Pokémon Abyss Eye: UK release date and English set
Abyss Eye is a Japanese Pokémon TCG set. It released in Japan on 22 May 2026. There is no UK release under that name. Its cards reached English print as Mega Evolution: Pitch Black on 17 July 2026. If you searched for an Abyss Eye UK release date, that is the answer. The rest of this page explains what the set is, how the Japanese and English versions relate, and what a UK buyer should actually buy.
What Abyss Eye is
Abyss Eye is the Japanese source set for the fifth main expansion of the Mega Evolution series. It is themed on the Mega Dimension DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, and its mascot is Mega Darkrai ex. The English set built from it, Pitch Black, has 84 cards in the main set and 36 secret rares, 120 in total.
The Japanese set came first, on 22 May 2026. The English set followed on 17 July 2026, eight weeks later. That gap is why UK buyers see the cards online before they can buy them in a shop: Japanese openings and price lists circulate for two months before English product exists.
The UK release date
There is no "Abyss Eye UK release date" as such. The UK release is Pitch Black on 17 July 2026, and that date has passed. UK shops stock the English product. Japanese Abyss Eye product only reaches the UK through import.
If you want the cards with Japanese text, you buy Abyss Eye from an importer or a specialist shop. If you want them at a UK RRP from a UK chain, you buy Pitch Black. Our Pitch Black page covers that set in full.
Japanese or English
The two versions share the artwork and the chase cards. They differ in language, in where you can buy them and in what you pay.
English (Pitch Black). Sold at RRP by Smyths, Argos, Tesco, Amazon UK and Pokémon Center UK. Smyths lists the Elite Trainer Box at £49.99 and the booster bundle at £24.99. Stock comes and goes, but the price is fixed and the supply is large.
Japanese (Abyss Eye). Import only. Prices depend on the importer, the exchange rate and demand, and they move. You are buying from a smaller pool of UK sellers, returns are less straightforward, and the product has not come through a chain's supply route. How to spot fake Pokémon cards applies to both languages.
For most UK buyers the answer is English, at RRP, from a chain. Japanese is for people who specifically want Japanese cards.
The cards
The same three cards lead both versions. The numbers below are the English ones:
- Mega Darkrai ex special illustration rare, 116/84.
- Mega Darkrai ex Mega hyper rare, 120/84.
- Morpeko ex special illustration rare, 117/84.
Prices move daily, so we do not quote them. Two of the three are the same Pokémon, so the set rests on Mega Darkrai. Which Pokémon sets hold value covers why a set carried by one character behaves differently from one carried by several.
The English product line and UK RRP
Pitch Black has a short range:
- Booster display box. Packs only.
- Booster bundle. £24.99 at Smyths.
- Elite Trainer Box. Full-art Zarude promo. £49.99 at Smyths. Argos prices the series' ETBs at £50.00.
- Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box. Eleven packs and two Zarude promos. Listed on Pokémon Center UK; we did not capture the price. The store's ETBs range from £49.99 to £64.99 by product.
- Build & Battle Box. The prerelease kit.
No premium collection, pin collection or poster collection. Are Pokémon Elite Trainer Boxes worth it covers whether the ETB is the right buy for you.
Sealed versus open
Pitch Black is in print. Main expansions are printed to demand, and while the print run is open, sealed English product has a ceiling at retail price. Buy it at RRP to open or to sell into short gaps in stock. Do not hold it as an investment while it is still on the print schedule. Sealed versus singles covers the alternative.
We do not track Japanese sealed prices for Abyss Eye and will not pretend to. If you are buying Japanese boxes to hold, you are in a market we do not monitor, and you should price it yourself.
If you open English product, the 36-card secret pool is small by modern standards. Sell what you pull through how to sell Pokémon cards in the UK.
How to buy at retail now
For English Pitch Black:
- Accounts ready at Smyths, Argos, Tesco and Amazon UK, with card and address saved.
- Bookmark the bundle and ETB pages at each retailer.
- One order per retailer. Limits are enforced and duplicates get cancelled.
- Check the shelf. Large stores get stock that never lists online.
- Get an alert. Pokémon restock alerts in the UK explains what a useful one looks like.
For Japanese Abyss Eye, pick a UK importer with a returns policy and pay by a method with buyer protection.
Common questions
Is Abyss Eye coming to the UK?
Not under that name. Abyss Eye is the Japanese set, released in Japan on 22 May 2026. Its English version is Mega Evolution: Pitch Black, released on 17 July 2026 and stocked by UK retailers. Japanese Abyss Eye product reaches the UK only through import.
What is the Abyss Eye release date?
Abyss Eye released in Japan on 22 May 2026. The English version, Pitch Black, released in English on 17 July 2026, eight weeks later. There is no separate UK date for Abyss Eye because the set was never released here under that name.
What is Abyss Eye called in English?
Pitch Black. The full English name is Mega Evolution: Pitch Black. It is the fifth main expansion of the Mega Evolution series and is based on the Mega Dimension DLC for Pokémon Legends: Z-A, with Mega Darkrai ex as the mascot.
What are the chase cards in Abyss Eye?
The same cards lead both versions: Mega Darkrai ex special illustration rare, Mega Darkrai ex Mega hyper rare and Morpeko ex special illustration rare. In the English set they are numbered 116/84, 120/84 and 117/84. Prices move daily, so check a current guide.
Should I buy Japanese Abyss Eye or English Pitch Black?
English, for most people. Pitch Black is sold at UK RRP, £49.99 for the Elite Trainer Box and £24.99 for the booster bundle at Smyths, with the same artwork. Buy Japanese only if you specifically want Japanese-text cards and accept import pricing.
Where this fits
This page is the Japanese side of Pitch Black, which is the set UK shops sell. The rest of the 2026 run is Ascended Heroes, Perfect Order, Chaos Rising, the 30th Celebration set and Delta Reign. For the shops, start with where to buy Pokémon cards in the UK. Paragn Network monitors the English product across more than 1,000 UK retailers.