Pokemon TCG Mega Evolution Chaos Rising Drops Friday May 22: Final Countdown and Chase Card Guide

The countdown is on. Pokemon TCG: Mega Evolution Chaos Rising officially hits hobby and big-box retail this Friday, May 22, 2026, closing out a nine-day prerelease window that ran May 9 through May 17. The fourth expansion in the Mega Evolution block is the deepest one yet on chase cards, and prerelease pulls have already given collectors a very clear preview of what is going to move on launch day.

What Is Actually in the Box

Chaos Rising is built around five Mega Evolution Pokemon ex, six Special Illustration Rares, and a Mega Hyper Rare slot anchored by the headline card. The full set runs 122 cards before secret rares, with the new Chaos Holo texture appearing exclusively on this release. Booster pack configuration is the standard 10 cards plus one Basic Energy, and Booster Bundles, Elite Trainer Boxes, Booster Boxes, and the Pokemon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Box are all confirmed for the May 22 street date.

• Mega Greninja ex is the set mascot and the undisputed chase. Standard ex and Special Illustration Rare versions are both in pack, with the Mega Hyper Rare variant projected to settle north of $200 in raw condition out of the gate.
• Mega Pyroar ex, Mega Floette ex, and Mega Dragalge ex round out the Mega ex slate. Pyroar in particular is generating chatter on the competitive side for a Fire-type aggro shell that has been missing from Standard since the last rotation.
• Mega Lucario ex SIR and Mega Gardevoir ex SIR are the secondary SIR chases. Lucario has the bigger collector pedigree, but Gardevoir is the better tournament card and is likely to track Iono-like price behavior as competitive players grab playsets.

What Prerelease Pulls Have Told Us So Far

Nine days of prerelease pulls have started giving the community an unofficial read on hit rates. Mega Greninja ex SIR appears to be landing at roughly one per case of six Booster Boxes, putting it in line with previous block SIR mascot cards. The Mega Hyper Rare variant is meaningfully rarer and has only surfaced a handful of times in publicly documented prerelease openings. Trainer Gallery SIRs are coming in at a noticeably better rate than the Pokemon SIRs, which means the Trainer chase singles are going to settle lower than the Pokemon SIRs by week two.

"If you want one sealed Booster Box for personal opening, buy this week. If you want to flip sealed, the time to lock allocations was last month. Anything sitting on shelves Friday morning is going home with someone by Saturday night."

Build and Battle Box Promos

The four foil promos inside Chaos Rising Build and Battle Boxes are Delphox, Ampharos, Crobat, and Goodra. All four are reprint-tier playable cards that will see fringe Standard use, but the real value is the Build and Battle Box itself as a single-pack-and-deck format for local league play. Most LGS owners we have heard from are pricing Build and Battle Boxes at $30 retail, which is the cleanest entry point into the set for casual players who do not need an Elite Trainer Box.

Where to Buy on May 22

Booster Boxes are allocated for most hobby shops, with Pokemon Center, Target, and Walmart taking the bulk of mass-market supply. Pokemon Center Elite Trainer Boxes — the version that ships with 11 packs and two full-art Fennekin promos instead of the standard 9-pack ETB — are direct-to-Pokemon Center only and have already gone in and out of stock on the official site three times during preview season.

For collectors near a participating LGS, Friday morning lines started for prior Mega Evolution releases as early as 7 AM. If you have not pre-ordered and you want sealed product, calling your shop ahead of Friday and asking what walk-in inventory will look like is the move. Use the Card Shop Finder shop locator if you are not sure which stores nearby are carrying the set.