Pullorax Guide№ 056 min read

Japanese High Class packs explained: VSTAR Universe, Shiny Treasure ex, Terastal Festival ex, Mega Dream ex

Once a year Japan prints a different kind of set — ten cards a pack, ten packs a box, a secret list that runs to dozens or hundreds of cards. Here is what a High Class pack is, how it differs from a regular box, and what the four in our vault hold.

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Japanese High Class packs explained: VSTAR Universe, Shiny Treasure ex, Terastal Festival ex, Mega Dream exMewtwo VSTAR SAR 221/172 — VSTAR Universe (S12a), Japanese Pokémon card, illus. GOSSANMega Gengar ex SAR 240/193 – Mega Dream ex M2a (メガゲンガーex)
Illus. mashu · GOSSAN · danciao

In short

  • A High Class pack holds 10 cards; a High Class box holds 10 packs — 100 cards. A regular Japanese pack holds 5 cards, a regular box 30 packs.
  • In the Scarlet & Violet and MEGA-era High Class packs every pack contains at least one Pokémon ex.
  • The secret list is the point: 90 cards above the total in VSTAR Universe, 170 in Shiny Treasure ex, 50 in Terastal Festival ex, 57 in Mega Dream ex.
  • Japan releases one High Class pack a year, at the end of the year — December 2022, December 2023, December 2024, November 2025.
  • The English game printed the first three as special sets without booster boxes — Crown Zenith, Paldean Fates, Prismatic Evolutions. The Japanese box is the box.

What a High Class pack is

A High Class pack (ハイクラスパック) is a Japanese product format, not just a set name. The pack holds ten cards instead of the usual five, and the box holds ten packs instead of thirty — 100 cards in a box. It arrives once a year, at the end of the year, and it does two things a regular expansion does not: it gathers the year's Pokémon in a large secret list of new Art Rares and Special Art Rares, and — in the Scarlet & Violet and MEGA-era packs — it guarantees at least one Pokémon ex in every pack.

The numbered part of the list is mostly reprints of the year's playable cards; the part above the total is new artwork. That balance is why a High Class box is opened differently from a regular one: less for the deck, more for the wall.

The four in the vault

  • VSTAR Universe (VSTARユニバース, S12a) — 2 December 2022. 262 cards: 172 numbered, 90 secret — 37 AR, 35 SAR, 14 SR, 4 UR. The set where AR and SAR were first printed.
  • Shiny Treasure ex (シャイニートレジャーex, SV4a) — 1 December 2023. 360 cards: 190 numbered, 170 secret — 129 S, 18 SSR, 4 AR, 5 SR, 8 SAR, 6 UR. One Pokémon ex in every pack, one SSR in every box.
  • Terastal Festival ex (テラスタルフェスex, SV8a) — 6 December 2024. 237 cards: 187 numbered, 50 secret — 12 SR, 33 SAR, 5 UR. One Pokémon ex in every pack; no Art Rares, the SAR block is the set.
  • Mega Dream ex (MEGAドリームex, M2a) — 28 November 2025. 250 cards: 193 numbered, 57 secret — 20 AR, 9 SR, 10 MA, 17 SAR, 1 MUR. The first High Class pack of the MEGA era.
  • Charizard VSTAR SAR 212/172, Japanese Pokémon card Charizard VSTARSAR · 212/172
  • Charizard ex SSR 331/190, Japanese Pokémon card Charizard exSSR · 331/190
  • Umbreon ex SAR 217/187, Japanese Pokémon card Umbreon exSAR · 217/187
  • Pikachu ex SAR 234/193, Japanese Pokémon card Pikachu exSAR · 234/193

Four High Class packs, four years: VSTAR Universe (2022), Shiny Treasure ex (2023), Terastal Festival ex (2024), Mega Dream ex (2025).

№ 014 VSTAR Universe →View the box →№ 015 Shiny Treasure ex →View the box →

High Class box, regular box

The table below puts the two formats side by side. The short version: a regular box is 150 cards across 30 small packs and a secret list of 30-odd cards; a High Class box is 100 cards across 10 large packs and a secret list of 50 to 170. Neither box contains its full set — the list tells you what exists, not what a box holds — and we do not publish pull rates.

Not every off-cycle Japanese set is High Class. Heat Wave Arena (SV9a), for instance, is an enhanced expansion: 5-card packs, 30 to a box, released between the main sets.

What the Art Rares are for

A High Class set is where the year's Pokémon get their full-illustration cards. VSTAR Universe carries 37 Art Rares and 35 Special Art Rares; Mega Dream ex carries 20 and 17. These are the cards most collectors are after, and they are the reason the rarity guide matters here more than anywhere: the number above the total tells you which block you are holding before you find the mark.

