2026 Pokémon TCG Pitch Black: Set Guide, Key Cards, and Where to Buy

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Pitch Black releases July 17, 2026, as the fifth expansion in the Pokémon TCG’s Mega Evolution era (ME05). It’s the English adaptation of Japan’s Abyss Eye set, and it pulls its cast and story beats from the Mega Dimension DLC in Pokémon Legends: Z-A. The set carries six new Mega Evolution Pokémon ex, four more Double Rare Pokémon ex, and a 120-card checklist once every secret rare version is counted. Here’s what’s in it and which cards are worth chasing.

Background

Where the previous Mega Evolution expansion, Chaos Rising, put its Pokémon in open conflict on the streets of Lumiose, Pitch Black is the quieter, creepier follow-up: a darkness that settles in after the fighting stops. Mega Darkrai ex and Mega Zeraora ex anchor the box art, facing off over a cityscape that’s half lit and half swallowed by shadow. Darkrai has carried the “Pitch Black Pokémon” title since Diamond & Pearl, and the expansion builds its entire tone around that history. For collectors keeping track of everything else launching around it, our Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration product guide rounds up the rest of the release slate, and the full expansion overview is up on Pokémon’s official site.

The Six Mega Evolutions

Pitch Black adds six new Mega Evolution Pokémon ex to the format: Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Slowbro ex, Mega Excadrill ex, and Mega Delphox ex. Every one follows the Mega Evolution ex rule: when it’s knocked out, your opponent takes three Prize cards instead of the usual one, so the payoff has to earn that risk. All six are pictured below, each with a link to shop the specific parallel shown.

Mega Darkrai ex

Mega Darkrai ex is a Darkness-type Basic Pokémon ex with 280 HP. Dusk Raid costs two Darkness Energy for 110 damage, and adds 110 more if any of your Benched Pokémon are carrying damage counters. Abyss Eye skips damage math entirely: for three Darkness Energy, it knocks out the opponent’s Active Pokémon outright if that Pokémon is affected by a Special Condition, which is exactly what the new Item card Dark Bell is built to set up (it Confuses both Active Pokémon, with Darkness types exempt). The version pictured here is the Special Illustration Rare, illustrated by Akira Egawa in a darker, more abstract style than the rest of the set’s 5ban Graphics artwork.

Mega Chandelure ex

Mega Chandelure ex is a Stage 2 Psychic-type Pokémon ex with 350 HP, evolving from Lampent. Its Binding Flame Ability adds a Colorless Energy to the opponent’s Active Pokémon’s Retreat Cost, and Phantom Maze then does 130 damage plus 50 more for every Colorless Energy in that Retreat Cost. It’s also a piece of set storytelling: the Trainer card Gwynn, covered below, is written as Chandelure’s actual trainer, so her Mega Evolving partner shows up right alongside her.

Mega Zeraora ex

Mega Zeraora ex is a Basic Lightning-type Pokémon ex with 270 HP. Thunderous Fist scales with your own board at 60 damage for every Lightning Energy attached to it, and Zepto Turn lets you swap it out for a Benched Pokémon after landing 150 damage. It’s built to hit fast and get out before it takes a big return hit.

Mega Excadrill ex

Mega Excadrill ex is a Stage 1 Fighting-type Pokémon ex with 340 HP, evolving straight from Drilbur. Undermine discards the top two cards of the opponent’s deck for 90 damage, and Maximum Drilling does 200 plus 130 more if you’ve attached at least two extra Energy beyond the attack’s cost, a real incentive to run extra Energy acceleration.

Mega Slowbro ex

Mega Slowbro ex is one of three cards pulled in from Japanese Gym promo sets for the English release, alongside Mega Delphox ex and Jett. It’s a Stage 1 Psychic-type Pokémon ex with 330 HP. Shellnado Spin hits for 180, and if the opponent damages this Pokémon on their next turn, even with a finishing blow, it drops 12 damage counters onto whatever hit it, a rough punish for anyone trying to trade with it.

Mega Delphox ex

Mega Delphox ex is a Stage 2 Fire-type Pokémon ex with 350 HP, evolving from Braixen. It’s one of three cards pulled in from Japanese Gym promo sets for the English release, alongside Mega Slowbro ex and Jett. Trick Portal lets you look at the top 9 cards of your deck and put any number of Pokémon you find onto your Bench, shuffling the rest back in, a fast way to set up a board. Eerie Glow costs three Energy and hits for 200 while leaving the opponent’s Active Pokémon both Burned and Confused.

