Ionos Bellibolt ex
Quick take
- Special Illustration Rare, card 279/217 in Ascended Heroes, the first set of the 2026 Mega Evolution Series
- Character-trainer SIR that pulls demand from both Iono fans and Bellibolt fans
- Art by Akira Komayama, confirmed on pokemon.com, Limitless TCG, and pkmncards
- Set launched with no traditional retail booster boxes, so singles are the main route to this card
Collector's readWhat it means for your master set
Set landscapeWhere this card sits in Ascended Heroes
VariantsCard variants
Holofoil 279/217 · $41.70 — the only variant this card was printed in (no reverse holo or special pattern), so a master set needs just this one copy.
The storyThe Iono SIR collectors flagged from Ascended Heroes
Iono's Bellibolt ex is card 279/217 in Mega Evolution: Ascended Heroes, the January 2026 expansion that opened the Mega Evolution Series. The set runs well past its 217 numbered cards into a long secret tail, and this Special Illustration Rare lives up in that tail. The lower-numbered version at #70 is the playable Double Rare. The 279 print is the full-art collector chase.
“Special Illustration Rare, card 279/217 in Ascended Heroes, the first set of the 2026 Mega Evolution Series”
The card leans on character appeal. Iono is the Levincia Gym Leader from Scarlet and Violet, the self-styled Supercharged Streamer, and Bellibolt is her Electric-type partner. That pairing had a following before the card existed. Trainer-tied SIRs like this one tend to carry more demand than a generic Pokemon SIR, because two fanbases want the same card: people chasing the Pokemon and people chasing the character.
Ascended Heroes also shipped with an unusual rollout. The packs were not sold in traditional booster boxes at retail, spread instead across specialty products in waves through spring 2026. That made singles the practical way to land this card for most collectors, which matters when you are tracking down one specific SIR for a master set.
By the numbersMarket analysis
This sits in the upper band of Ascended Heroes singles. Character-trainer SIRs from recent sets tend to hold strong value raw in clean shape, and graded gem copies command a real step up. The live market number on this page is the figure to trust, since 2026 prices are still moving as the staggered product waves play out.
Early days. The set released in January 2026, and its no-booster-box rollout kept supply tighter than a normal set through the first months, which tends to firm prices on the marquee SIRs. Expect more give once the spring product waves are fully in the channel.
Treat it as a buy-because-you-want-it card rather than a flip. Trainer SIRs of liked characters have held interest well across the SV era, but this is a very large set with a long secret tail, and 2026 pricing is still unsettled. A graded gem copy is the safer long-term hold if value matters to you.
Modern SIRs reward clean grades. A PSA 10 or equivalent gem typically trades at a clear premium over raw, while a 9 narrows that gap. Centering and edge whitening on the dark borders are the usual things that keep these off a 10.
Ascended Heroes is a Scarlet and Violet era release, so the rarity ladder follows the usual SV pattern. Any Double Rare lands around 1 in 5 packs, any Illustration Rare around 1 in 12, any Ultra Rare around 1 in 15, any Special Illustration Rare around 1 in 90, and Hyper Rares deep at roughly 1 in 300 to 700. Those are odds for hitting any card of that tier. Pulling this specific SIR runs far longer, since each set carries many different SIRs, which pushes the real odds for one named card like Iono's Bellibolt ex into the hundreds of packs. The set's no-retail-booster-box rollout made that even harder, which is why most collectors just buy the single.
Roughly one SIR every 90 packs sounds reachable until you remember you want this exact one. Spread across the set's SIR pool, the practical pull rate for Iono's Bellibolt specifically is a long grind, and the limited pack availability in 2026 only stretched it further.
ArtworkWhy the art matters
Akira Komayama is a long-running Pokemon TCG illustrator with credits across many sets, known for clean, character-forward compositions. The artist credit on this card is confirmed on pokemon.com, Limitless TCG, and pkmncards.
The Special Illustration Rare gives Iono's Bellibolt the full-art treatment rather than the cropped framing of the lower-numbered #70 print. It is the dressed-up SIR version collectors gravitate to on a trainer's Pokemon.
Special Illustration Rare with the extended-art borderless layout and textured holo finish standard for SV-era SIRs. The dark framing makes edge wear and surface scratches show easily, so condition reads quickly on this one.
It is the full-art SIR print of a popular streamer's partner Pokemon. That character tie is the whole draw. You are buying the moment, not a plain holo of the Pokemon.
BackgroundAbout Ionos Bellibolt ex
Bellibolt is the EleFrog Pokemon, an Electric type introduced in Scarlet and Violet in 2022. It evolves from Tadbulb and generates electricity in an organ shaped like a belly button. Iono is the Levincia Gym Leader and a popular streamer character, the Supercharged Streamer. The two were revealed together and stuck in fans' minds as a pairing from launch.
- ›Iono is one of the more talked-about Gym Leaders from Scarlet and Violet
- ›Bellibolt's odd, likeable design has its own fanbase
- ›The streamer-and-partner concept reads well as card art
- ›Electric-type collectors who chase the archetype
- ›Pokemon Scarlet and Violet as the Levincia Gym Leader and her partner Pokemon
- ›Multiple Iono's Pokemon cards across SV-era and Mega Evolution-era TCG sets
The playable copy is the #70 Double Rare. Mechanically it is a Lightning-type Stage 1 with 280 HP that evolves from Iono's Tadbulb. Its Electric Streamer ability lets you attach Basic Lightning Energy from hand to your Iono's Pokemon as often as you like during your turn, and its Thunderous Bolt attack hits for 230 with a can't-attack-next-turn drawback. The #279 SIR is the same card, bought as a collector piece rather than for play.
Own it wellCollector guide
The dark borders punish handling. Check the four corners and the edges for whitening, and angle the card under light to catch surface scratches on the holo. Centering on SIRs varies, so look at the border balance front and back before paying a premium.
Worth grading if you have a clean copy and want the value protected. Centering and edge whitening are the usual blockers to a 10 on dark-bordered SIRs, so inspect honestly before sending. For a copy you just want in the binder, a sleeve and toploader is fine. Read the grading guide →
Penny sleeve plus a toploader or a one-touch for anything you care about. Keep it out of direct light and away from humidity swings. For master-set binders, use side-loading pages so the card is not stressed every time you flip. See the storage guide →
Buy the single rather than chasing it in packs, especially given this set's limited pack availability. For serious money, buy graded from a reputable seller. Raw, ask for sharp photos of all four corners and the surface under light, and confirm you are getting the 279 SIR and not the #70 Double Rare. See the singles buying guide →
Confirm the card number reads 279/217 to make sure it is the SIR print and not the lower-numbered version. Buy from established sellers, and for high-value copies prefer graded slabs from PSA, CGC, or Beckett.
Protect your card
High Chase Score — protect and consider grading. · Amazon affiliate links · Storage guideWord on the streetCommunity sentiment
Iono cards reliably draw attention, and a full-art SIR of her Bellibolt landed as one of the trainer chases collectors flagged from Ascended Heroes. The character tie is a big part of why people want it.
Discussion around Ascended Heroes in early 2026 centered on its size as the largest English set and its unusual no-booster-box rollout, with trainer SIRs like this one called out among the cards worth tracking down as singles.
Good to knowFrequently asked questions
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