The 5 Coolest Cards from Perfect Order

Mega Skarmory ex takes the set's steel-and-flying theme and renders it almost entirely in metallic gold, which shouldn't work against a hot purple and orange background but absolutely does. The blade-like wing feathers slice diagonally across the frame, giving the whole card a sense of motion that a lot of secret rares don't bother with. It's the least subtle card on this list, and that's exactly the point.

Where Skarmory goes loud, Mega Zygarde ex goes ominous. The palette is almost entirely red and black, with a jagged geometric hexagon pattern bleeding into the background behind Zygarde's core. It's the darkest-looking card in the set by a wide margin, and it fits: Zygarde is supposed to look like a warning sign, and this art treats it that way.

Mega Starmie ex is the most literal "gem" card in the set, and it leans all the way into it. The jewel core is rendered in layered reds and oranges over a magenta-and-green backdrop that looks lifted straight off a lava lamp. It's busy in a way that shouldn't hold together, but the star shape gives it enough structure to read clean from across the table.

Mega Clefable ex is the whimsical entry on this list, and it earns its spot. The night-sky background full of pastel shooting stars behind Clefable's oversized, star-shaped silhouette gives the card a storybook quality that none of the harder-edged Mega Evolution cards go for. It's proof that "cool" doesn't have to mean dark or metallic. Sometimes it just means charming enough to stop you mid-scroll.

Meowth ex is the clear number 1, and it's not close. The special illustration rare drops Meowth into a retro pop-art scene, all bold outlines, halftone dots, and a starburst background that looks pulled from a 1960s comic panel. It's the most fun piece of art in the entire set. I'll also admit some bias here: Meowth is one of my favorite Pokémon, purely because of how much personality it got as Team Rocket's Meowth in the anime. A Pokémon that talks, schemes, and narrates its own blast-off is always going to have a soft spot with me, and this card is exactly the kind of art that reminds you why.