Pokemon Pitch Black: Pull Rates & Chase Cards
The Pokemon TCG got a lot darker this summer. Mega Evolution—Pitch Black (set code ME05) is the fifth expansion in the Mega Evolution series, it landed on July 17, 2026, and it arrived wrapped in shadow behind a brand-new Mega Darkrai ex. Now that the set has been open for a few weeks, we no longer have to guess: real community pull-rate data, real card scans, and real market prices all exist. Here is our updated breakdown of the set — the chase cards, the actual odds, the products, and whether it is worth chasing.
What Is Mega Evolution—Pitch Black?
Pitch Black is the English-language adaptation of the Japanese Abyss Eye expansion, which launched on May 22, 2026. The two sets are near-identical in card roster, which gave collectors a two-month head start on market data before the English release — and, now that both markets are live, a useful check on how Japanese prices translate. The theme is exactly what the name promises: Darkness-type Pokemon, eerie nighttime illustrations, and a marquee Mega Evolution built around one of the franchise’s most iconic phantoms. This is a set with a strong artistic identity, and that identity is a big part of why its top cards have held their heat.
Pitch Black Release Date
Mega Evolution—Pitch Black released on July 17, 2026, following official prerelease events that ran July 4 through July 12 using the Build & Battle Box. The set is now widely available at retail and in the secondary market, and Standard-format play has already absorbed it. If you skipped the prerelease window, you have not missed anything you cannot still open today.
The Set at a Glance: 84 Cards Plus Secret Rares
Pitch Black is built on an 84-card base set, with secret rares numbered above that total and running all the way to #120/084. That gives a full master-set chase of 120 cards in the standard numbering, including more than 20 Trainer cards and a deep run of special illustrations covering both Pokemon and Trainers. The expansion is anchored by four Mega Evolution Pokemon ex: Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex, and Mega Excadrill ex. Each Mega ex carries the etched, textured foiling that has become a signature of the Mega Evolution series, and the secret-rare tier from #112 through #120 is where nearly all of the set’s long-term value lives.
Mega Darkrai ex: The Set’s Reason for Existing
Make no mistake — Pitch Black exists to sell Mega Darkrai ex. It is a Darkness-type Basic Pokemon with a hefty 280 HP. Its Dusk Raid attack hits for 110 damage, plus another 110 if your own Benched Pokemon are carrying damage counters — a genuinely unusual, self-referential drawback-turned-upside that rewards aggressive board states. Its signature Abyss Eye attack simply knocks out the opposing Active Pokemon outright if it is affected by any Special Condition. It is a playable card, but its collectible ceiling is what everyone is talking about. Mega Darkrai ex appears in multiple versions across the set, and two of them are the crown jewels of the entire release.
The Top 10 Chase Cards in Pitch Black
With the set open and prices settling, here is how we rank the ten cards worth chasing, from the ultimate pull down. Card numbers are listed so you know exactly what you are looking at — all of them verified against the released English scans.
- Mega Darkrai ex — Gold Mega Hyper Rare (#120/084). The rarest pull in the set and the hardest to find. The gold-etched 5ban Graphics treatment makes this the definitive Pitch Black grail, and community data puts it deep into case-hit territory.
- Mega Darkrai ex — Special Illustration Rare (#116/084). Illustrated by the acclaimed Akira Egawa, this SIR renders Mega Darkrai as an eldritch mass of shadow shot through with sickly green light. It is the marquee art card of the set and the single most valuable card in ME05 by a wide margin.
- Gwynn — Supporter SIR (#119/084). A full-art Trainer SIR by Naoki Saito, showing Gwynn alongside her Chandelure. Trainer SIRs of popular characters consistently outperform expectations, and this one is the top Supporter in the set.
- Morpeko ex — SIR (#117/084). Art by NC Empire, catching Morpeko mid-Hangry in a burst of magenta and black. A stable, well-liked Pokemon SIR and the only non-Mega Pokemon to get the treatment.
- Mega Zeraora ex — SIR (#114/084). Art by GIDORA. The set’s secondary Mega, wreathed in electric blue, and a strong SIR in its own right.
- Mega Chandelure ex — SIR (#115/084). A gorgeous 350 HP Ghost-flavored SIR by REND that leans all the way into the set’s pitch-black theme.
- Gladion’s Final Battle — Supporter SIR (#118/084). A full-art Gladion Supporter by DOM; lower demand than Gwynn but a genuine secret rare with real character pull.
- Rust Syndicate Grunt — Supporter SIR (#112/084). The villain-team Supporter SIR by Teeziro, and the entry point to the secret-rare tier.
