New Mega Rayquaza Sets Launching for Pokémon TCG, Both Online and Offline

There’s no downtime for Pokémon trading card game enthusiasts. The Pokémon Company has just unveiled Mega Rayquaza-themed sets for both the physical TCG and the mobile game Pokémon TCG Pocket. The physical expansion, Mega Evolution—Delta Reigns, is set to launch on November 8. Meanwhile, Pocket’s Ruler of the Skies pack is scheduled for release in July.

The announcement for the mobile game was unexpected, as it fell outside the usual update schedule. Ruler of the Skies isn’t the immediate next expansion for Pokémon TCG Pocket; it’s actually two releases away. Following the typical release pattern, the currently unnamed set B3b will drop on July 2, with Ruler of the Skies following on July 30. The latest expansion, Paradox Drive, focuses on Future and Ancient Pokémon, featuring powerful cards like Koraidon and Myradon ex that have quickly become essential in the metagame. This set was released on May 28.

For the physical TCG, the most recent set was Chaos Rising, which spotlighted Mega Floette ex. The upcoming expansion, Pitch Black, is set to arrive on July 17 and will center around Mega Darkrai ex. Pre-sales for Pitch Black faced significant challenges, with some fans enduring nine-hour waits due to overwhelming demand. The official site experienced crashes and random refreshes, causing users to be sent back to the end of the queue. The excitement surrounding Pokémon card releases has reached a fever pitch: retailers are employing increasingly inventive strategies to combat scalpers, grading services are overwhelmed, and there have even been card heists involving chainsaws.

In other Pokémon news, the competitive battle simulator Pokémon Champions launched on mobile yesterday, introducing a new wave of creatures that are likely to shake up the metagame, including Mega Staraptor and Mega Raichu X/Y. Additionally, Jirachi will be arriving in Pokémon Pokopia on June 23, along with new furniture and décor. It’s clear that thirty years later, the franchise is more popular than ever.