Journey Together’s headline pulls — the gold-etched Hyper Rares and the Special Illustration Rares collectors chase hardest — all started life in one Japanese set: SV9 Battle Partners. The six mapped below trace back to specific SV9 card numbers, printed in Japan more than two months before Journey Together released internationally.
This guide maps six of those headline English chase cards to their exact Japanese SV9 prints, explains how the rarity names change between languages, and shows what else got folded into (or cut from) the English release. For the full 132-card breakdown of SV9 itself, see our Journey Together Japanese card list — this article is a curated deep dive on the chase cards only.
Journey Together’s chase cards all come from one Japanese set, SV9 Battle Partners, released 24 January 2025 — about nine weeks ahead of the English set. The SV9 Battle Partners Japanese Pokemon Booster Box is currently listed at ¥10,094 (~$63) if you want to chase these prints yourself, and our Journey Together Japanese card list covers all 132 catalogued SV9 entries.
Prices below are our own Tokyo listings, converted at ¥159/USD (September 2026). We do not quote third-party market prices anywhere in this article.
Journey Together Chase Cards and Their Japanese Prints
The table below maps six of Journey Together’s headline English chase cards to their Japanese SV9 print, number and rarity.
| EN card | JP set + number | JP rarity | EN rarity name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spike Energy | SV9 132 | Ultra Rare (gold) | Hyper Rare |
| N’s Zoroark ex | SV9 131 | Ultra Rare (gold) | Hyper Rare |
| Iono’s Bellibolt ex | SV9 130 | Ultra Rare (gold) | Hyper Rare |
| Brock’s Scouting | SV9 123 | Secret Rare | Special Illustration Rare |
| Ruffian | SV9 122 | Secret Rare | Special Illustration Rare |
| Iris’s Fighting Spirit | SV9 121 | Secret Rare | Special Illustration Rare |
Spike Energy — SV9 132
Spike Energy is the gold-etched Ultra Rare that closes out the SV9 numbered run at 132. In English, the equivalent print carries Journey Together’s Hyper Rare label. This print is not listed on our site at the moment; sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
N’s Zoroark ex — SV9 131
N’s Zoroark ex sits one slot below Spike Energy at SV9 131, in the same gold Ultra Rare treatment. Its English counterpart is one of Journey Together’s Hyper Rares. We currently list a PSA 10 of this print at ¥18,895 (~$119).
Iono’s Bellibolt ex — SV9 130
Iono’s Bellibolt ex rounds out SV9’s trio of gold Ultra Rares at 130. Journey Together lists it as a Hyper Rare. We currently list a PSA 10 of this print at ¥16,083 (~$101).
Brock’s Scouting — SV9 123
Brock’s Scouting sits at the top of SV9’s Secret Rare numbering run, which spans from Volcanion ex at #113 through this card at #123 in our own verified SV9 card list. In English, the same illustration carries Journey Together’s Special Illustration Rare label. This print is not listed on our site at the moment; sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
Ruffian — SV9 122
Ruffian is SV9 122, one slot inside the same Secret Rare run as Brock’s Scouting. Its English print is another of Journey Together’s Special Illustration Rares. This print is not listed on our site at the moment; sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
Iris’s Fighting Spirit — SV9 121
Iris’s Fighting Spirit at SV9 121 completes the three Special-Illustration-Rare-equivalent supporters covered in this guide. We currently list a PSA 10 of this print at ¥8,779 (~$55).
Other Journey Together chase cards from SV9
N’s Reshiram, an Art Rare in Journey Together’s English Illustration Rare slot, is already covered in depth in our own N’s Reshiram card guide, which lists it at SV9 109. That exact number has not been independently re-verified against Limitless today, so treat it as our own guide’s figure rather than a freshly checked one here.
Bulbapedia also confirms Lillie’s Clefairy ex and Hop’s Zacian ex as further Trainer’s-Pokemon-ex chase cards carried over from SV9, corresponding to Journey Together’s Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare slots respectively. Their exact SV9 numbers and JP rarity tiers have not been verified, so they are flagged here rather than guessed at.
