New set alert: Mega Evolution—Pitch Black has been announced by Pokémon!
The next expansion for the Pokémon TCG is here—Pitch Black. This set shadows the current format with plenty of new counters for the most popular current decks.
By Gergy · 4 min read
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From July 17, 2026, Pitch Black will be made available to retailers worldwide[1]. In line with what we've come to expect from the Pokémon TCG recently, it's a relatively small set adding only around 115 new cards. This set revolves around the Pokémon Legends: Z-A Mega Dimension DLC, we see Mega Darkrai ex front and centre on the Elite Trainer Box. It will also feature Mega Exadrill ex, Mega Zeraora ex, and more, as there are 6 Mega Pokémon featured in total. Here's a look at the new Mega Darkrai ex and Mega Exadrill ex cards in English:
Unfortunately we don't have much of an insight into any of the illustration rares, special illustration rares, or mega gold rares just yet. We do however, have a fairly low-quality look at the suspected Elite Trainer Box promo card though!
Here's what cards were expecting to make an appearance in this set:
- Six Mega Evolution Pokémon ex
- Four Pokémon ex
- 11 illustration rare Pokémon
- 18 ultra rare Pokémon and Trainer cards
- Six special illustration rare Pokémon and Supporter cards
As a collector, what are you expecting to see on the shelf? This is a main set— meaning since Ascended Heroes debuted in January— we're experiencing the first break-in-pattern in five years; as it was just after the Sword & Shield era 25th Anniversary Celebrations special/holiday that we then had main sets Fusion Strike, Brilliant Stars and Astral Radiance in a row. Here's some of the official product shots:
Personally I'm a huge fan of these dark and spooky sets. Our previous set that shared this theme was Scarlet & Violet: Shrouded Fable; a special/holiday set based around many of the new characters and pokémon from Scarlet & Violet "The Teal Mask" DLC. Interestingly (at least for the Illustration Rare version anyway) the "Adrena-brain" ability of Munkidori from SFA is exactly what the new Mega Darkrai ex card is looking to be able to counter; as it will be able to apply a significant amount of additional damage to opponent when your bench is littered with damage counters already.
Not a fan of the dark? Don't worry, because there's Mega Zeraora makes an electrifying presence, and of course Mega Exadrill is ready to steel the show with it's Undermine attack. While we don't yet know much about Mega Zeraora's attacks just yet, Mega Exadrill's Undermine is especially promising as it may help to impair Drakloak's ability to let your opponent peek the top two cards of their deck, before absolutely destroying anyone with a fully-loaded Maximum Drilling attack that can deliver up to 330 damage.
Pokémon Center Pre-orders and Restock information
For readers in the UK, click here to join the free PokéMart Discord community—for completely free UK Pokémon restock notifications.
You will need to queue for one of 6,500 free spaces; however, you can subscribe to premium giving full access while you wait for a spot. Your subscription will cancel itself when your free spot rolls around, you keep full access as a free user.
Use my code GERGY25 for 25% off your first premium month (normally £4.99)! If you subscribe with my code, I'll earn a small commission, and you'll be pinged as soon as the queue goes up! Win-win!
Pre-release Tournament
If you're interested in trying out this expansion, participating independent Pokémon Play! retailers will be hosting Pre-release Tournaments beginning July 4, 2026. As part of your pre-release experience, you'll get a build-and-battle box as seen below. You get one of four pre-constructed decks, a stamped promo card, and 4 booster packs to fill out your deck. You'll then compete with others in rounds, with the winner usually receiving free packs! Find your nearest store with the Pokémon Locator.