- Tremendous Bomb — Pokemon Tool SIR (#113/084). An item-art secret rare by inose yukie — unusual, striking, and a sleeper for full-art Trainer collectors.
- Full-Art Zarude — Elite Trainer Box promo. Guaranteed in every ETB, this exclusive Zarude is the accessible chase for collectors who would rather not gamble on pack odds.
One notable absence: Mega Excadrill ex did not receive a Special Illustration Rare and tops out as a Full Art Ultra Rare, which keeps it well below the other three Megas in value.
Pitch Black Pull Rates
This is the section everyone asks about, so here is the honest version. The Pokemon Company does not publish official pull rates. Everything below is aggregated from post-release community data — published box-opening studies, pull-rate trackers, and reported samples ranging from roughly 55 packs up to 750-plus packs. Treat these as ranges and tendencies, not guarantees. Small samples swing wildly, and the rarest cards in particular are reported inconsistently precisely because so few people pull them.
Per-pack odds (community aggregate)
- Double Rare (regular Pokemon ex): about 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 packs (~21–25%)
- Illustration Rare: about 1 in 9 packs (~11%)
- Ultra Rare (Full Art ex or Supporter): roughly 1 in 12 to 1 in 20 packs (~5–8%)
- Any Special Illustration Rare: roughly 1 in 80 to 1 in 120 packs (~0.8–1.25%)
- Gold Mega Hyper Rare (#120): roughly 1 in 750 to 1 in 1,100 packs (~0.1%)
What that means per 36-pack booster box
- ~7–9 regular Pokemon ex per box
- ~4–5 Illustration Rares per box
- ~2–3 Ultra Rares / Full Arts per box
- ~2 shiny or holo energy per box
- Roughly one Special Illustration Rare every 3–4 boxes — not one per box
- Roughly one Gold Mega Hyper Rare every 20–30 boxes — true case-hit territory
One frequently cited study of 753 packs (about 21 boxes) found that 41% of packs contained an ex or better, and that both premium Darkrai cards — the #116 SIR and the #120 gold — turned up exactly once across the entire run. Another widely shared opening of 55 packs pulled five Illustration Rares and five Ultra Rares but zero Special Illustration Rares. That gap between the two results is the single most important thing to understand about pull rates: the average is real, but almost nobody actually experiences the average.
The odds on a specific card
Here is the part that trips people up. “One SIR every 3–4 boxes” does not mean one Darkrai SIR every 3–4 boxes. The secret-rare tier spans #112 through #119, so any given SIR you pull is most likely not the one you wanted. Community estimates put a specific Special Illustration Rare — the Egawa Mega Darkrai ex among them — somewhere in the range of 1 in 500 to 1 in 750 packs, or roughly one every 15 to 20 booster boxes. Reported sample runs bear this out: a 500-pack run framed entirely around hunting the Darkrai chases hit neither of them.
The practical takeaway: Illustration Rares and Full Arts make opening Pitch Black genuinely fun, and you will get plenty of them. But if a specific card is the goal — the Egawa Darkrai, or the gold — the math almost always favors buying the single over opening toward it. Knowing these odds is the single most useful tool for spending your money wisely.
Elite Trainer Box vs. Booster Box
The two flagship sealed products serve different buyers. The Elite Trainer Box (ETB) carries a $49.99 MSRP and includes 9 booster packs, an exclusive Full-Art Zarude promo, 65 card sleeves, 40 energy cards, dice, a coin, and a storage box. It is the best pick for players and casual collectors who want accessories and a guaranteed promo. The booster box holds 36 packs and offers the best cost-per-pack ratio, making it the tool of choice for anyone seriously hunting Special Illustration Rares. As with most Mega Evolution–era releases, street prices on both have run above MSRP since launch on strong demand. If your goal is the artwork, buy the box; if your goal is value plus a guaranteed card, buy the ETB.
The Other Products: Blisters, Bundles, and Build & Battle
Beyond the headline boxes, Pitch Black shipped with a full product line. The Build & Battle Box (used at prereleases) pairs a ready-to-play deck with four boosters and is a fantastic low-commitment entry. Sealed hunters can also find a Booster Bundle, a 3-pack blister with a Binacle promo, premium checklane blisters featuring Gengar and Luxray, standard checklane blisters with Aurorus and Tyrantrum, and a single-pack blister with a Slowpoke promo. There is also a Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Box with 11 packs and a stamped Zarude promo for collectors who want the exclusive version.
