Pokemon Pitch Black UK: Where to Buy Before 17 July

Pokemon Pitch Black hits UK shelves on Friday 17 July 2026, and the run-up has already been messy. When Pokemon Center UK opened preorders on 10 June, launch-day traffic crashed the site. Four Mega Evolution sets have now sold through at full price in this country, and the fifth is tracking the same way. This guide maps every UK route to Pitch Black, what the sell-out picture looks like, and which sealed format to pick if you can only secure one.

The UK Release at a Glance

Pitch Black is the fifth English set of the Mega Evolution era, adapted from Japan's Abyss Eye expansion, and carries the set code ME05. Expect an 84-card main set plus secret rares, more than 115 cards in all: six Mega Evolution Pokemon ex, four Pokemon ex, eleven Illustration Rares, eighteen Ultra Rares and six Special Illustration Rares. Mega Darkrai ex is the mascot and the runaway chase, with Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex and Mega Excadrill ex in support.

Prerelease events run at local game stores from 4 to 12 July, where Build & Battle Boxes go on sale ahead of street date. Pokemon TCG Live adds the set digitally on 16 July, and sealed retail product arrives on the 17th. For card-level detail, the full set breakdown lives in our Pitch Black set guide. This page is about actually getting the product.

Where to Buy Pokemon Pitch Black in the UK

Is there an official Pokemon shop in the UK? Yes, but it is online only: Pokemon Center UK is The Pokemon Company's own store, and it is the sole source of the Pokemon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Box, which carries eleven packs instead of the retail nine plus a Pokemon Center-stamped Zarude promo. That version never reaches the high street.

On the high street, Smyths, Argos and GAME all carry Mega Evolution era product. Smyths and Argos are the most dependable on launch day, and Argos click-and-collect is usually the fastest way to a box on the 17th if a local store shows stock. GAME's allocation varies branch to branch. Amazon UK has been running invite-request queues on Elite Trainer Boxes rather than open listings, so treat it as a lottery rather than a plan.

Specialist card shops are the other route: Total Cards, Chaos Cards, Magic Madhouse, Collectors Edge and Wayland Games have all run Pitch Black preorder windows since June, with availability coming and going as allocations firm up.

Evol Vault's Pitch Black allocation is live now: the Pokemon Center exclusive ETB, the 36-pack booster box and the six-pack bundle, all factory sealed and sourced directly from Pokemon Center UK. Every order ships tracked, UK shipping is free over £100, and preorders ship on release.

Has Pitch Black Sold Out?

Not everywhere at the time of writing, but the direction is clear. Pokemon Center UK's preorder window buckled under traffic on day one, and every previous Mega Evolution set sold through its official-store allocation around launch. High-street stock tends to survive a little longer, though rarely past the first weekend. A listing that shows available in release week is not a promise it will still be there the week after.

Our own allocation is deliberately small, and once it sells through, restocks depend on what Pokemon Center releases after launch. If you land here late, sign up for drop alerts and you will hear about the next window before it opens to everyone else.

ETB, Booster Box or Bundle: Which to Get

The Pokemon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Box (£150) is the collector's format. Eleven Pitch Black packs, 65 Mega Darkrai sleeves, and two Zarude foil promos, one stamped with the Pokemon Center logo, a print that exists only in this box. If Pitch Black is going on a shelf rather than into a binder, this is the version that holds attention. Our comparison of Pokemon Center exclusive vs standard ETBs covers exactly what separates the two versions.

The booster box (£200) is 36 packs, 360 set cards, and the format set builders default to. Nothing else matches a sealed display for pack volume or pull consistency, and with Pitch Black's compact card pool the box takes you most of the way to a main-set completion in one purchase.

Six packs for £40 makes the booster bundle the lightest entry point. Same packs, same odds, no accessories. If you want Pitch Black in hand without committing three figures, the bundle is the honest answer, and our bundle vs booster box comparison covers when stepping up is worth it.

What You're Chasing

Mega Darkrai ex carries the set with two premium prints: a Special Illustration Rare illustrated by Akira Egawa and a gold Hyper Rare. Only six Special Illustration Rares exist in the whole expansion, so the chase is unusually concentrated for a modern set. Beyond Darkrai, the secondary tier leans on the Morpeko ex and Gwynn Special Illustration Rares rather than the supporting Megas. If you are weighing Pitch Black against the sets landing later this year, our late 2026 preorder guide puts the whole calendar side by side.

Pitch Black is the smallest set of the Mega Evolution era and the most chase-concentrated in it. If you want it sealed at launch, pick your route before 17 July. Start with the Pitch Black collection, browse the rest of the vault at all products, and if the boxes have already gone by the time you read this, drop alerts are the earliest warning you will get for the restock.