The Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Mega Evolution era is steaming ahead in 2026, and the next two English expansions are already locked in. Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising arrives on 22 May 2026 as the fourth Mega Evolution set, and Mega Evolution—Pitch Black follows close behind on 17 July 2026 as the fifth. Both expansions pull directly from recent Japanese releases, both lean small in card count, and both bring instantly recognisable Pokémon to the Mega Evolution roster for the first time. Here is everything currently confirmed about the two sets, what to chase, and how the meta is likely to shift.
Chaos Rising: Lumiose City in Turmoil
Release details and theme
Chaos Rising launches worldwide on 22 May 2026, with prerelease events running from 9 to 17 May at participating local game stores. The expansion is a near-direct adaptation of the Japanese set Ninja Spinner, and as a result it is on the smaller side: roughly 122 cards in total, including more than 20 Trainer cards and over 35 cards with special illustrations of Pokémon and Trainers.
The narrative hook leans into the Lumiose City setting from Pokémon Legends: Z-A. Mega Floette ex is cast as the cause of the chaos, with Mega Greninja ex rallying other Mega Evolution Pokémon ex to push back against the threat. Pack art for the expansion was illustrated by akagi.
The headline Mega Evolution Pokémon ex
Five Mega Evolution Pokémon ex anchor the set:
Mega Greninja ex is the unambiguous star. It is a Stage 2 Water-type Mega Evolution ex, and its big draw is a powerful damage-spread Ability called Mortal Shuriken (placing six damage counters on one of the opponent’s Pokémon for the cost of discarding a Basic Energy from hand) along with an attack that lets you return an attached Energy to your hand to do an extra 80 damage. It does carry the Mega Evolution drawback that all Mega ex cards share: when knocked out, your opponent takes three Prize cards instead of two.
Mega Floette ex plays the antagonist. Its Gentle Light Ability heals 30 damage from each of your Pokémon for one Energy (with the catch that it also heals your opponent’s), and its Eternity Bloom attack hits for 200 damage and lets you attach four Basic Energy from your deck to your Benched Pokémon. It is part healer, part board-rebuilder, part finisher.
Mega Pyroar ex, Mega Dragalge ex, and a fifth Mega Evolution round out the headliners. Mega Dragalge ex in particular has caught competitive eyes for its disruption package, with Tool and Special Energy removal alongside a Poison-based damage mechanic.
Beyond the Megas, the set includes five regular Pokémon ex (with Beedrill ex, Gourgeist ex, Cobalion ex, and Cinccino ex among them), 11 illustration rare Pokémon, 18 ultra rare Pokémon and Trainers, and six special illustration rares.
Chase cards and collector notes
The Mega Hyper Rare (gold-etched) version of Mega Greninja ex is the ultra-chase pull of the expansion. The Special Illustration Rare of Mega Greninja ex, illustrated by Susumu Maeya, is also a major target. It actually combines horizontally with the Froakie and Frogadier illustration rares to form a single connected scene moving from beneath the waves up to a sunset sky. Special illustration rares for Mega Floette ex and the supporter Roxie’s Performance are also expected to draw heavy demand.
Products at launch
The full lineup includes individual Booster Packs, Booster Bundles (six packs), standard Elite Trainer Boxes (nine packs, a full-art Fennekin promo, sleeves, energies, and accessories), a Pokémon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Box (eleven packs and two Fennekin promos including one with the Pokémon Center logo), a Mega Lucario ex League Battle Deck, Build and Battle Boxes (available from prerelease), and a Mega Zygarde ex Premium Collection.
Competitive outlook
Because Chaos Rising arrives after the 2026 Standard rotation, its meta impact has to be judged against a different card pool than the current one. Early Japanese tournament results from the equivalent Ninja Spinner set are already encouraging for Mega Greninja ex, which won a City League event in Japan. The deck pairs Mega Greninja ex with Dragapult ex to spread damage counters across the opponent’s board, uses Drakloak’s Recon Directive to dig for evolution pieces, and leans on Meowth ex and Shaymin for setup and bench protection. Mega Greninja closes out games once enough damage has been spread.
Track Your TCG Collection
Create your free Card Codex account to monitor card prices, view real-time market trends, and analyse your portfolio’s growth.
Start Tracking Now — It’s FreePitch Black: Shadows Beyond Lumiose
Release details and theme
Pitch Black hits shelves on 17 July 2026, with prerelease events scheduled from 4 to 12 July. The digital release on Pokémon TCG Live arrives a day earlier, on 16 July. Like Chaos Rising, it is a near-1:1 adaptation of a single Japanese set, in this case Abyss Eye (which releases in Japan on 22 May 2026). Total card count sits at over 115, with 84 regularly numbered cards, 20 of which are Trainers, plus 35 special illustration cards bringing the unofficial total to about 119 before Black Star promos.
