Pitch Black: Cards We're Excited About

Pokémon TCG’s upcoming set, Pitch Black, releases soon on July 17. While the set has plenty of big Mega names, like the flashy Mega Darkrai ex, the cards that caught are attention are Banette and Dhelmise.

We already talked about this pair during the Pokémon Japan Championships 2026, where a Dhelmise / Banette deck made it all the way to the finals. That is probably why these two stand out the most for us. They aren't just cool or new, but also good.

Banette is the setup piece. Its Hide ‘n’ Sneak Ability keeps it from being affected by the opponent’s attack or Ability effects, which makes it awkward to remove through usual methods. Then Puppet Pull hits for 80 and lets you search your deck for any card.

Dhelmise is the payoff. Vengeful Anchor does 30 damage, plus 140 more if you have 4 or more Pokémon in your discard pile with the Hide ‘n’ Sneak Ability. That puts it at 170 for one Psychic Energy, which is very real damage for a Basic Pokémon.

The other cards we picked are more “worth watching” than instant favorites. Voltaic Lightning Energy gives Lightning decks a small damage boost, adding 20 more damage to attacks from the Lightning Pokémon it is attached to.

Miraidon is also interesting as a basic Lightning Pokémon that can move 2 Basic Lightning Energy to a Benched Pokémon when it gets Knocked Out by attack damage. It is not flashy, but keeping Energy in play is always worth reading twice.

Finally, Mega Excadrill ex is one of the set's bigger cards. Undermine discards the top 2 cards of the opponent’s deck, while Maximum Drilling can hit 330 if it has at least 2 extra Energy attached. Lot of setup, but a lot of damage too.

Still, for us, Pitch Black starts with Banette and Dhelmise. Sometimes the most exciting cards are not the biggest Megas, but the ones that make you want to build something weird around them.

Pitch Black releases on July 17, with pre-release events starting next week.

Sources:

• Proxies from https://pokemonproxies.com/.