Back in February, The Pokemon Company announced the return of Mega Evolutions to the Pokemon Trading Card Game. In the months since, we’ve seen multiple leaks, many of which have now been confirmed during the Japan Champions League. The Scarlet & Violet era of the TCG is coming to an end, with sets now falling under the “Mega” label, instead. The Mega Brave set will put a focus on Mega Lucario while Mega Symphonia centers on Mega Gardevoir. Those two sets will both be released in Japan on August 1st, with each one consisting of 63 cards before any Secret Rares.
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It’s been several years since Mega Evolutions were available in the Pokemon TCG, and some major changes have been made to the cards since. Unlike the Pokemon video games, Mega Evolutions will not evolve from their standard forms, so you won’t see Lucario Mega Evolve into Mega Lucario. Instead, Mega Evolutions will basically replace that stage of evolution in the TCG. That means Riolu can evolve into Mega Lucario, and Ivysaur can evolve into Mega Venusaur. Mega Evolutions that don’t have an evolutionary line, such as Mega Latias, can instead be played as a basic Pokemon. However, players that successfully knock one out will receive three prizes as a result. A Japanese trailer for the two sets (featuring several of the new cards) can be found below.
New Mega Evolutions are the clear highlight, but the trailer features some compelling new cards for Pokemon that don’t have Mega Evolutions, including Illustration Rares for Inteleon, Vulpix, and more. New Trainer cards have also been announced, featuring familiar faces from the video games like Lillie and Wally. Since Wally used a Mega Gallade in Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, his presence in the new set makes a lot of sense.
At this time, The Pokemon Company has not confirmed an English release date. According to recent leaks, the first Mega Evolution set will arrive in the U.S. on September 26th, though readers should take that date with a grain of salt pending an official announcement. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. will receive a “split expansion” like Japan is getting, or if Mega Symphonia and Mega Brave will be combined in the region. Normally, English sets combine Japanese ones together, but next month’s Black Bolt and White Flare are releasing as separate sets, so it’s possible that could happen here again.
We could get an English announcement about this set during next month’s Pokemon Presents. The livestream will take place on Tuesday, July 22nd. We don’t know much about it just yet, but the Pokemon Presents should put a lot of focus on the upcoming video game Pokemon Legends: Z-A. However, we could also see some time dedicated to other aspects of the franchise, such as the TCG and Pokemon Go.
Are you excited to check out these cards when they get released in English? How do you feel about the changes that have been made to Mega Evolutions? Share your thoughts with me directly on Bluesky atย @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
[H/T: PokeBeach]
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(Photo by Bruce Glikas/Bruce Glikas/FilmMagic)
