The closing ceremony of the Pokémon World Championships 2026, held in San Francisco on August 30, saved the year’s biggest Pokémon Trading Card Game reveal for last. The Pokémon Company unveiled the logo of a brand-new series, ex★ (“ex Star”), set to follow the current Mega Evolution series.
Mega Lucario Z ex, the series’ first card
The closing video introduced the very first card of this new era: Mega Lucario Z ex, marking the debut of Z Mega Evolution Pokémon in the physical trading card game. Interestingly, the ability printed on the card is named “Aura Seeker” — the same name as a Japanese set reported back in May by PokeBeach, though this alone does not confirm any official connection between the two.
Four additional cards were teased in the same video, in the new MA (Mega Attack Rare) rarity:
- Mega Rayquaza ex
- Mega Darkrai ex
- Mega Greninja ex
- Mega Zygarde ex
Release date still unconfirmed
The Pokémon Company has not announced an official release date for either the ex★ series or Mega Lucario Z ex. In Japan, several sources report that Mega Lucario Z ex will headline the Aura Seeker set, said to release on November 27, 2026, alongside Sigilyph ex. For the international release, some retailer listings point to a launch around January 2027, though nothing has been officially confirmed yet.
Watch the official reveal video below:
We’ll be keeping a close eye on upcoming announcements about this new series and will update this article as soon as official details are released.