Evolutions Elite Trainer Box

Evolutions Elite Trainer Box guide

What's inside the Evolutions Elite Trainer Box

The Evolutions Elite Trainer Box holds 8 booster packs plus card sleeves, energy cards, dice, condition markers and a storage box, all themed to Evolutions.

Pokémon Center exclusive ETBs come with extra packs and a stamped promo and sell for more, so they are left out of the prices here.

About Evolutions

Reworked the original Base Set for the 20th anniversary with classic artwork and modern rules, which made it far more popular with collectors than players. Released on 2 November 2016, it belongs to the Black & White and XY era. It came out 10 years ago, so most sealed stock has been opened and what is left sits with collectors.

Evolutions has 108 cards in its main numbering, plus 5 secret rares numbered beyond it.

The cards an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box can hold

The Evolutions cards collectors most want to pull are Charizard, Charizard-EX and M Charizard-EX. 8 packs is a modest number of tries, so most ETBs are bought to collect or keep sealed rather than to chase one card.

Our catalogue lists the set's rarest tiers as 5 Secret Rares, 25 Ultra Rares and 22 Rares. Prices for every card are on the Evolutions set page.

Evolutions Elite Trainer Box price today

There are 9 matching listings on eBay at the moment (ebay.de from €1,814, ebay.co.uk from €892.79, ebay.com from €1,863). The lowest total with delivery to Germany is €892.79, against a typical asking price of €1,863.

These are live asking prices, not completed sales, so a good offer is usually close to the cheapest listing rather than the typical one.

Price per pack

At the typical price, each of the 8 packs in an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box works out at €232.90, compared with €86.81 in an Evolutions Booster Pack and €89.31 in an Evolutions Booster Box. That makes it the most expensive way to buy Evolutions packs right now, partly because you also pay for the accessories and the box itself.

Is the Evolutions Elite Trainer Box a good investment?

After 10 years, sealed Evolutions elite trainer boxes rarely come up, and prices tend to rise as boxes are opened and supply shrinks. ETBs are popular to keep sealed because of their box art, but they take more space than they hold in packs. Watch the price of Charizard, the set's headline card, since sealed Evolutions tends to move with it.

Only buy an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box to hold if you are happy to keep it either way, as prices can fall too. This is not financial advice; see should you buy sealed Pokémon products?

Before you buy

Look closely at the wrapping in the photos. Factory wrap on elite trainer boxes has neat seams, often with Pokémon logos printed on it; baggy, shiny or uneven wrap is a common sign of a reseal. For an Evolutions Elite Trainer Box at around €1,863, ask the seller for photos of all sides and stick to accounts with plenty of positive feedback. Check the listing photos show the ETB itself and not only the packs, and that it is the standard version rather than a Pokémon Center one if you are comparing prices. Always compare totals with delivery included, and keep sealed product away from sunlight, heat and damp once it arrives.