Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Pitch Black — the fifth English Mega Evolution expansion (ME05) — releases worldwide on 17 July 2026, headlined by Mega Darkrai ex. Six retail products land on launch day, with a Build & Battle Box arriving early for prerelease events on 4–12 July 2026. Here's everything announced so far, what each contains, and when it releases.
Launch lineup
Booster Box
The sealed-collector staple — 360 cards across 36 packs, the best value per pack for opening at scale.
Elite Trainer Box
Nine packs plus sleeves, energy, dice, damage counters and a promo — a Pokémon Center exclusive ETB variant also exists (see timeline).
Booster Bundle
A simple six-pack bundle — no extras, just packs. A tidy top-up between the box and single packs.
Booster Pack
The standard single pack sold at checkouts and game stores — 10 cards per pack.
Check Lane Blister
The checkout-lane blister — one pack, a foil promo and a coin. An easy impulse-buy entry point.
Premium Check Lane Blister
The premium blister upgrades the standard version to three promo cards alongside the single pack and coin.
Every launch product above releases on 17 July 2026. The prerelease-only Build & Battle Box arrives earlier — details below.
Prerelease: Build & Battle Box
Prerelease events run 4–12 July 2026, nearly two weeks ahead of the general release. The Build & Battle Box is the format's core product — you open it at the event, add cards from its packs to the ready-to-play deck, and battle other attendees.
What's inside
- 4 Pitch Black booster packs
- 40-card ready-to-play prerelease deck
- 1 of 4 randomly inserted prerelease promo cards — Miraidon, Slowbro, Dhelmise or Bastiodon
The four exclusive prerelease promos are Miraidon, Slowbro, Dhelmise and Bastiodon — each numbered above the main set and only available in the Build & Battle Box.
Release timeline
Every confirmed Pitch Black date, in order, from the first Pokémon Center drop through to the worldwide street date.
First Pokémon Center queue
The Pokémon Center store opened an early queue over a month ahead of release, selling the exclusive Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box alongside Booster Bundles and Booster Boxes — limit 2 ETBs per person.
Prerelease events
Local prerelease tournaments using the Build & Battle Box, with the four exclusive prerelease promos. Find an event via the official Pokémon events page.
Pokémon TCG Live digital release
The set goes live digitally one day early on iOS, Android, macOS and Windows, with login bonuses at launch.
Worldwide physical release
All retail products — Booster Box, ETB, Booster Bundle, single packs and both Check Lane Blisters — go on sale at participating retailers worldwide.
Digital release — Pokémon TCG Live
Pitch Black arrives on Pokémon TCG Live on 16 July 2026, one day before the physical launch, across iOS, Android, macOS and Windows. Expect in-game login bonuses tied to the new set at launch. This mirrors the digital-first-by-a-day pattern of recent English Mega Evolution expansions.
Where to buy
Pitch Black is stocked at Pokémon Center, major online retailers and local game stores from 17 July 2026. The links below search live listings on eBay.
🛒 For the full breakdown — every card, rarities, the full-art gallery and product details in one place — see the main Pitch Black set guide.