The Double Rare ex Lineup

Four more Pokémon ex round out the Double Rare tier: Lurantis ex, Wailord ex, Rampardos ex, and Morpeko ex.

Lurantis ex

Lurantis ex is a Stage 1 Grass-type Pokémon ex with 260 HP. Lively Cutter does 60 plus 200 more if this Pokémon was healed earlier in the turn, and Leaf Guard cuts 50 off incoming damage on the opponent’s next turn, a setup-then-swing attacker.

Wailord ex

Wailord ex is the strangest card in the set on paper. At 380 HP, it ties Mega Venusaur ex and Mega Emboar ex for the highest base HP of any tournament-legal card in the game, and it’s the highest HP total ever printed on a Stage 1 Pokémon. Surf hits for 120, while Falling Down puts it to Sleep for a massive 270.

Rampardos ex

Rampardos ex is a Stage 2 Fighting-type Pokémon ex with 330 HP. Its Destructive Headbutting Ability lets you flip a coin once per turn while Active to discard an Energy from the opponent’s Active Pokémon on heads, and Rowdy Hammer hits for 150 while making this Pokémon’s attacks do 150 more against the opponent’s Active Pokémon on your following turn.

Morpeko ex

Morpeko ex is a Basic Colorless-type Pokémon ex with 180 HP, and it’s the one card in this set you can pull in three completely different looks: the standard Double Rare, the full-art Ultra Rare, and the Special Illustration Rare. Wheely Draw shuffles your hand back into your deck and refills it to six cards, and Hangry Blaster does 40 plus 40 more for every damage counter already on this Pokémon, numbers that stack fast once it’s taken a hit or two.

Chase Cards and Numbers to Know

Pitch Black’s full checklist runs 120 cards: 84 in the base set plus 36 secret rares numbered 085 through 120. The rarity breakdown: 38 Common, 25 Uncommon, 11 Rare (Holo Rare), 10 Double Rare, 18 Ultra Rare, 11 Illustration Rare, 6 Special Illustration Rare, and 1 Mega Hyper Rare.

The Illustration Rare run (085 to 095) is where the set’s quieter artwork lives. Goldeen, Slowbro, Dhelmise, and Silvally are the four collectors are talking about most, each built around the same lit-street, late-night mood as the rest of the expansion.

Six Special Illustration Rares sit at the top of the secret rare run (114 to 119): Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Darkrai ex, Morpeko ex, Gladion’s Final Battle, and Gwynn. Then there’s card 120: a gold-etched Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex, the single hardest pull in the entire expansion.

The Story Behind the Cards

Pitch Black leans harder into its Legends: Z-A cast than most recent sets. Gwynn is written as the assistant to the game’s Fist of Justice and a Ghost-type specialist, and since her in-game partner is a Chandelure that Mega Evolves, her card pairs naturally with Mega Chandelure ex above. Jett of Quasartico Inc. and a Rust Syndicate Grunt represent two of Lumiose’s shadier organizations, while Misty’s Vitality brings a jolt of Gen 1 nostalgia into an otherwise moody set, and Gladion’s Final Battle arrives with Type: Null and Silvally for the Alola faithful.

What’s in the Box

Pitch Black comes in the usual mix of configurations, but a couple of them are worth comparing before you decide where to buy:

• Booster Pack: 10 cards, 1 Basic Energy, 1 Pokémon TCG Live code card
• Booster Display Box: 36 packs
• Booster Box Case: 6 boxes
• Booster Bundle: 6 packs
• Elite Trainer Box: 9 packs, a full-art Zarude foil promo, 65 sleeves, 40 Energy cards, a player’s guide, damage counter dice, a coin flip die, a coin, and a collector’s box
• Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box: 11 packs (two more than standard), plus a Zarude promo with a Pokémon Center logo above the attack text and the same accessories
• Three Pack Blister: 3 packs and 1 foil promo
• Check Lane Blister: 1 pack, 1 promo, 1 coin
• Build & Battle Box: 4 packs, a 40-card ready-to-play deck, and 1 of 4 foil promos (Miraidon, Slowbro, Dhelmise, or Bastiodon)

That Zarude promo is worth calling out on its own. The English release actually cut Zarude’s Illustration Rare from the secret rare run and repurposed that same artwork as the Elite Trainer Box exclusive, so it’s not something you’ll pull from a booster pack at all.

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