I Pulled a First-of-Its-Kind Pokemon Card

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I’ve always wanted to be the very best that no one ever was. I’m an Aries, after all, and we’re as competitive as they come.

This arbitrary desire for greatness has bled into my hobbies over the years, driving me to complete niche toy collections and excavate rare dolls and collectibles from garage sales, flea markets, and overpriced antique malls. My Pokémon card collection, as specific as it is — I pride myself on my sprawling arsenal of ultra-cutesy cards some might label “girly,” to no great personal offense — is no different.

I’ve been collecting Pokémon cards since they were first released in the U.S. all the way back in 1999. (December 1998, technically. Am I unc? Are the kids still saying unc?) Back then I had a big, white binder splattered with tacky holographic vending machine stickers, inside of which contained my 1st. Ed. Base Set Charizard (no big deal) and his buddies Blastoise and Venusaur, among hundreds of other Pokemon in cardboard form, including the first card I ever traded for: Dragonair. (That binder was my prized possession. Don’t ask me where it is today; I’ll crash out and it’ll be trying for all involved.)

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Nearly 30 years later and I still collect Pokémon cards to this day. Of course, it’s one of the very best and worst times for the hobby — best considering all the incredible merch, events, and games available, not to mention the ever-growing fandom and community through which I’ve personally built wonderful friendships; worst for, well, just the card scalpers, really. (Good luck finding Pokémon cards in retail stores these days if you live in a highly populated area and aren’t in an in-the-know Discord or cannot wait around all day hoping for a restock. They fly off the shelves before they even hit them, but thankfully The Pokémon Company and Nintendo are actively working to solve the problem for fans.)

But back to it being the best time for the hobby: In the midst of Mega Evolution, the current Pokémon TCG era introduced in September 2025 in conjunction with the Pokémon Legends: Z-A video game, exciting new Pokémon TCG expansion sets are rolling out nearly every other month. The latest set, out this month, is Pitch Black.

Centered on the Dark-type Mythical Pokémon Mega Darkrai, whose base form was introduced back in Generation IV, Pitch Black is a dark-themed expansion set featuring nightmarish themes and mysterious inter-dimensional Pokémon in a battle between darkness and light (or lightning, rather, with Mega Zeraora). As ScreenCrush’s resident horror girlie and lover of all things spooky, that’s right up my alley.

The Pokémon Company was kind enough to send me some of the product lineup from Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution—Pitch Black to unbox, including the Pitch Black Elite Trainer Box, Pitch Black Booster Bundle, Pitch Black Booster Box, and Pitch Black Build and Battle Box. I’m stoked to report I was able to pull a few of my personal chase cards from the set, including a rather historic card for the Pokémon TCG.

Outside of playability — which as a collector, and not a TCG player, I cannot speak to, though I really ought to get on with learning the game already — there are a handful of uniquely striking cards in the set. Let’s get into it.

The Slowbro Illustration Rare (087/081) gives one of Pokémon’s silliest creatures an equally silly card thanks to charming artwork by Mékayu. It’s positively delightful (just look at that doofy little face) and I need it. Then there’s the Dhelmise Illustration Rare (091/084) I pulled, which features spooky nautical artwork (it reminds me of The Fog) and hidden Ghost-type Pokémon cameos (Pokaméos?) in the background. There’s also the bold Morpeko ex Special Illustration Rare (117/084), which packs a visual punch as the hamster-inspired ‘mon nearly pops off the card in a fit of hangry rage. (Relatable.)

The star of the show is, of course, the Mega Darkrai ex Special Illustration Rare (116/084). The card, which positions the inter-dimensional Pokémon as an imposing, all-seeing eye straight from the depths of your darkest nightmares, features sinister, intricate artwork by Akira Egawa. The artist, who has been designing Pokémon cards since 2019, is known for her effortlessly cool, painterly style and emphasis on movement, something she nails with the menacing Mega Darkrai, whose phantasmagorical shadows appear to oscillate straight off the shiny cardboard.

I didn’t pull the Mega Darkrai ex SIR during my frenzied ripping session. Instead, I pulled the Goldeen Illustration Rare (087/084), though by my reaction you would have thought I pulled a gold Mega Hyper Rare. You see, Goldeen is one of the original 151 Pokémon — the deeply nostalgic ones I grew up with as a kid — and in nearly three decades of the TCG, Goldeen has never been the subject of a full-art card. Goldeen’s serene, aquatic Pitch Black IR is the glamorous Water-type Pokémon’s first spotlight of this nature, making it an incredibly exciting and long overdue addition to the set. (She is very gorgeous to me!)