Pitch Black Chase Card Prices: Day-One Reality Check

Pitch Black released on July 17, 2026, and its Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex is already trading for $996.69 on TCGplayer. That's the single most expensive card in the set on day one, with the Special Illustration Rare version of the same Pokemon right behind it at $520.27. Here's the full day-one price sheet, what it means against the set's booster box cost, and what the last Mega Evolution launch says happens to these numbers next.

What is Pitch Black's most valuable chase card?

The Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex (#120/084) is Pitch Black's priciest card at $996.69 on TCGplayer as of July 17, 2026, the set's release day. It's the all-gold treatment reserved for the set's headline Mega Evolution, and it's the only card in the lineup flirting with four figures on launch day itself.

Three other cards round out the early chase list, all Special Illustration Rares pulled straight from TCGplayer's release-day tracking:

Card	Number	Rarity	Price (July 17, 2026)
Mega Darkrai ex	120/084	Mega Hyper Rare	$996.69
Mega Darkrai ex	116/084	Special Illustration Rare	$520.27
Morpeko ex	117/084	Special Illustration Rare	$192.98
Mega Zeraora ex	114/084	Special Illustration Rare	$171.34

Source: TCGplayer market prices as reported by IBTimes Australia, July 17, 2026.

Notice what's missing: Mega Chandelure ex and Mega Excadrill ex, the other two headline Megas Pokemon.com named when it first announced the set, aren't showing up in the early top-four. That's normal for a set this fresh — pull data is thin, and prices this early are really a measure of who wants a copy in hand today, not a stable read on scarcity. Pitch Black totals 120 cards (an 84-card base set plus 36 secret rares), the smallest Mega Evolution expansion yet, which is part of why the top slots are so top-heavy on one Pokemon.

Is the Mega Hyper Rare actually worth 2x the Special Illustration Rare?

Right now, yes: the Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex is priced at roughly 1.9x its own Special Illustration Rare counterpart, a gap driven purely by rarity tier rather than artwork, since MHRs use the same subject in an all-foil gold treatment while SIRs get the wide, character-focused illustration. Collectors chasing the art tend to prefer the SIR; collectors chasing the flex tend to pay up for the MHR. Both are legitimate holds today, but the last Mega Evolution launch suggests they won't stay this close for long.

What happened to Mega Hyper Rare prices after the last Mega Evolution set launched?

They fell hard within months. In the original ME01 "Mega Evolution" base set (released September 2025), Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex Mega Hyper Rares — both launched near the $1,000 mark, the same territory Mega Darkrai ex is in today — had dropped 29% and 19% respectively by that December, settling around $500 and $300. Mega Charizard X ex from the same set fell even further, from an $899 high down to roughly $400, a 49% drop, per Wargamer's TCGplayer price tracking.

That's the pattern worth knowing before you chase a $996 card on release day: Mega Hyper Rares in this block have consistently cooled 20% to 50% within ten to eleven weeks of launch, as more boxes get opened and early scarcity fades. Pitch Black is the smallest set in the block, which could support prices better than ME01's 188-card spread did — but it's also the fifth English release in the same mechanic, and novelty fatigue has been visible in the block's other recent price data. Betting on Mega Darkrai ex holding near $1,000 through the fall is the riskier side of that trade.

Is the $160.99 booster box or $49.99 Elite Trainer Box worth buying at these prices?

At today's chase-card prices, a booster box is a bet on getting lucky, not a break-even purchase — Best Buy lists the 36-pack Pitch Black booster box at $160.99 and the Elite Trainer Box at $49.99, and neither price moves regardless of what your packs contain. Whether that box math actually clears depends on how often those Special Illustration Rares and the Mega Hyper Rare show up per case, which is a pull-rate question, not a pricing one — Valusaur's Pitch Black pull rate breakdown has the box-opening math against these exact numbers if you're deciding whether to crack a box or buy singles.

The short version for singles buyers: at $520 for the SIR alone, one card already costs more than three sealed booster boxes. If you're after that specific card, buying the single directly is usually the lower-variance move over opening packs hoping to hit it.

Should you buy Pitch Black chase cards now, or wait?

Wait if you're buying to hold, buy now only if you want the card in hand today. History in this exact block says Mega Hyper Rares give back a fifth to half their launch price within about two to three months as supply catches up with day-one hype, and Pitch Black's four visible chase cards are all still in that first 24 hours of trading where prices are the least stable they'll ever be. If Mega Darkrai ex follows Mega Lucario ex's curve, the Mega Hyper Rare could be closer to $700 by early October; if it follows Mega Charizard X ex's steeper drop, it could be under $500. Neither outcome favors buying today unless you specifically want to own the card through the hype window, not resell it.

This is also exactly the kind of swing that's easy to miss if you're not tracking it. Scanning your own Pitch Black pulls into Valusaur gives you a live TCGplayer and Cardmarket read on every card the moment you pull it, so you can see in real time whether a card is still climbing or already rolling over — rather than checking back in October to find out you held through the drop.

Two of Pitch Black's presale predictions are also worth revisiting now that real trading has started: our presale price check flagged Mega Darkrai ex trading for hundreds of dollars before release even opened, and the chase-card cooling piece tracked collector spending already shifting away from older Mega Evolution cards toward this set in the week before launch. Day-one numbers confirm both calls: the money did move to Pitch Black, and Mega Darkrai ex opened right where the presale data pointed.

FAQ

What is the most expensive card in Pitch Black? The Mega Hyper Rare Mega Darkrai ex (#120/084) is the most expensive card in the set, priced at $996.69 on TCGplayer as of the set's July 17, 2026 release day.

How many cards are in the Pitch Black set? Pitch Black contains 120 cards total: an 84-card base set plus 36 secret rares, making it the smallest expansion in the Mega Evolution block so far.

Will Mega Darkrai ex's price drop after release? Likely yes, based on the block's own history. The prior Mega Evolution base set's Mega Hyper Rares (Lucario, Gardevoir, Charizard X) all launched near $900-$1,000 and fell 19% to 49% within about two to three months as more copies entered circulation.

Is the Pitch Black booster box worth buying at $160.99? Only if you're opening for fun or a full set, not for guaranteed profit — box math depends entirely on pull rates for the SIRs and the Mega Hyper Rare, which is covered in detail in Valusaur's Pitch Black pull-rate breakdown.

Should I buy Mega Darkrai ex now or wait for the price to settle? Wait if you're buying purely as an investment. If you want the card for your own collection and don't mind paying the day-one premium, buying now guarantees you get a copy before scarcity or hype pushes it higher in either direction.