Pitch Black

What Pitch Black is

Pitch Black is the fifth main expansion of the Mega Evolution Series, released worldwide on July 17, 2026 under the set code PBL. It has 84 cards in the numbered set plus 36 secret rares, for 120 cards in total. The set is the first main expansion based on the Mega Dimension DLC of the Pokémon Legends: Z-A video game and the fourth overall drawn from that game, and its two central Pokémon are Mega Darkrai ex and Mega Zeraora ex, with Mega Chandelure ex and Mega Excadrill ex behind them.

The checklist holds ten Double rare Pokémon ex, six of them Mega Evolution Pokémon ex (Mega Delphox, Mega Zeraora, Mega Slowbro, Mega Chandelure, Mega Darkrai and Mega Excadrill) and four ordinary Pokémon ex (Lurantis, Wailord, Rampardos and Morpeko), plus 11 Illustration rares, 18 Ultra rare full art Pokémon and Trainer cards, six Special illustration rares and a single Mega Hyper Rare. Darkness is the most represented type at 18 cards, fitting a set built around Darkrai, with Psychic close behind at 17.

The cards come from the Japanese Abyss Eye expansion. Nearly every card carries the J regulation mark; three keep the older I mark.

What makes Pitch Black different

• One Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex 120 by 5ban Graphics is the only Mega Hyper Rare in the set and its most valuable card. Mega Darkrai ex also appears as a Double rare (48), an Ultra rare (101) and AKIRA EGAWA's Special illustration rare (116), the second most valuable card in the set.
• Six Special illustration rares GIDORA's Mega Zeraora ex 114, REND's Mega Chandelure ex 115, AKIRA EGAWA's Mega Darkrai ex 116 and NC Empire's Morpeko ex 117 are joined by two Supporters, DOM's Gladion's Final Battle 118 and Naoki Saito's Gwynn 119.
• Morpeko ex outruns the Megas Morpeko ex, an ordinary Pokémon ex, appears as a Double rare (55), an Ultra rare (102) and a Special illustration rare (117), and the Special illustration rare trades above Mega Chandelure ex 115 in the graded market.
• Trainer heavy Ultra rares Ten of the 18 Ultra rares are Trainer cards (104 to 113), including En Morikura's Misty's Vitality 111, nagimiso's Gwynn 109, akagi's Gladion's Final Battle 108 and Teeziro's Rust Syndicate Grunt 112, and Misty's Vitality is the strongest of them in PSA 10.
• A Zarude Elite Trainer Box promo The Mega Darkrai Elite Trainer Box carries a full art Zarude promo (MEP 088) first printed in Abyss Eye. Zarude 56 also exists with a "What's Your Favorite?" stamp from GameStop and EB Games and as a Pixel Cosmos Holofoil 2 Pack Blister card.
• Retailer stamps across the set Armarouge 12 carries the "What's Your Favorite?" stamp from Best Buy (USA) and JB HIFI (New Zealand), Primarina 20 the same stamp from Barnes & Noble, BoxLunch and Hot Topic, and Marshadow 40 exists as a Cosmos Holofoil from the Gengar Enhanced 2 Pack Blister.

How Pitch Black arrived

Japan released Abyss Eye on May 22, 2026, and the English set followed as Pitch Black on July 17, 2026, between Play! Pokémon Prize Pack Series Nine in early July and the 30th Celebration set in September. The set continues the Pokémon Legends: Z-A storyline that has run through the Mega Evolution Series, moving into the Mega Dimension DLC where Mega Darkrai and Mega Zeraora appear.

Prerelease tournaments ran on the weekends of July 4 to 5 and July 11 to 12, 2026. Every paying entrant received a Pitch Black Build & Battle Box with four booster packs, a 40 card ready to play deck built around one of four MEP Black Star Promos, a deck building tip sheet and a Pokémon TCG Live code card, and stores could sell extra boxes at the events. The promos were Miraidon (MEP 082), Slowbro (MEP 083), Dhelmise (MEP 084) and Bastiodon (MEP 085), with non holofoil deck prints of Miraidon 28, Spiritomb 35, Bastiodon 62, Silvally 70 and Voltaic L Energy 84, plus Telepathic P Energy from Perfect Order and Magnetic M Energy from Chaos Rising.

The launch products arrived together on July 17, 2026: the Elite Trainer Box and its Pokémon Center version, display boxes, the Booster Bundle, blisters and Ultra PRO portfolios. A Pitch Black Mini Portfolio with one booster pack is scheduled for October 2, 2026.

Pitch Black products and what came in them

The Elite Trainer Box features Mega Darkrai and holds nine booster packs, 65 card sleeves, 40 basic Energy cards, a player's guide, six damage counter dice, a coin flip die, a plastic Darkrai coin, six dividers, a code card and a full art Zarude promo (MEP Promo 088). The Pokémon Center version adds two more packs and a second Zarude with a Pokémon Center stamp.

Blisters came in one version each. The single pack blister carries Slowpoke (MEP 086) on Smooth Cosmos Holofoil with a jumbo Tepig coin, and the three pack blister carries Binacle (MEP 087). Premium checklane blisters reuse the Gengar and Luxray lines from Perfect Order and checklane blisters the Tyrantrum or Aurorus lines from the same set, each with a Tepig coin. Display boxes hold 36 packs (18 in European half displays) and the Booster Bundle holds six packs. Ultra PRO released nine pocket binders featuring Mega Darkrai and Mega Chandelure and four pocket binders featuring Mega Zeraora and Mega Excadrill.

Collecting and grading Pitch Black

Pitch Black is a top heavy set. Mega Darkrai ex 120 and 116 carry most of its value, Mega Zeraora ex 114 and Morpeko ex 117 follow, and the live prices above show the gap between raw and PSA 10 for each. The Illustration rares are led by Iwamoto05's Armarouge 86 and Mékayu's Slowbro 90, both cheap raw cards that grade into meaningful premiums, and Misty's Vitality 111 is the Trainer to watch.

The set released in July 2026, so the graded market is still forming: PSA 10 populations are small, early prices move quickly and the chase list above updates as new sales land. The stamped Armarouge 12, Primarina 20 and Zarude 56 prints and the Cosmos Holofoil Marshadow 40 trade as separate rows in the checklist below, so match the variant label before comparing prices.

The Mega Hyper Rare and Special illustration rares use the same etched stock as the rest of the Mega Evolution Series, so check edges and the textured surface under angled light before submitting. Sealed product is in active distribution, so displays, Elite Trainer Boxes and bundles are for opening, and the sealed table above tracks what they trade for today.