Shining Fates might not be the latest set in the Pokemon TCG scene, but it's still a big part of the Pokemon Sword & Shield era. Its catalog remains tournament-legal, and there's no shortage of powerful pulls, so in a very real way, the expansion hasn't been brushed aside despite the arrival of sets like Battle Styles and Brilliant Stars.

RELATED: The Most Valuable Shining Fates Cards

Shining Fates brought back a fun mechanic from the Sun & Moon era's Hidden Fates: Shiny Vault Pokemon. These holo foil variants are all spins on Pokemon cards that, ordinarily, do not have any aesthetic bells and whistles, lending them a unique form of collectability. Here's how much the most expensive batch will fetch you as of this writing.

Updated on July 15, 2022 by Quinton O'Connor: Price charts fluctuate constantly, meaning articles like ours need routine housekeeping to reflect that. Collectors ought to be pleased right now, as Shining Fates' Shiny Vault cards have really dropped in market value. That may not hold forever, so act now!

10 Cinderace - $5

CinderaceShinyVault

If your starter inclinations lean fiery, there's a decent chance you've raised at least Cinderace in Sword & Shield. If your TCG leanings echo those of the video games, you'll want to kick some fireballs with a few of these pals, and while admittedly Cinderace V and Cinderace VMAX are (unsurprisingly) the better representatives, surely you can make room in a deck for a Shiny Vault spin on the standard-issue Cinderace.

You could even go the whole nine yards here and buy a few of each for an ultimate Scorbunny deck. Shiny Vault Cinderace is cheap, and so are his super-powered peers.

9 Galarian Rapidash - $5

GalarianRapidashVM

These next two are a bit funny. While neither Ponyta nor Rapidash are worth nearly as much as they used to be, it's still somewhat odd that the evolution is the cheapest of the pair.

Galarian Rapidash V was introduced in Chilling Reign, but there's still room for the traditional Stage One card in some decks. Pastel Veil can put a stop to (likely Grass-centric) status infliction builds, and Psychic can be helpful if your opponent has been building up an ultra-powerful VMAX or VSTAR with more Energy attached than you'd care to count.

8 Galarian Ponyta - $6

GalarianPonyta

We'll be honest. There's not a whole lot to say here. If you're a Galarian Ponyta fanatic, you'll curse us for that sentence and write an essay on its majesty. If you're "just" a Pokemon TCG player, you're clearly looking at a card that barely gets games rolling, let alone comes to the rescue later on.

RELATED: Every Generations Pokemon Champion, Ranked

At least Galarian Ponyta's HP isn't too bad!

7 Ditto VMAX - $6

Ditto VMAX

Mew VMAX gets a ton of praise for Cross Fusion Strike, a move that lets it tap into a benched Fusion Strike Pokemon's attacks and use it as if it were its own. To be clear, the card deserves praise. That's a tourney-winning piece of shiny cardboard, right there.

Ditto VMAX, however, should not be ruled out entirely. There are so many ways in which Max Transform can be a thorn in your enemy's side. Most people don't send out their ace anticipating their foe to use its big guns against it.

6 Koffing - $7

KoffingShinyVault

Do you really, really love Weezing? Boy, do we have a deal for you. For just $7 a card, and a single Dark Energy attachment, you can rush to get those Weezings out before your opponent can do a thing about it. Grab that Weezing, stick it on top of this pricier Shining Vault Koffing, and get to poisoning.

5 Decidueye - $8DecidueyeShinyVault

Shining Fates' Decidueye is pretty cool. Its ability can thwart V-and-VMAX-hungry rivals while you mount a counteroffensive, though since it predates the arrival of VSTAR, you're out of luck on that front. And its attack is one of those cheeky ways to target benched Pokemon, so that's neat.

20 damage isn't a lot, obviously, but how often have you faced someone who sends seriously weakened powerhouses to the bench for a well-deserved rest? Decidueye chooses (further) violence.

4 Inteleon - $12

IntelonShadyDealings

Shining Fates' Inteleon is commonly referred to as "Shady Dealings Inteleon" for a reason. Since there are already enough Inteleons to fit a schoolbus in the Pokemon TCG, it needs an easy differentiation in common parlance, and it just so happens that Shady Dealings is the key to some pretty great strategies. Ergo, this is a great card.

Then again, if you're looking to stack a deck with four of these (though we're not sure we'd recommend that), that's about $50 with tax. Kind of a lot.

3 Drizzile - $14

DrizzileShinyVault

Yeah. We don't get it either. Shady Dealings Drizzile has somehow usurped its successor in market value. Before this article's current update, Drizzile wasn't on the list at all. We can only hypothesize that Drizzile, typically shown to be an antisocial sort in the Pokemon anime, decided to bravely step forth from its little lizard cave and all of Vermilion City wanted to meet it.

RELATED: Pokemon Hulk Would Want On His Team

If you don't watch the anime, however, then that won't make much sense to you. In which case, we've got nothing. But you'll need $14.

2 Suicune - $15

SuicuneShinyVault

Suicune maintains its hold in second place for now, but it was selling at nearly four times this price just a few months back. The Pokemon TCG can truly be a volatile arena.

From a tactical standpoint, the standout here is Aurora Loop; it's a nice swift strike that makes room for something better from elsewhere. A solid card for stocking a couple into any Water-themed deck, for sure.

1 Charizard VMAX - $107

CharizardVMAX

Doubtless one of the most anticipated cards from the Shining Fates set, Charizard VMAX once commanded several hundred dollars on the market. It's simmered down since, but it's still north of a Benjamin Franklin. As befits the perennial tyrant king of the TCG scene, Charizard VMAX just refuses to not stick out.

With a colossal 330 HP and the downright outrageous raw damage from G-Max Wildfire, Charizard VMAX is... a lot. Not the most cunning of cards, perhaps, but then, Fire-types do, historically, tend toward the philosophy of simply watching the world burn.

NEXT: Pokemon: The Most Valuable Gyarados Cards