Pokémon Mega Evolution cards explained
What a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex is, how its double rare, ultra rare, Mega attack rare and Mega hyper rare versions differ, and how many each set holds.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 7 min read
A Mega Evolution Pokémon ex is a Pokémon ex in its Mega form, named like Mega Lucario ex or Mega Darkrai ex. They are the headline cards of the Mega Evolution series, which began in English with the Mega Evolution set on September 26, 2025. The six expansions from Mega Evolution to Pitch Black hold 41 different ones. Almost every one comes as a double rare in its set’s main list, and many come again above the printed total, as an ultra rare, a special illustration rare, a Mega hyper rare or, in one set, a Mega attack rare. They are not the M Pokémon-EX cards of the XY sets from 2014 to 2016.
What is a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex?
A kind of Pokémon ex. They sit in the double rare tier, marked with two black stars, beside regular Pokémon ex and Tera Pokémon ex. The card name tells you what you have: the word Mega, the Pokémon’s name, then a lowercase ex.
Mega Evolution Pokémon first appeared on cards in the XY expansion, and the new cards work quite differently from those early ones. For a collector, the difference that matters is the name on the card.
How do you tell them from the older M Pokémon-EX cards?
By the spelling. The XY-era cards read M, the Pokémon, then a capital EX after a hyphen, as in M Gardevoir-EX from Primal Clash, released February 4, 2015. Rip.fan’s page for the 30th Celebration Classic Collection lists that card again, under the same number, 106/160. The cards from 2025 on spell out Mega and end in a lowercase ex.
Capital EX cards began with Black & White: Next Destinies and carried on into the XY sets, where they tied in with Mega Evolution. Lowercase ex began with EX Ruby & Sapphire, released July 1, 2003, and returned with Scarlet & Violet. The XY sets run from XY on February 5, 2014 to Evolutions on November 2, 2016.
| What the name says | Era | Example |
|---|---|---|
| M Gardevoir-EX | XY sets, 2014 to 2016 | Primal Clash, 106/160 |
| Mega Gardevoir ex | Mega Evolution series, from September 2025 | Mega Evolution, 060/132 |
Which versions does a Mega Evolution Pokémon ex come in?
There are five so far, each a separate card with its own number and price, though no set gives one Pokémon all five. The positions come from Rip.fan’s counts of the six set lists.
| Version | Rarity mark | What it looks like | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Double rare | Two black stars | The standard card | Inside the main list |
| Ultra rare | Two silver stars, which Pokémon calls foil stars | A full-art foil version | Above the printed total |
| Special illustration rare | Two gold stars | Alternate full-art foil art showing the Pokémon’s character or setting | Above the printed total |
| Mega attack rare | A pink star beside a green star | Bold, bright full art with the attack’s Japanese name printed large | Ascended Heroes only, numbers 265 to 271 |
| Mega hyper rare | Its own mark | Gold-etched holographic art; CGC says fully embossed in gold, with the Pokémon facing out | The last number or two in each set |
Two cards show how the versions stack up. In Ascended Heroes, Mega Dragonite ex appears four times: double rare at 152, Mega attack rare at 271, special illustration rare at 290 and Mega hyper rare at 295. In Chaos Rising, Mega Greninja ex also appears four times: 022, 100, 116 and 122. Our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols covers every tier, and our guide to card finishes covers the foils.
Mega Dragonite ex, Ascended Heroes
Images from Scrydex.
Is the Mega attack rare its own tier?
Pokémon says yes: it lists Mega attack rare and Mega hyper rare as two separate rarities, and Rip.fan’s price pages list them apart. CGC’s article, updated March 26, 2026, calls the Mega attack card a new type of Mega hyper rare. A listing may use either name, so go by the symbol and the number.
The Mega attack rare style recalls the M Pokémon-EX of the XY sets, whose art carried attack names in Japanese.
How many Mega Evolution Pokémon ex does each set have?
The table counts distinct Mega Evolution Pokémon ex in each set.
| Set | Released | Mega Evolution Pokémon ex | Mega hyper rares | Mega attack rares |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mega Evolution | September 26, 2025 | 10 | 2: Mega Gardevoir ex, Mega Lucario ex | None |
| Phantasmal Flames | November 14, 2025 | 6 | 1: Mega Charizard X ex | None |
| Ascended Heroes | January 30, 2026 | 14 | 2: Mega Charizard Y ex, Mega Dragonite ex | 7 |
| Perfect Order | March 27, 2026 | 4 | 1: Mega Zygarde ex | None |
| Chaos Rising | May 22, 2026 | 5 | 1: Mega Greninja ex | None |
| Pitch Black | July 17, 2026 | 6 | 1: Mega Darkrai ex | None |
| 30th Celebration | September 16, 2026 | None | None | None |
That makes 45 entries but 41 different Pokémon, because four appear in two sets: Mega Gardevoir ex and Mega Lucario ex in Mega Evolution and Ascended Heroes, and Mega Gengar ex and Mega Diancie ex in Phantasmal Flames and Ascended Heroes.
