Dark Darkness is coming this summer

This article was updated by Andrea Trama on 2 May 2026 with reference to recent announcements about the set. It was first published on April 18.

UPDATE: The Pitch Black release date is officially July 17th and the product selection includes: booster packs, bundles, ETBs, build and battle sets, blister packs with special cards for Slowpoke, Binacle, Gengar evolution line, Luxray evolution line, Aurorus evolution line and Tyrantrum evolution. The set is then confirmed to contain over 115 cards, including six Mega Evolution Ex Pokémon cards (and their respective variants). Mega Darkrai Ex and Mega Excadrill Ex are confirmed with their respective cards revealed, and the booster pack image also confirms Mega Chandelure Ex and Mega Zeraora Ex.

The following is the original story.

Pokemon trading card game is reportedly getting another Mega Evolution set called Pitch Black, according to a new leak. The set is expected to launch in summer 2026 and will be based on another exclusive Japanese model Pokemon TCG expansion that was recently officially announced.

The current era of Mega Evolution has already produced three smaller English sets modeled closely after their Japanese releases. The most recent of them was Pokemon TCGThe Perfect Order set, which introduced three exclusive promos and 121 additional cards, all of which officially launched on March 27th, 2026. A fourth set in English has already been announced in the form of Chaos Rising, which is set to arrive on May 22nd.

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Pokemon TCG: Pitch Black is reportedly adapting the Japanese Abyss Eye Set with Mega Darkrai ex

The ongoing Mega Evolution era is expected to continue with another set called Pitch Black, according to a new report from PokeBeach. The English release is said to be based on the Abyss Eye expansion that The Pokemon Company announced in Japan on April 17th. While the full Abyss Eye card list has yet to be revealed, one of its cards may be Mega Darkrai ex, which has already been confirmed for the set. With his hard Night Raid attack and instant KO ability Abyss Eye, ex Mega Darkrai could appear as one of the Pokemon TCGstrongest former cards in recent years.

Mega Darkrai ex's basic attack, Night Raid, costs two basic darkness energy and deals 110 damage. However, its damage is doubled if the player has a benched Pokémon with damage tokens. Since this condition is relatively easy to meet, the card's attack could make it a strong choice in most phases of the match except the early game. Meanwhile, Abyss Eye adds utility by giving Mega Darkrai ex a three-energy instant KO move that works against any opponent affected by the special condition.

Pokemon TCG Japan release schedule

Date (2026)	Product	Comment
May 22	Abyss Eye Set	Contains Mega Darkrai ex
July 31st	Storm Emerald Set	Contains Mega Rayquaza ex
July 31st	Mega Starter Eevee ex Deck
July 31st	Mega Starter Meowscarada ex Deck
July 31st	Mega Starter Zoroark ex Deck
September 16	30th Celebration Set	Includes new card rarity
September 16	30th Celebration Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon
October 16	30th Anniversary Card Sets	Including 27 starter Pokemon.

The Abyss Eye set premieres in Japan on May 22nd, the same day Pokemon TCGThe Mega Evolution: Chaos Rising expansion is launching in North America. PokeBeach reports that Pitch Black will follow on July 17th. Based on the previous English language versions of Mega Evolution, the upcoming set will likely be on the smaller side. In addition to ex Mega Darkrai, The Pokemon Company's recent announcement revealed two more Abyss Eye cards: Dark Bell and Malamar. Dark Bell is a trainer card that confuses both players' active Pokemon unless they are dark type while Malamar is a new generation 6 dark/psychic pokemon that evolves from Inkay.

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The supposed English name of the Abyss Eye set is not a new invention, given that Darkrai is already known as a “Pitch-Black” Pokémon in the series' lore. The next western set after Pitch Black will most likely be based on Storm Emerald, the Mega Rayquaza-themed expansion that launches in Japan on July 31st.