Rarity Names: English vs Japanese
SV-era sets use a consistent rarity naming split between the two languages. Japanese AR (Art Rare) corresponds to English Illustration Rare; Japanese SAR (Special Art Rare) corresponds to English Special Illustration Rare; and Japanese UR (Ultra Rare, gold-etched) corresponds to English Hyper Rare. That mapping accounts for Spike Energy, N’s Zoroark ex and Iono’s Bellibolt ex above, and for N’s Reshiram.
SV9 also carries its own Secret Rare numbering run — a catalogue bucket for the highest-numbered cards, rather than a separate foil-type name — and Brock’s Scouting, Ruffian and Iris’s Fighting Spirit all sit inside it. That run corresponds to Journey Together’s own “secret rares” bucket, referenced in the English set’s release information as 10 cards on top of the 180-card main set. For more on how SV9’s own rarity tiers stack up, see our Battle Partners SV9 pull-rates hub.
Where to Buy the Japanese Battle Partners (SV9) Cards from Tokyo
We ship Japanese sealed product worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery. The SV9 Battle Partners Japanese Pokemon Booster Box is currently listed at ¥10,094 (~$63) and is the direct route to pulling Spike Energy, N’s Zoroark ex, Iono’s Bellibolt ex, Brock’s Scouting, Ruffian or Iris’s Fighting Spirit yourself. If you’d rather buy a box with visible shipping wear, the SV9 Battle Partners Booster Box — Damaged Box is currently listed at ¥10,170 (~$64) and contains the same sealed packs.
Three of the six chase cards above are currently listed as singles on our site: N’s Zoroark ex at ¥18,895 (~$119), Iono’s Bellibolt ex at ¥16,083 (~$101), and Iris’s Fighting Spirit at ¥8,779 (~$55). For any of the six not linked above, sourcing requests go through Quick Order. For more Japanese booster boxes across sets, browse our Pokemon card box collection.
For the full SV9 catalogue, see our Battle Partners SV9 card list and SV9 pull-rates hub. For the next set in the same Scarlet & Violet run, see our Destined Rivals chase cards guide, and for how SV9 compares as a box purchase, see our SV9a vs SV8a box guide.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Japanese set are Journey Together’s chase cards from?
All six chase cards mapped in this guide — Spike Energy, N’s Zoroark ex, Iono’s Bellibolt ex, Brock’s Scouting, Ruffian and Iris’s Fighting Spirit — come from one Japanese set, SV9 Battle Partners, released 24 January 2025.
How do Japanese and English rarity names line up for this set?
Japanese AR (Art Rare) corresponds to English Illustration Rare, Japanese SAR (Special Art Rare) to English Special Illustration Rare, and Japanese UR (gold-etched Ultra Rare) to English Hyper Rare. SV9’s own Secret Rare numbering run also corresponds to Journey Together’s “secret rares” bucket.
Is Journey Together a straight copy of SV9 Battle Partners?
Not exactly. Per PokeBeach and Pokellector, Journey Together also folds in the remaining, non-chase cards of the Japanese “ex Starter Deck Generations” alongside SV9, dropping only Zacian ex and Koraidon ex from that starter deck.
Can I buy singles of these Journey Together chase cards in Japanese?
Three of the six chase cards covered here are currently listed as singles on our site — N’s Zoroark ex, Iono’s Bellibolt ex and Iris’s Fighting Spirit. For the other three, sourcing requests go through Quick Order. The SV9 Battle Partners Japanese Pokemon Booster Box, currently listed at ¥10,094 (~$63), is the direct route to pulling them yourself.
When did SV9 Battle Partners release compared to Journey Together?
SV9 Battle Partners released in Japan on 24 January 2025. Journey Together followed in English on 28 March 2025, about nine weeks later.
Are N’s Reshiram and Lillie’s Clefairy ex also from SV9?
Yes. N’s Reshiram is covered in our own N’s Reshiram card guide as an SV9 Art Rare. Lillie’s Clefairy ex and Hop’s Zacian ex are confirmed by Bulbapedia as further SV9-sourced Trainer’s-Pokemon-ex chase cards, though their exact SV9 numbers and rarity tiers have not been independently verified.
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