The Pokemon Trading Card Game’s Mega Evolution era has been around for a little under a year now. It has included some of the best sets in the TCG’s long history, including a personal favorite of mine, Ascended Heroes, as well as the likes of Chaos Rising, Phantasmal Flames, and the upcoming Storm Emerelda, which features an incredible Mega Rayquaza ex card.
It looks, though, as though this era is soon to be coming to an end, as revealed during the Pokemon World Championships closing ceremony, is its successor: the ex★ Series.
Pokemon TCG’s ex★ Series Has Officially Been Revealed, Will Replace The Mega Evolution Series
Before the Mega Evolution era fades into the background, The Pokemon Company revealed a bunch of new Mega Attack Rare cards coming in future sets. These include Mega Rayquaza ex, Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Greninja ex, Mega Zygarde ex, and, making its Pokemon TCG debut, Mega Lucario Z ex.
The wording, which details that Mega Lucario Z will mark “the debut of Z Mega Evolution Pokémon in the iconic game,” implies that the Mega Evolution era will be sticking around for a while. Pokemon like Mega Absol Z, Mega Garchomp Z, and Mega Raichu X and Y still need to debut before the era is set to sunset.
Mega Lucario Z’s appearance will almost certainly come in the next Japanese set, Aura Seeker, releasing in November, and the others will likely appear in the TCG’s next special set, the already-trademarked MEGA x MEGA Parade. This special set will likely be akin to Crown Zenith and Ascended Heroes before it, containing dozens of exciting cards, and could prove the perfect farewell to the Mega Evolution era before we move to the ex★ Series.
A new Pokemon TCG era almost always accompanies a new Pokemon video game. The Scarlet and Violet TCG era was ushered in alongside the games of the same name, and Mega Evolution accompanied Pokemon Legends: Z-A. The new ex★ Series is likely to accompany Pokemon Winds and Waves, which is due for release in 2027.
Limited details were shared about the ex★ series, but we did get a teaser featuring Johto’s Legendary Beasts, Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. The Pokemon Company teased that “more details will be shared in the future,” and fans are desperately hoping for a Johto-focused set similar to the massively popular Kanto-themed 151.
There were tons of other great announcements during the Pokemon World Championships closing ceremony, including news of a Pokemon returning to Pokemon Go for the first time in six years.
- Original Release Date
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October 20, 1996
- Player Count
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2
- Age Recommendation
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6+
- Length per Game
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Variable
- Franchise Name
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Pokemon
