Is that an eclipse? Nope, it’s Mega Darkrai! As Chaos Rising looms for English collectors, the Japanese Pokémon Abyss Eye expansion has been unveiled as the next major release, bringing the Gen IV Mythical as this set’s mascot (and presumably, a banger of a chase Pokémon card for it). If this Japanese expansion catches your eye, you won’t have to wait long to pick it up – though it looks like you’ll be paying a little more per pack.
Despite being a fairly prominent Mythical Pokémon from one of the best generations of the franchise (fight me), Darkrai hasn’t been a big part of the physical Pokémon TCG for quite some time. The last full art we got of the ‘mon was with Crown Zenith’s Galarian Gallery line, and before that, it was Astral Radiance. While I’m more partial to Giratina when it comes to creepy vibes, Darkrai is still a solid mascot for an expansion, and with Abyss Eye, its dark promise is finally coming to fruition.
As revealed by The Pokémon Company Japan, Abyss Eye expansion is set to release on Friday, May 22, 2026, in Japan, the same day as Chaos Rising’s English release. It marks the start of the TCG adding the new Mega Evolutions from the Legends Z-A DLC, which, as someone functionally addicted to that game, I’m rather excited about.
In a very fitting reveal, The Pokémon Company delayed the release of its trailer by four hours, just so it coincided precisely with the timing of the new moon – a nice touch! In the video, we see the sun plunged into darkness thanks to Mega Darkrai, plus the reveal of the standard Mega Darkrai ex, a Dark Bell card, and the official Japanese booster pack art.
Much like the last three standard Pokémon sets, Abyss Eye is a small expansion. While the number of Secret Rares and above has yet to be revealed, the trailer’s Mega Darkrai ex card shows us there are only 81 Pokémon cards in the base set. That’s the smallest of the cycle so far, with Perfect Order, Phantasmal Flames, and Chaos Rising having 88, 94, and 86, respectively. We’d expect it to be a similar number when Abyss Eye’s English counterpart arrives – that’s scheduled for July 2026.
This diminutive card total seems to be becoming a pattern, leading some fans to suspect ‘sub-100 cards’ may now be The Pokémon Company’s typical printing for each normal expansion. The last standard set with over 100 base cards was Mega Evolution, which had 132.
Abyss Eye will reportedly also be the first set to release with the new price increases, with each pack now selling for 200 Yen (up from 180). This will likely affect the booster boxes too – if you’re looking to buy some Japanese Pokémon from Dark Abyss onwards, expect somewhat higher prices on imported products.
While we have yet to wait for Mega Darkrai’s set to be announced in English, we’ll be sure to keep you updated, so make sure to join our free Wargamer Discord community to get the official announcement as it arrives! We expect it to be around Chaos Rising’s release date, based on previous set reveals.