Ever since the February 27th announcement trailer, the Pokémon Company International (TPCi) has been coy in revealing more details about the upcoming Mega Evolution set.
With the internet being as it is, this veil of secrecy often causes new rumors to pop up and spread like wildfire. As such, there's no guarantee that what we're talking about today is 100% genuine. Since TPCi is keeping their cards close to their chests, we'll just have to sit and wait patiently for an official announcement.
Turning our attention back to the Pokémon Presents video, the segment announcing Mega Evolutions slated the release for this year. Alongside this vague release date, TPCi also showcased the first cards appearing in this set. We were given a sneak peek of things to come with the likes of Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex.
The Mega Evolution line of Pokémon was first introduced to the Western market back in 2014 in the XY expansion. Sadly, Mega Evolutions didn't last too long, as they were phased out in 2019; last appearing in the Sun and Moon - Cosmic Eclipse set.
Supposedly, the particular expansion focused on the Mega Evolution line-up will have the word, “Mega” attached to it as a prefix.
Back in January, members of online communities like Pokébeach discovered that trademarks for “Mega Brave” and “Mega Symphonia” had been filed by Pokémon Japan. This sparked interest in the possibility of the return of the mega evolution mechanic to the Trading Card Game (TCG). This possibility turned into a reality a month later.
It also appears that the featured Mega Lucario and Mega Gardevoir had “Mega Brave” and “Mega Symphonia” listed as a respective attack on their showcased cards. So far, we have no confirmation yet what the actual name(s) for the upcoming expansion will be.
With interest drumming up for the return of this well-regarded mechanic, it appears that the Mega Evolution set will supposedly be released in Japan this coming August.
Apparently, “Mega Brave” and “Mega Symphonia” are to represent the names for the packs in the set that specifically focus on Mega Lucario and Mega Gardevoir respectively.
Alongside these two packs, there’s rumored to be an Elite Trainer box to be produced for the expansion set as well.
With more recent expansions like Prismatic Evolutions and Journey Together as evidence -and should this information prove to be true- we will be seeing an expansion package containing at least 9 booster packs, a full-art promo foil card, card sleeves, as well as a host of other merchandise included.
Following this up, are supposedly two starter sets to feature Mega Gengar ex and Mega Diance ex. This is most likely to mirror the recently announced Marnie and Steven starter decks that also feature a returning mechanic in the form of the Trainer Pokémons for Journey Together.
Treating this as rumors for the time being, there is still no formal announcement from Pokémon Japan. The closest “official” article we could find at the time of writing this segment is the original announcement from Pokemon-card.com that just reiterated what could be gleaned from the Pokémon Presents trailer.
However, rooting through the internet yielded some interesting results. If someone were to visit the website of Play-Asia, an online retailer for entertainment products, and type the words “Pokemon Card Game Mega” in the search bar, you would see the following items listed:
- Pokemon Card Game Mega Expansion Pack Mega Brave (Set of 30 Packs),
- Pokemon Card Game Mega Expansion Pack Mega Symphonia (Set of 30 Packs),
- Pokemon Card Game Mega Starter Set Mega Mega Gengar Ex,
- Pokemon Card Game Mega Starter Set Mega Mega Diancie Ex, and;
- Pokemon Card Game Mega Premium Trainer Box Mega
As far as we know, Play-Asia has been operating since 2002 and it appears to be doing well as far as online retailers go. But if there are any truths backing the information found by online communities, this can be one of them.
For now, it would be best to adopt a patient stance for any official announcement. Hopefully, when the time comes, we will be able to take a greater peak behind the curtain for what’s in store for the TCG.