Investment Outlook: Is Pitch Black Worth It?
Early market reaction has been strong at the top and soft everywhere else. In the first weeks after release the Egawa Mega Darkrai ex SIR (#116) established itself as the most valuable card in the set by a wide margin, trading in the neighborhood of $290–$300 as of early August 2026 after cooling roughly 13% from its launch-week highs — a completely normal post-release settle as supply from opened boxes hits the market. The gold Mega Hyper Rare (#120) has held around the $500 mark. Below those two, prices fall off sharply, which is the same polarization pattern the Mega Evolution era has shown all year: the top two or three cards carry the set, and the rest of the secret-rare tier settles into double digits.
The case for Pitch Black is that Darkrai is a perennial fan-favorite whose cards tend to hold value across generations — character demand, not just scarcity, underpins the price — and the Egawa artwork is the kind of piece people buy for the art alone. The risk is the usual one: modern sets are printed in enormous quantities, sealed prices typically soften in the months after launch, and the singles you actually want command a premium precisely because pulling them is so unlikely. Our honest take: buy sealed for the fun of opening and long-term speculation, but if you specifically want the top chases, buying graded or raw singles is usually the smarter dollar-for-dollar move.
Pitch Black at Bad Moon Rising
Good news since we first published this guide: we secured allocation, and Pitch Black is in stock. We carry both flagship sealed products — the 36-pack booster box for SIR hunters and the Elite Trainer Box with its guaranteed Full-Art Zarude promo — alongside a deep selection of other Mega Evolution–era Pokemon product. Everything ships factory sealed at a flat $5 rate, and shipping is free on orders over $300.
Shop Related Products
Pitch Black is now in stock at Bad Moon Rising! Chase Mega Darkrai ex with the Pitch Black Booster Box ($225.99) or the Pitch Black Elite Trainer Box ($77.99). Rounding out the Mega Evolution era, we also stock the Perfect Order Booster Box, the Ascended Heroes ETB, and the Mega Charizard X ex Ultra-Premium Collection — or browse the full Pokemon collection. Factory sealed with $5 flat rate shipping — free over $300.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the pull rates for Pokemon Pitch Black?
The Pokemon Company does not publish official odds, but community data from post-release openings puts Illustration Rares at about 1 in 9 packs, Full Art Ultra Rares at roughly 1 in 12 to 1 in 20, any Special Illustration Rare at roughly 1 in 80 to 1 in 120 packs (about one per 3–4 booster boxes), and the gold Mega Darkrai ex Mega Hyper Rare (#120) at roughly 1 in 750 to 1 in 1,100 packs — about one per 20–30 boxes.
How many hits are in a Pitch Black booster box?
A 36-pack booster box averages roughly 7–9 regular Pokemon ex, 4–5 Illustration Rares, 2–3 Full Art Ultra Rares, and about 2 shiny or holo energy. One study of 753 packs found 41% of packs contained an ex or better. A Special Illustration Rare is not guaranteed in a box — expect roughly one every three to four boxes.
When did Pokemon Pitch Black release?
Mega Evolution—Pitch Black released on July 17, 2026, following prerelease events held July 4 through July 12, 2026. It is the English adaptation of the Japanese Abyss Eye set from May 2026.
What is the best chase card in Pitch Black?
The two headliners are the Mega Darkrai ex Special Illustration Rare (#116/084) by Akira Egawa, which is the most valuable card in the set at roughly $290–$300 in early August 2026, and the Mega Darkrai ex Gold Mega Hyper Rare (#120/084), the rarest pull in the set at around one per 20–30 booster boxes and roughly $500.
Should I buy an Elite Trainer Box or a booster box?
Choose the ETB (9 packs, $49.99 MSRP) if you want accessories and a guaranteed Full-Art Zarude promo. Choose the 36-pack booster box if you want the best cost-per-pack and are actively hunting Special Illustration Rares — though even then, expect roughly one SIR every three to four boxes.
Is Pitch Black worth investing in?
The top singles — the gold Darkrai and the Egawa SIR — have strong long-term potential thanks to Darkrai’s enduring popularity, though both have cooled from launch-week highs. Sealed product is fun to open but typically softens after launch, so many collectors find buying the specific chase cards as singles to be the better value.
Does Bad Moon Rising sell Pitch Black?
Yes. We stock the Pitch Black Booster Box and the Pitch Black Elite Trainer Box, along with a wide range of other Mega Evolution–era Pokemon products. All orders ship factory sealed with $5 flat-rate shipping and free shipping on orders over $300.
