Pokemon Pitch Black Review: Best Cards, Box Odds, and Why We Might Open Abyss Eye Instead

Pitch Black (English, set code ME05) and Abyss Eye (Japanese, set code M5) are the same core set. Pitch Black is the English localization of Abyss Eye, so the card pool is close to identical. Both are built around the same headline pull, Mega Darkrai ex, and both sit in the Mega Evolution era tied to Pokemon Legends Z-A.

The practical difference is timing, language, and pack format. Abyss Eye launched in Japan on May 22, 2026 and is in stock at Kira right now. Pitch Black is the fifth English Mega Evolution set and releases July 17, 2026, so it is on preorder with us and ships from release day.

If you have read our guide on japanese versus english Pokemon cards you already know the trade-off. English cards read in English and tend to hold broad resale demand in the West. Japanese cards are often cheaper per pack and land first. This set is a clean case study, because you can buy either version off the same shelf and pay in baht.

The set headliner is Mega Darkrai ex. It exists as a Special Illustration Rare and as a gold Hyper Rare, the set's sole gold card, and it is the card most people are chasing. The co-marquee card is Mega Zeraora ex, and the set carries six Mega Evolution Pokemon ex in total, including Mega Chandelure ex and Mega Excadrill ex.

The Elite Trainer Box promo is a full-art Zarude card. That is worth knowing before you buy, because the Zarude Illustration Rare is not a standard booster pull in the English set. It is guaranteed one per ETB instead. If that specific Zarude art is what you want, the ETB is the direct route.

For exact single-card prices, check our live listings rather than trusting any fixed number, because launch prices for cards like Mega Darkrai ex spike hard in the first days and usually soften over the following weeks. We would rather you time it than overpay on hype.

This is the part most set guides skip, so here is the honest detail. English Mega sets recombine the Japanese card pool, and Pitch Black is not a perfect one-to-one copy of Abyss Eye. Based on our own product data and the published set lists, Pitch Black folds in a few cards that are not in Abyss Eye's numbered list, including Mega Delphox ex, Mega Slowbro ex, and a Supporter card called Jett. These come across as Gym-promo style additions folded into the English set. To be clear, Mega Delphox ex and Mega Slowbro ex are counted within the six Mega ex the set carries, not on top of them.

At the same time, the Zarude Illustration Rare that sits inside the Japanese numbered set is pulled out of the English numbered list and reissued as that ETB promo we mentioned. So the English base list gains a couple of cards and loses one secret rare from packs. The net effect is a slightly larger base set in English.

The Mega Darkrai ex chase carries over in its top rarities. Localization slot changes like these are exactly where the two versions differ, so if you care about owning the exact full list, always confirm against the official set list before you commit.

Here is where a lot of buyers guess wrong, because the two versions do not use the same pack size. Japanese Abyss Eye packs hold 5 cards and boxes hold 30 packs. English Pitch Black packs hold 10 cards and boxes hold 36 packs. So you cannot compare a JP pack price to an EN pack price directly. You have to go per card.

English Pitch Black box: 7,590 THB across 36 packs works out to about 211 THB per pack, and at 10 cards a pack that is roughly 21 THB per card. A single loose English pack at 260 THB for 10 cards is about 26 THB per card. Japanese Abyss Eye box: 4,290 THB across 30 packs is about 143 THB per pack, and at 5 cards a pack that is roughly 29 THB per card. A single Japanese pack at 150 THB for 5 cards is about 30 THB per card.

So the English booster box is the best cards per baht once you commit to a full display, at about 21 THB per card. The cheapest way to simply taste the set today is a single 150 THB Japanese pack. If you want the full logic on box versus loose packs, our booster pack versus booster box guide walks through why a box is cheaper per card but a pack is cheaper to just try. You can preorder the English Pitch Black box or open the Japanese Abyss Eye box, which is in stock today.

This is the real question behind pitch black booster box worth it searches, so we will answer it plainly. If you only want Mega Darkrai ex, the box is a poor bet. The Special Illustration Rare shows up in only a small fraction of boxes, so on average you would open multiple boxes before hitting it. A single copy of the card usually costs the equivalent of two or three boxes, and most boxes will not produce it. For one named chase card, the single wins on expected value every time.

The box makes sense for a different buyer: the one who wants the full opening experience, a spread of mid-tier Illustration Rares, and a chance at the big hit as a bonus rather than the goal. If ripping is the fun for you, a full display at about 21 THB per card is genuinely good value, and the English box gives you the widest slice of the set including those Delphox, Slowbro, and Jett additions.

The middle path is a single Japanese pack. At 150 THB it is the lowest-cost way to open something from this set right now, before Pitch Black even lands. You will not get English text and the odds on any one pack are long, but it scratches the itch cheaply. This same logic came up in our review of the earlier Ninja Spinner set, which you can read in our Ninja Spinner review.

For most collectors who want the best value and plan to keep or open a full display, the English Pitch Black box is the pick, at 7,590 THB for the lowest per-card cost and English text. If you want the same set for less commitment and do not mind Japanese, the Abyss Eye box at 4,290 THB is in stock today and opens right now, no preorder wait.

If your budget is tight or you are curious rather than committed, spend 150 THB on one Japanese pack and see how you feel. And if there is exactly one card you want, skip sealed product entirely and buy that single from our live listings. That is the honest ranking, and it does not change no matter how loud the launch hype gets.

Kira Cards is the only shop in Thailand laying both sets side by side at THB shelf prices, so you can weigh the English box, the Japanese box, and the single without doing the currency and pack-size math yourself. Walk in at Patong Beach, or order for nationwide shipping that is free over 2,000 THB. For the high-demand Pitch Black boxes, reserve on LINE so we hold one for you on release day.