  • Mew AR 183/172, Japanese Pokémon card MewAR · 183/172
  • Pikachu AR 205/172, Japanese Pokémon card PikachuAR · 205/172
  • Mimikyu AR 341/190, Japanese Pokémon card MimikyuAR · 341/190
  • Psyduck AR 199/193, Japanese Pokémon card PsyduckAR · 199/193

The Art Rares that make a High Class set: full illustrations on regular Pokémon, dozens per set.

№ 014 VSTAR Universe →View the box →№ 001 Mega Dream ex →View the box →

The top of the list

Each High Class set closes with its rarest prints: gold UR cards (VSTAR Universe has 4, Terastal Festival ex 5, Shiny Treasure ex 6), the shiny SSR block that only Shiny Treasure ex has, and — in Mega Dream ex — the single gold MUR that ends the MEGA-era lists. They are the last numbers of each set, and they are printed in the same ten-card packs as everything else.

  • Arceus VSTAR UR 262/172, Japanese Pokémon card Arceus VSTARUR · 262/172
  • Mew ex SSR 327/190, Japanese Pokémon card Mew exSSR · 327/190
  • Terapagos ex UR 237/187, Japanese Pokémon card Terapagos exUR · 237/187
  • Mega Dragonite ex MUR 250/193, Japanese Pokémon card Mega Dragonite exMUR · 250/193

The top of each list: UR, SSR and MUR — the last numbers of the four sets.

№ 013 Terastal Festival ex →View the box →№ 001 Mega Dream ex →View the box →

Japanese box, English special set

The English game did not print these as regular expansions. VSTAR Universe became Crown Zenith, Shiny Treasure ex became Paldean Fates, Terastal Festival ex became Prismatic Evolutions — all three sold in English as special sets, in Elite Trainer Boxes, tins and collections, with no booster box at all. Mega Dream ex became Ascended Heroes in January 2026. If you want a sealed box of one of these sets, the Japanese High Class box is the one that exists — see the Japanese vs English guide for how the two prints compare.

More questions? The PulloraX FAQ covers ordering, shipping, customs and product condition — see the FAQ.

Side by side

Regular expansion packHigh Class pack
Cards per pack510
Packs per box3010
Cards per box150100
Pokémon ex per packNot guaranteedAt least one (Scarlet & Violet and MEGA-era packs)
Secret cards above the totalAbout 30–4050 to 170
When it comes outThrough the yearOnce a year, November–December
Examples in the vaultBattle Partners, Black Bolt, Mega Brave, Storm EmeraldaVSTAR Universe, Shiny Treasure ex, Terastal Festival ex, Mega Dream ex
English printA regular English expansion, with booster boxesA special set — Crown Zenith, Paldean Fates, Prismatic Evolutions had no English booster box

From the PulloraX vault

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The sets mentioned in this guide, as Japanese factory-sealed boxes. Shipped tracked from the PulloraX vault.

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Set files mentioned in this guide

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Questions

Good to know

What is a High Class pack?
A Japanese product format: ten cards per pack, ten packs per box, released once a year at year end, with a large secret list of new Art Rares and Special Art Rares on top of reprints of the year's playable cards. VSTAR Universe, Shiny Treasure ex, Terastal Festival ex and Mega Dream ex are High Class packs.
How many cards are in a High Class box?
10 packs × 10 cards = 100 cards. The set lists are far larger — 262, 360, 237 and 250 cards for the four sets above — so a box never contains the full set.
Is a Pokémon ex guaranteed in every pack?
In Shiny Treasure ex, Terastal Festival ex and Mega Dream ex, yes — at least one Pokémon ex per pack, and Shiny Treasure ex adds one SSR per box. VSTAR Universe predates Pokémon ex — it is a Sword & Shield-era set of V and VSTAR cards. Beyond that we do not publish pull rates.
Which High Class packs exist?
In the vault: VSTAR Universe (December 2022), Shiny Treasure ex (December 2023), Terastal Festival ex (December 2024) and Mega Dream ex (November 2025). Earlier High Class packs, not stocked, include VMAX Climax (December 2021) and Shiny Star V (November 2020).
Is there an English booster box of Crown Zenith or Prismatic Evolutions?
No. Crown Zenith, Paldean Fates and Prismatic Evolutions were released in English as special sets — packs came in Elite Trainer Boxes, tins and collections, not in booster boxes. The Japanese High Class box is the sealed box of those cards.
Is Heat Wave Arena a High Class pack?
No. Heat Wave Arena (SV9a) is an enhanced expansion — 5 cards per pack, 30 packs per box — released between the main sets. The ten-card format is what makes a set High Class.

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