The set’s name is a direct nod to Darkrai’s classification as the “Pitch-Black Pokémon.” Thematically, the expansion shifts from the urban energy of Chaos Rising into a darker, nocturnal aesthetic of nightmares, shadow, and lunar imagery. The official tagline reads: “Twinkling city lights and a starry sky become obscured in darkness as Mega Darkrai ex arrives with mystery and malice!”
Crucially, Pitch Black is the first main TCG set to draw on the Mega Dimension DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, which means several of these Mega forms are debuting in cardboard for the first time.
The headline Mega Evolution Pokémon ex
Four Mega Evolution Pokémon ex are confirmed:
Mega Darkrai ex is the flagship. Translated from the Japanese reveal, it has 280 HP and two attacks. Night Raid (two Darkness Energy) does 110 damage, with an additional 110 damage if any of your Benched Pokémon have damage counters on them. Abyss Eye (three Darkness Energy) is the real headline mechanic: if your opponent’s Active Pokémon is affected by any Special Condition, that Pokémon is immediately Knocked Out. In a format dominated by three-prize Mega Evolution ex Pokémon, an instant-KO clause is enormously dangerous.
Mega Zeraora ex counters the darkness with electric power, and is positioned as the main protagonist push-back card.
Mega Chandelure ex brings Fire/Ghost flavour and continues the unsettling tone of the set, while Mega Excadrill ex rounds out the lineup as a heavy-hitting Fighting-type option.
Supporting cards to watch
Several supporting cards from the Japanese Abyss Eye are expected to make the jump. Dark Bell is a Trainer card that applies Confusion to both Active Pokémon unless they are Dark-type, which is a near-perfect setup for triggering Mega Darkrai ex’s Abyss Eye attack. Shadow Energy and a new Malamar evolving from Inkay are also in the Japanese set’s confirmed list, alongside Zarude and Chi-Yu. The Elite Trainer Box promo for Pitch Black is a new Zarude Illustration Rare.
Chase cards and collector notes
The Special Illustration Rare and Mega Hyper Rare versions of Mega Darkrai ex will be the most-hunted pulls in the set. Mega Chandelure ex SIR is also being flagged by the community as a likely visual standout given the ghostly aesthetic. Like Chaos Rising, the small size of the set means chase cards are concentrated rather than diffuse, which historically pushes both pull values and singles prices higher.
Competitive outlook
Mega Darkrai ex is built for control. The combination of Abyss Eye plus Dark Bell creates a turn-one threat of instant Knock Outs against any non-Dark Active Pokémon, which would force opponents to either run Dark-type cover attackers or accept that any unprotected Active Pokémon can be removed in a single attack. Expect Dark-focused decks to absorb a chunk of the post-rotation meta, potentially in hybrid builds that pair Mega Darkrai ex with tempo or spread tools from Chaos Rising.
How the Two Sets Fit Together
Both expansions are part of a broader strategic shift in the English TCG. Following Phantasmal Flames, Ascended Heroes, and Perfect Order, Chaos Rising and Pitch Black continue the trend of small English sets adapted nearly 1:1 from a single Japanese release, rather than combining multiple Japanese sets into a larger English expansion. There are two leading theories for why: ongoing global TCG supply shortages mean fewer unique cards lets the printers produce more copies of each, and English releases may be moving toward the more frequent, smaller cadence Japan has used for years.
The practical takeaway for collectors and players is that release windows are tighter, prerelease and launch supply is more competitive, and chase cards are concentrated in shorter set lists. Chaos Rising and Pitch Black are arriving only eight weeks apart, which is an aggressive cadence by historical standards.
Looking Ahead
After Pitch Black, attention turns to the Japanese set Storm Emeralda (releasing 31 July 2026 in Japan), which features Mega Rayquaza ex and is expected to drive the next English expansion. Three “MEGA Starter Set ex Decks” featuring Eevee ex, Zoroark ex, and Meowscarada ex are also on the Japanese horizon, alongside a 30th Anniversary celebration set scheduled for September. The Mega Evolution era, in other words, is far from finished, and there is still plenty to revisit from the Mega Evolution base set that kicked it all off.
For now though, two sets sit at the front of the queue. Chaos Rising on 22 May brings a long-awaited Mega Greninja and a Lumiose City showdown. Pitch Black on 17 July plunges the format into Mega Darkrai’s nightmare. Mark the calendar, set reminders for prerelease registration, and good luck pulling those Mega Hyper Rares.
PS: Make sure to also check out our pokemon product release calendar.
