Pokémon Pitch Black: Release Date & Mega Darkrai ex

Pokémon Pitch Black is the next Mega Evolution booster set, and it lands July 17, 2026. The headliner is Mega Darkrai ex, which is a first for the card game — the video games never gave Darkrai a Mega form, so this one exists only in the TCG. That alone is enough to put it on collectors' radar.

It's the fourth main Mega Evolution set of the year, following Ascended Heroes, Perfect Order, and Chaos Rising. If you've been building the 2026 Mega run, this slots right in.

When Pitch Black releases

July 17, 2026. That's just over a week out from today, so pre-orders on booster boxes and Elite Trainer Boxes are already up at most retailers. The set follows the same roughly-every-two-months cadence the Mega Evolution line has kept all year, and there's one more still to come: Delta Reign in November, built around Mega Rayquaza ex.

You can see the full 2026 schedule, every game included, on the TCG release calendar.

Mega Darkrai ex is the chase

Darkrai has always punched above its weight for a Mythical. It headlined a movie, it's a fan-favorite Dark type, and it hasn't had a marquee card in a while. Giving it a brand-new Mega form for its first big appearance of the era is the kind of thing that moves singles.

I'd expect the Mega Darkrai ex full-art and any special-illustration treatment to be the cards everyone chases out of this set. Dark types tend to have a loyal collector base, and a new Mega design usually draws more attention than a reprint of a familiar one. Whether that translates into lasting value is a separate question, and the honest answer right now is that nobody knows — the set isn't out yet.

Where it fits in the 2026 Mega Evolution run

2026 has been Mega Evolution's comeback year. The mechanic dominated competitive play from 2014 to 2017, got shelved, and returned as a full-year theme. Here's the main-set order so far:

• Ascended Heroes — January 30
• Perfect Order — March 27
• Chaos Rising — May 22
• Pitch Black — July 17
• Delta Reign — November 6

The 30th Celebration set slots in between Pitch Black and Delta Reign, in September, and it's shaping up to be the standout product of the year. If you want the wider picture, the full 2026 Pokémon set guide walks through all of them.

What to expect on release day

Pokémon hasn't published a full card list or prices this far out, so I'm not going to invent numbers. What I can tell you is what the earlier Mega sets did: the chase full-arts spiked in the first few days, then most singles drifted down as boxes got opened and supply caught up. That pattern has held for Ascended Heroes, Perfect Order, and Chaos Rising, and there's no obvious reason Pitch Black breaks it.

The practical move is to wait a week before buying singles. Launch-day prices are almost always the worst prices you'll pay.

Once the set is live, Scryda can scan your Pitch Black pulls and show current market values, so you can see what a card is actually worth instead of guessing from a sold listing. The Pokémon collection page covers every set the app tracks. New to the ex cards? The ex, GX, V, VMAX and VSTAR guide explains how they differ.

Should you buy it?

Depends on why you're buying. Set completionists and Darkrai fans have an easy call. If you're weighing a sealed box purely as an investment, slow down — I wrote a separate piece on whether Pitch Black is worth buying that covers box vs. ETB vs. singles and the case for waiting.

FAQ

When does Pokémon Pitch Black release? July 17, 2026. It's the fourth main Mega Evolution booster set of the year.

What is the chase card in Pitch Black? Mega Darkrai ex is the headliner and the most anticipated pull. It's a new Mega form created for the TCG — Darkrai never had one in the video games.

Is Pitch Black the last Mega Evolution set of 2026? No. Delta Reign, built around Mega Rayquaza ex, closes out the run on November 6, 2026.

Should I buy singles at launch? Usually not. On the earlier 2026 Mega sets, chase-card prices peaked in the first few days and settled lower within a week or two. Check TCGPlayer and PriceCharting before you buy.

Set details confirmed via PokéBeach's Pitch Black reveal and the official Pokémon TCG product gallery.