What patterns show in the lists?
- The Mega hyper rare comes last. In all six sets so far, the final number on the list is a Mega hyper rare, and in the two sets with two of them, they take the final two.
- Not every Mega gets every version. In Mega Evolution, all 10 have an ultra rare but only 6 have a special illustration rare. In Pitch Black, Mega Delphox ex and Mega Slowbro ex come only as double rares.
- Ascended Heroes works differently. Half of its 14 Mega Pokémon ex have a Mega attack rare, and only Mega Audino ex has an ultra rare. Mega Diancie ex appears there as a Mega attack rare and a special illustration rare, with no double rare in that set.
- The anniversary set has none. 30th Celebration belongs to the series, but its 12 Pokémon ex include no Mega. Its one Mega card is the reprinted M Gardevoir-EX in the Classic Collection. Our guide to the 30th Celebration set covers it.
What is coming next?
PokéGuardian’s report of Pokémon’s announcement, published August 20, 2026, gives Delta Reign four Mega Evolution Pokémon ex: Mega Malamar ex, Mega Golurk ex, Mega Golisopod ex and Mega Rayquaza ex. The set is due November 6, 2026. Our guide to Pokémon set release dates pairs it with the Japanese set it follows.
Where else do Mega Evolution Pokémon ex turn up?
Outside the packs, in sealed products built around them. The Mega Forces Tin is built around Mega Dragonite ex, Mega Darkrai ex or Mega Zeraora ex, with four booster packs. Ascended Heroes has a Premium Poster Collection with a full-art foil promo of Mega Gardevoir ex or Mega Lucario ex and 10 packs. A promo shows the word PROMO beside a black star where the rarity mark would be, and our guide to Pokémon promo cards explains the numbering.
For Japanese printings, our guide to Japanese and English Pokémon cards matches each Japanese rarity code to its English symbol.
What should you check before buying a Mega card?
- The spelling of the name. M and a capital EX means a card from the XY sets of 2014 to 2016, or a reprint of one, such as the 2026 Classic Collection’s M Gardevoir-EX. Mega and a lowercase ex means 2025 on.
- The number against the set’s list. In all six sets so far, a Mega hyper rare carries the last number or one of the last two. If a listing calls a card a Mega hyper rare but its number sits inside the main list, compare it with the set’s price page.
- Which version it is. The same Mega Pokémon can be three or four different cards in one set, so search by set and number. Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages list the priced cards in each set with their numbers and rarities, and the card price lookup finds one card by name, set or number.
- That it is genuine. Our guide to spotting fake Pokémon cards covers checks that leave the card unharmed.
- Whether grading makes sense. Our guide to whether a card is worth grading walks through the costs, and the centering checker turns the border widths you measure into a split and finds the highest CGC and SGC grade whose centering figure the card meets.
The glossary explains related terms such as full art and secret rare, and the Pokémon hub collects the rest of our Pokémon coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Which Mega Evolution Pokémon ex has the highest price?
The Ascended Heroes Mega Gengar ex special illustration rare (284/217), which had a Near Mint market price of $770.99 on October 21, 2026, ahead of Phantasmal Flames Mega Charizard X ex (125/094) at $616.53.
Which Mega hyper rare has the highest price?
Ascended Heroes Mega Charizard Y ex (294/217), which had a Near Mint market price of $266.90 on October 21, 2026, ahead of Mega Lucario ex from Mega Evolution (188/132) at $223.63. On the same date, the lowest of the 8 was Mega Zygarde ex from Perfect Order (124/088), at $91.38.
How much is a Mega attack rare?
Far less than the other top tiers. On October 21, 2026, Mega Gengar ex (269/217) had the highest Near Mint market price of the 7 in Ascended Heroes, at $31.90, and Mega Scrafty ex (270/217) the lowest, at $2.81.
What did the older M Pokémon-EX cards cost?
The best known still lead their sets. Flashfire's M Charizard-EX secret rare (108/106) had a Near Mint market price of $1,501.23 on October 21, 2026, and Ancient Origins M Rayquaza-EX (98/98) $1,172.