The next Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Mega Evolution—Pitch Black, is coming soon, bringing heaps of mischief, malice, and Mega Evolution Pokémon ex. Ahead of the expansion’s release on July 17, 2026, we’re dispelling the darkness and illuminating five cards. From long-buried fossils to deep-ocean dwellers, there are many mysterious cards to discover in this expansion.
With steel claws spinning, Mega Excadrill ex is ready to carve out some heavy damage. When equipped with 
Energy, it can use Undermine to deliver 90 damage while discarding the top two cards of your opponent’s deck. And prepare for Maximum Drilling: this attack does 200 damage for , and if this Pokémon has two extra Energy attached, it can hit for 130 more. If you have a consistent way to power up and get Energy on the board, Mega Excadrill ex can be a truly destructive force.
Ready to unearth some exciting discoveries? This Stadium card allows you to dig through your deck for buried treasures! Once during each player’s turn, that player can search their deck for up to two Item cards with “Antique” in their name and put them on the Bench. There are two “Antique” fossil cards in this expansion, and it can be challenging to find them without a card that specifically searches for Items. Fossil Quarry helps circumvent those difficulties, allowing you to dust off these fossils and get them into play.
Relicanth may be old but it still knows some great tricks. Fossil Beatdown calls for a 
Energy to do 10 damage, but this attack does an additional 30 damage for each of your Benched Pokémon that has “Antique” in its name. Although this Pokémon is found in the deep sea rather than the dry Fossil Quarry, these two cards are incredibly harmonious! When played together, you can pull “Antique” cards to ensure Relicanth does solid damage.
Also on the ocean floor is Dhelmise, nearly blending in with the waving seaweed. This disguise is fitting, as this Pokémon works best in a deck that leverages the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability, which allows Pokémon to avoid the effects of attacks and Abilities. With Vengeful Anchor, Dhelmise does 30 damage for a 
Energy. But if four or more Pokémon with the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability are in the discard pile? This ghostly Pokémon doles out an additional 140 damage, making it a powerful player in a strategically sneaky deck.
Chi-Yu is swimming, too, but not in cool ocean waters. The Ruinous Pokémon comfortably floats through licking red-hot flames. Its only attack, Whirling Envy, does a minimum of 20 damage for a 
Energy, but if this Pokémon has two or more damage counters on it, it does 90 more damage. This is also the first time Chi-Yu has appeared as a Darkness type in the Pokémon TCG—really fitting the expansion’s title.
This is just a small glimpse at the more than 115 cards you can discover in the Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Pitch Black expansion, available July 17, 2026.
