The full list of SIR and IR cards from Pitch Black is starting to emerge, as the Pokémon TCG set is releasing in Japan this week (or rather, its equivalent, Abyss Eye). The highlight, by far, is the Special Illustrated Rare for Mega Darkrai, the set’s headliner card. It has got to be the most badass Pokémon card of 2026 so far, and I don’t even think it’s a close call.
Forget the golden Darkrai, this is the card I’ll be hoping for if I ever manage to get my grubby mitts on this set (though I know beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to rare Pokémon cards).
Personally, I’m not even the biggest fan of Mega Darkrai’s design. I get what they were going for, creating a ‘final boss’ type monster, but I wish Gamefreak could’ve done that without turning the iconic Pokémon bogeyman into some sort of big inflatable float. But with this SIR (or SAR I should say for now), artist Akira Egawa has absolutely knocked the Pokéball out of the stadium.
She’s done this by focusing on the coolest aspect of Mega Darkrai – its ‘evil eye’ motif. In the Mega Darkrai card, its head isn’t retracted to reveal the red eyeball design, but instead the whole entity has taken on the appearance of a ghostly eye, with the Pokémon’s tentacles forming black veins.
Streams of texture absolutely coat the card. The amorphous shapes are hard to focus on, which draws your own eye to the eldritch abomination in the center, the void beast staring back at you.
It must be said, Egawa has been absolutely killing it lately, with a distinctive artstyle that rivals Shinji Kando’s for recognizability. Her most famous work remains the VSTAR Legendary Pokémon cards from Crown Zenith, or either version of terastallized dark-type charizard, but in the Mega Evolution era cards featuring Hawlucha and Latias star her art, and it’s frankly a crime that this Zoroark art from Pocket isn’t appearing on a physical card.
No matter. I can still get this Darkrai when Pitch Black comes out. This set has wonderfully spooky vibes, with Chandelure and the Ghost-type trainer Gwynn also receiving SIRs which will likely be competing for top spot.
Outside of Japan, we’ve still got a while to wait, however. The worldwide release date is not until July 17 – peak spooky season!
If you’ve been gawping at the pretty new cards too, share your favorites over at the Wargamer Discord.
Source: Wargamer
