 196, 208 and 218. For a single card, the card price lookup searches by name, set or number and shows which printing each price is for, and the price changes page shows moves between Rip.fan’s weekly checks.
If you plan to grade, our guide to whether a card is worth grading covers the costs, and the centering checker turns border measurements into a centering split.
What should you check before buying?
- The version. Raging Bolt ex is four different cards here: 123, 196, 208 and 218. Match the card number to the rarity a listing claims.
- The language. Japanese printings sit in two sets with their own numbers. The double rare Raging Bolt ex is 053 in SV5K and 123 in Temporal Forces. Our Japanese and English cards guide explains the differences.
- Sealed contents. Compare a box with its printed contents, and see our guide to spotting resealed Pokémon packs.
- Genuine cards. Our guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards walks through checks that leave a card unharmed.
The Pokémon hub has the rest of our coverage, and our guides to Stellar Crown, Twilight Masquerade and Obsidian Flames cover nearby sets the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most expensive Temporal Forces card?
It was Gastly (177/162), at a Near Mint market price of $88.95 on October 21, 2026. Raging Bolt ex (208/162) was second, at $61.03.
Which regular-numbered Temporal Forces card costs the most?
Of the cards numbered 1 to 162, Hero's Cape (152/162), an ACE SPEC Rare, cost the most on October 21, 2026, with a Near Mint market price of $22.77.
Which Ultra Rare in Temporal Forces has the highest price?
Gengar ex (193/162) had the highest Near Mint market price among the Temporal Forces cards marked Ultra Rare on October 21, 2026, at $52.45.
How much is Gastly from Temporal Forces?
On October 21, 2026, the 2 Gastly cards in Temporal Forces had Near Mint market prices of $0.14 for 102/162 (Common) and $88.95 for 177/162 (Illustration Rare).