Get a Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Pitch Black Build & Battle Box Early

The latest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Mega Evolution—Pitch Black, arrives July 17, 2026, but you can visit your local game store to play with it early! Starting July 4, 2026, select Play! Pokémon Stores will begin selling the Mega Evolution—Pitch Black Build & Battle Box, giving Trainers a chance to have a Prerelease battle and experience the latest expansion before its official release date. To find a Prerelease event near you, be sure to use the Event Locator.

In the Prerelease format, players compete using a 40-card deck with four Prize cards set aside at the start of play, as opposed to a 60-card deck with six Prize cards. Prerelease is perfect for introducing new Trainers to the exciting world of the Pokémon TCG with quick, fun games, and it gives seasoned Trainers a window into everything Mega Evolution—Pitch Black has to offer. Due to the limited card pool and the variance of cards that can be acquired in a Build & Battle Box, Prerelease events are a great opportunity to flex your creative deck-building muscles.

Each Build & Battle Box includes four Mega Evolution—Pitch Black booster packs and a 40-card, ready-to-play deck featuring key cards from current and prior expansions, as well as one of four unique foil promo cards. Depending on which promo card you get, you could be playing with the always-electric Miraidon, carefree Slowbro, sneaky Dhelmise, or bulwark Bastiodon.

Get charged up and ready to battle with the shocking power of Miraidon! This Legendary Pokémon is known for its speed, and this Prerelease promo card is no different. Its Thunder attack does 90 damage for just and is great for putting on the pressure early. Miraidon will do 30 damage to itself, but that’s conducive to your plans. Once it gets Knocked Out in the Active Spot, you can use its Photon Cord Ability to power up your next attacker on the Bench—Vikavolt!

Vikavolt (and its Evolution chain) will be found in your 40-card deck alongside Miraidon, and it’s packing some seriously galvanic power. For just , its Giga Railgun attack can Knock Out just about any Pokémon without a Rule Box. The catch? You need to have a Voltaic Energy attached to Vikavolt, or that attack does nothing. You’ll find Voltaic Energy in your Build & Battle Box too, and remember, it powers up all your -type Pokémon’s attacks.

Don’t be afraid to go All Out if Slowbro is your Prerelease promo card this time around! The Hermit Crab Pokémon threatens an outstanding 210 damage for just one Energy, but only if you have no cards in hand. Dumping your hand is far from a common strategy, but cards like Ultra Ball and Prism Tower will be included in your 40-card deck to effectively thin things down. If you’re feeling extra confident, you can use Slowpoke’s All-You-Can-Yeet attack to set up some serious damage after it evolves.

Slowbro is set to KO most Pokémon in the Prerelease format when it can swing for 210 damage, but what do you do when it can’t? You can attach Ignition Energy to immediately fulfill the cost of its Zen Headbutt attack. It’s not as exciting, but 110 damage can usually help get the job done. When you’re in desperate need of cards to evolve your next Slowpoke or power up your next Slowbro, look no further than Silvally’s Call a Buddy Ability, which can grab you a Supporter card in a pinch!

Dhelmise and friends may be playing sneaky games, but you won’t want to miss their spectral shenanigans. Dhelmise is showing up to the Prerelease party with an Energy-efficient, hard-hitting attack that rivals both Vikavolt and Slowbro. Its Vengeful Anchor attack ordinarily does 30 damage for one Energy but does 140 more damage if you have four or more Pokémon that have the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability in your discard pile.

Dhelmise itself doesn’t have the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability, so you’ll need a bit of help from its ghostly pal Banette to get the damage rolling. Banette’s Puppet Pull attack only does 80 damage but lets you search your deck for any card—an extremely valuable effect, especially in the Prerelease format. You can use this to find Energy cards, useful Trainer cards, or more Pokémon with the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability.

Sinistcha and the Pokémon that it evolves from, Poltchageist, both have the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability to help fulfill the condition of Dhelmise’s Vengeful Anchor attack, but Sinistcha can apply plenty of pressure on its own. Once you get six Pokémon with the Hide ’n’ Sneak Ability into the discard pile, its Matcha Spin attack can place four damage counters on each of your opponent’s Pokémon, threatening lower-HP Pokémon or setting up future Knock Outs with Dhelmise. Think through your turns, because this combination is especially ghoulish.

While other Prerelease promo cards from this expansion are all about hitting high damage numbers quickly, Bastiodon is here to bring some balance with its stalwart presence. As long as Bastiodon is on your Bench, its Ancient Bulwark Ability protects all of your Pokémon from attacks from your opponent’s Pokémon that have two or less Energy attached. Miraidon, Slowbro, and Dhelmise can all attack for less Energy than that, so your opponent will have to adapt to get through your defenses!

Bastiodon has a great Ability, but getting it into play can be tricky because it originally evolves from the Item card Antique Armor Fossil. The new Fossil Quarry Stadium card can make your prehistoric dreams a reality; it lets you search your deck for up to two Item cards with “Antique” in their name and put them directly onto your Bench. Skarmory is here too as an efficient early-game attacker that discards Energy for Philippe to recycle later.

Whether you’re heading to a local game store or just playing with a friend, you’re in for some quick and fun battles with cards from the new Mega Evolution—Pitch Black expansion! If you’re not able to make it to a Prerelease event, these Build & Battle Boxes will be available for purchase when the expansion officially launches.