Abyss Eye lands in Japan — the Pitch Black preview UK collectors actually need
Mega Darkrai ex SAR by Akira Egawa was the centrepiece nobody saw coming at this scale. With the JP set live since 22 May and Pitch Black due 17 July, here's the unvarnished read on which chase pulls are worth pre-ordering — and which to wait out.
Abyss Eye (M5) went live in Japan on 22 May 2026, and the conversation around the set crystallised in the first 24 hours around a single card: Mega Darkrai ex SAR, illustration 114/081, by Akira Egawa.
Egawa's recent run of Mega era illustrations — across Symphonia and now Abyss Eye — has positioned them as the artist most TCG collectors are now watching by name rather than by Pokémon. The Darkrai SAR doubles down on what Egawa does best: dense atmospheric horror, near-monochrome palette, and a sense that the card is in motion even when the camera is still. It is, by collective JP-Twitter consensus, the strongest SAR of the Mega era to date.
What the set actually contains
The full Abyss Eye card list runs to 118 cards: 81 base set numbers plus 37 above the regulation mark split across AR, SR, SAR and the newly-introduced MUR (Mega Ultra Rare) rarity tier. Pokémon Japan confirmed the complete list on 15 May, ahead of the 22 May release.
The seven cards that matter for collectors: Mega Zeraora ex SAR (112/081), Mega Chandelure ex SAR (113/081), Mega Darkrai ex SAR (114/081), Morpeko ex SAR (115/081), Gladion's Fighting Spirit SAR (116/081), Gwynn SAR (117/081), and the Mega Darkrai ex MUR (118/081) as the highest-numbered and rarest card in the set. Mega Excadrill ex anchors the base set as one of the set's Mega Pokémon ex — note that Excadrill receives the base Mega ex treatment rather than an SAR slot, unlike the three Mega SARs above.
Two structural details worth knowing. First, Gladion's Fighting Spirit SAR forms a connected illustration with the Silvally AR at 093/081 — the two cards pair edge-to-edge to complete a single artwork spanning both. Connected-art Trainer SARs have historically appreciated faster than standalone Trainer pulls in the secondary market. Second, the MUR rarity is genuinely new — distinct from both the MHR (Matte Holo Rare) seen in earlier Mega sets and the EN UR gold-stamp tier. It pairs the matte surface treatment with the highest pull rarity in the set.
What Pitch Black inherits
Pitch Black (ME5) drops 17 July 2026 — a 56-day JP-to-EN window, slightly shorter than the average across the Mega era. The set will share the Abyss Eye chase pool one-to-one with EN-specific numbering above 118, plus the standard EN expansion (typically 30-50 additional cards: extra SIR Trainer slots, full-art Pokémon ex variants, and a UR gold-stamp tier that the JP base does not carry).
For UK collectors deciding now: the Pokémon Center UK pre-order window has historically opened 30-45 days before EN release. Expect pre-order availability around 1-15 June, with allocation tiers as the deciding factor. The Mega Darkrai SAR specifically is going to be the headline pull every retailer features in their ETB and booster bundle marketing — which means it will also be the card most commonly pulled, and prices will settle accordingly within 60 days of EN release.
Where the actual money is
The chase pulls most likely to hold value beyond the launch window are the Gladion connected-art SAR and the Mega Darkrai MUR. Connected-art Trainer SARs are a recent collector category that has consistently outperformed standalone Trainer alt-arts in pricing data over 2024-2025. The MUR is the structurally rarest card in the set; pull rates are not yet confirmed but will be meaningfully lower than the SAR tier.
The Mega Darkrai SAR itself is the cultural centrepiece but not necessarily the financial one. It will be the most-pulled chase by volume, which moderates ceiling pricing. Buy it for the illustration, not the appreciation curve.
Skip the standard SR Mega ex variants unless you are completing the set. SR pricing in Mega era sets has tracked at 30-40% of the corresponding SAR — a known dynamic since Inferno X.
What to do this week
Sign up for Chaos Cards' Pitch Black lottery the moment it opens (typically mid-June for a Mega set this size). The lottery system is the highest-probability route to MSRP allocation in the UK and has the strongest track record for fairness of any UK retailer this cycle. Pokémon Center UK will drop allocation on a Thursday with no functional pre-warning; have payment saved and the SKU bookmarked.
For JP imports: the secondary market for sealed Abyss Eye boxes has stabilised between ¥18,000-22,000 in the first week, which converts to roughly £100-125 at current FX before shipping and the inevitable Royal Mail handling fee on declared values above £135. Importing a single box from a reputable JP seller (Yahoo Auctions Japan via a proxy service, or direct from Japanese hobby shops like Hareruya) is breakeven at best versus EN sealed pricing — the import play is only sensible if you specifically want JP cardstock or are gunning for the JP holo finish.