Pokémon set release dates for 2026, in order
Every English Pokémon set of 2026 with its release date, the Japanese set each one follows and the days between them, and whether any 2027 set is announced.
By the Rip.fan Editorial Team.
Published 6 min read
The English Pokémon sets of 2026 came out on five dates: Ascended Heroes on January 30, Perfect Order on March 27, Chaos Rising on May 22, Pitch Black on July 17 and 30th Celebration on September 16. One more is announced: Delta Reign, on November 6, 2026. As of October 11, 2026, no set had an announced date in 2027.
What are the 2026 English set release dates?
| Set | Release date | Status | Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ascended Heroes | Friday, January 30, 2026 | Released | 295 |
| Perfect Order | Friday, March 27, 2026 | Released | 124 |
| Chaos Rising | Friday, May 22, 2026 | Released | 122 |
| Pitch Black | Friday, July 17, 2026 | Released | 120 |
| 30th Celebration | Wednesday, September 16, 2026 | Released | 161, plus a 30-card Classic Collection |
| Delta Reign | Friday, November 6, 2026 | Announced | Over 135, by Pokémon’s count |
Images from Scrydex.
Card counts for the released sets are the ones on Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages, which count every card in the set, including the cards numbered above the printed total. Pokémon’s announced counts are rounded: over 120 cards for Perfect Order, and over 135 for Delta Reign.
Most of these sets carry a series prefix, as in Mega Evolution: Pitch Black. The names here drop it.
Two patterns show in the dates. Every set except 30th Celebration came out on a Friday. And the first four came out exactly eight weeks apart, 56 days each time. The gap then grew to 61 days before 30th Celebration and shrank to 51 days before Delta Reign. These are past dates, not a schedule for 2027.
Which sets came just before 2026?
The series these sets belong to began in English with Mega Evolution on September 26, 2025, which Rip.fan’s price pages list at 188 cards. Phantasmal Flames followed on November 14, 2025, at 130 cards. Ascended Heroes, in January, was the third expansion of the series in English.
Does every product in a set arrive on its release date?
No. Some products follow weeks later. TCGplayer’s list of August 26, 2026 placed further 30th Celebration products on October 2, October 30 and November 6. Our guide to Pokémon sealed products shows what each 30th Celebration and Pitch Black product holds and when it went on sale.
Which Japanese set does each English set follow?
In 2026, Japanese sets came out first, under different names, with one exception. The table matches each pair by the Mega Pokémon ex they share. Delta Reign’s row uses the four Mega Pokémon ex named for the set.
| English set | Japanese set | Japanese release | Days between | Mega Pokémon ex in both |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ascended Heroes | MEGA Dream ex (M2a, MEGAドリームex), a high class pack | November 28, 2025 | 63 | 9 of the 14 in Ascended Heroes, among them Mega Dragonite ex and Mega Gengar ex |
| Perfect Order | Munikis Zero (M3, ムニキスゼロ) | January 23, 2026 | 63 | All four: Mega Zygarde ex, Mega Starmie ex, Mega Clefable ex and Mega Skarmory ex |
| Chaos Rising | M4 (ニンジャスピナー) | March 13, 2026 | 70 | Mega Greninja ex, Mega Floette ex, Mega Pyroar ex and Mega Dragalge ex |
| Pitch Black | Abyss Eye (M5, アビスアイ) | May 22, 2026 | 56 | Mega Darkrai ex, Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Zeraora ex and Mega Excadrill ex |
| 30th Celebration | 30th CELEBRATION (M6a) | September 16, 2026 | 0 | A worldwide release on the same day |
| Delta Reign (announced) | Storm Emeralda (M6, ストームエメラルダ) | July 31, 2026 | 98 | Mega Rayquaza ex, Mega Golisopod ex, Mega Malamar ex and Mega Golurk ex |
The English names in the second column are Rip.fan’s renderings of the Japanese titles, shown beside each set’s code. M4’s title is given in Japanese only.
Is the English set a copy of the Japanese one?
Not quite:
- Chaos Rising adds Mega Gallade ex, which is not on the M4 list.
- Pitch Black adds Mega Delphox ex and Mega Slowbro ex.
- Ascended Heroes and MEGA Dream ex differ most. Ascended Heroes has Mega Charizard Y ex where MEGA Dream ex has Mega Charizard X ex, and it adds others, such as Mega Meganium ex.
- The English sets run longer. Perfect Order has 124 cards to Munikis Zero’s 117, Chaos Rising 122 to M4’s 120, and Pitch Black 120 to Abyss Eye’s 118. Delta Reign is announced with over 135 cards, against 113 for Storm Emeralda.
So in 2026, a Japanese set showed most of its English counterpart’s Mega Pokémon ex 56 to 70 days before the English release, or 98 days for Delta Reign’s announced date, but not the whole English list.
Is anything announced for 2027?
Not with a date. As of October 11, 2026:
- No English set has an announced date after Delta Reign.
- In Japan, no expansion is announced after 30th CELEBRATION.
- On August 31, 2026, Pokémon’s Japanese site revealed the logo of a new series, written ex★, with no product or release date.
Store listings and fan calendars sometimes carry a set name or a date before Pokémon announces it. Every date here is one the publisher has announced.
How do you know a release date is real?
- Find it on Pokémon’s own pages. Its news posts announce each set and its date, and the Japanese site’s news list has every 2026 set. The Pokémon Company International announced Delta Reign’s date on August 20, 2026.
- For a Japanese set, use the Japanese site’s product page. It gives the date and the suggested price per pack.
- Treat anything else as unconfirmed until it matches one of those pages, including a store’s preorder listing.
- Check which region a date belongs to. A Japanese date applies to Japanese product, and in 2026 the English counterpart came out 56 to 70 days later, except for 30th Celebration.
Our release calendar puts Pokémon release dates beside those of four other card games, each with the day it was checked.
What differs between a Japanese and an English set?
More than the name. A standard Japanese expansion pack holds 5 cards, and an English pack holds 10 plus a Basic Energy card. A Japanese box holds 30 packs, and an English booster display 36. Pokémon’s Japanese site set a suggested price of ¥200 for a 5-card expansion pack released from May 2026 on, and said some expansion packs may be priced differently. Our guide to Japanese and English Pokémon cards compares packs, rarity marks and prices side by side.
What to check when a new set comes out
- What the products hold. Pack counts differ by product, and our sealed products guide lists them.
- What the rarity marks mean. Our guide to Pokémon rarity symbols explains each tier, and the glossary covers terms such as special illustration rare.
- What the cards sell for. Rip.fan’s Pokémon price pages list each card of the English sets they cover with its market price. The price changes page compares each card’s price with Rip.fan’s previous weekly check. The card price lookup finds a single card by name.
- Whether the seal is real. A new set brings resold sealed product, and our guide to spotting resealed Pokémon packs covers the checks.
The Pokémon hub collects the rest of our Pokémon coverage, and the glossary explains what makes a set.
Frequently asked questions
Which English sets came out in 2025?
7 sets on 6 dates: Prismatic Evolutions on January 17, Journey Together on March 28, Destined Rivals on May 30, Black Bolt and White Flare on July 18, Mega Evolution on September 26 and Phantasmal Flames on November 14. All 6 dates fell on a Friday.
When did the first English Pokémon set come out?
Base Set came out on January 9, 1999, with 102 cards. Jungle followed on June 16, 1999, and Fossil on October 10, 1999.
When did 151 come out?
On September 22, 2023, with 207 cards. It was the fourth English expansion of the Scarlet & Violet Series, after Scarlet & Violet on March 31, Paldea Evolved on June 9 and Obsidian Flames on August 11, 2023.