Pokémon TCG: Mega Evolution — Set Guide, Chase Cards & Binder Setup
By the NinePocket team · Updated August 14, 2026 · 4 min read
Mega Evolution is the set that opened the Mega Evolution era — 188 cards deep with Mega Lucario ex leading the way. Here’s what’s inside, which cards are worth hunting, and how to fit the whole set in a binder.
Release date: September 26, 2025Cards: 132 + 56 secret raresSeries: Mega Evolution
Mega Evolution (set code MEG, numbered ME01) is the expansion that opened the Mega Evolution era, released worldwide on September 26, 2025 as the first main set after the Scarlet & Violet block. Its whole reason for being is in the name: it brought the Mega Evolution mechanic back to the Pokémon TCG, with Mega Evolution Pokémon ex like Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex leading the line. In Japan the set is split across two parent releases, Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia, which launched together on August 1, 2025.
Bulbasaur
Mega Evolution · $22.08
Bulbasaur's illustration rare — the first stage of the line that reaches Mega Venusaur ex in this set.
Mega Evolution is a 188-card set: 132 cards in the printed, numbered base set and another 56 secret rares numbered past it. The rarity spread is 67 commons, 43 uncommons, 12 rares, 10 double rares, 22 ultra rares, 22 illustration rares, 10 special illustration rares, and 2 Mega Hyper Rares. Those two Mega Hyper Rares — the set’s top rarity — are Mega Lucario ex (#188) and Mega Gardevoir ex (#187), the era’s two flagship Megas in gold. Because this is an era opener, it also introduces era-launch extras: new Mega Evolution special Energy cards and a run of tie-in promos built around the returning mechanic.
Mega Gardevoir ex
Mega Evolution · $194
Mega Gardevoir ex's special illustration rare — the non-gold half of the flagship pair, and the fourth-priciest card in the set.
Mega Lucario ex’s Mega Hyper Rare (#188) is the top card of the set, followed closely by its special illustration rare (#179). Mega Gardevoir ex sits right behind in both rarities, and Mega Venusaur ex’s special illustration rare leads the next tier. From there the special illustration rares — Mega Latias ex, Mega Absol ex, and the Lillie’s Determination Trainer — fill out the premium layer. These prices reflect where the set sits now, most of a year after release: an era-opening set like this tends to stay in print longer than a mid-cycle set, which keeps sealed product around and softens the usual post-launch spikes, but individual card prices still move as more product circulates.
Have the binder ready
For binder math, the 132-card printed set fills fifteen 9-pocket pages — fourteen full pages plus six cards on the fifteenth, leaving three empty pockets. The full 188-card master set, secret rares included, takes twenty-one pages, so a standard 360-card zip binder holds the whole thing with room to spare. Set-number order is the standard sort for a single set; sleeve your pages and decide penny-sleeve-or-double-sleeve before you start sorting the Megas.
The whole set, page by page
How a 9-pocket page of these cards would look in a real binder. Pick a page layout:
188 cards = 21 pages of 9-pocket, or 12 pages of 4×4.
Mega Evolution on NinePocket
The full set page is live: all 188 cards with market prices, illustrator credits where available, and card-by-card detail. The most-valuable Mega Evolution ranking is up as well, and the binder tools — the planner, checklists, and printable placeholders — are free to use. Everything’s ready whether you’re chasing the two Mega Hyper Rares or just filling out the base set.
Every rarity in the set
Common
Ultra Ball
#131
Uncommon
Lillie's Determination
#119
Rare
Raikou
#48
Double Rare
Mega Kangaskhan ex
#104
Ultra Rare
Lillie's Determination
#169
Illustration Rare
Bulbasaur
#133
Special Illustration Rare
Mega Lucario ex
#179
Mega Hyper Rare
Mega Lucario ex
#188
Sealed products: what's a fair price
MSRP is what each in-print product is meant to cost at retail. If a listing sits meaningfully above these numbers, you're paying the early-window markup — and while a set is in print, restocks come around often, so there's rarely a reason to overpay.
The top card of Mega Evolution and one of just two Mega Hyper Rares in the whole set — the gold-treatment Mega Lucario ex that headlines the era’s opening expansion.
Mega Venusaur ex arrives as a special illustration rare, and its line also supplied the set’s stamped box-topper promo — a Bulbasaur that shipped with Enhanced Booster Boxes.
The Trainer pick: Lillie’s Determination is a Lillie Supporter card that reaches special illustration rare, the character-art highlight among the set’s Trainers.
Mega Evolution (ME01) is the September 26, 2025 expansion that launched the Mega Evolution era of the Pokémon TCG — the first main set after Scarlet & Violet, and the one that brought the Mega Evolution mechanic back. It combines Japan’s Mega Brave and Mega Symphonia sets and headlines Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex.
How many cards are in Mega Evolution?
188 in total: 132 in the printed, numbered base set plus 56 secret rares numbered beyond it. That includes 22 illustration rares, 22 ultra rares, 10 special illustration rares, and 2 Mega Hyper Rares — the gold Mega Lucario ex and Mega Gardevoir ex.
What are the most valuable Mega Evolution cards?
Mega Lucario ex leads the set in both its Mega Hyper Rare (#188) and special illustration rare (#179) versions, with Mega Gardevoir ex right behind. Mega Venusaur ex, Mega Latias ex, and Mega Absol ex round out the top special illustration rares. Check the most-valuable ranking on the set page for current prices.
What is the pack trick for Mega Evolution?
Mega Evolution packs follow the Scarlet & Violet-era layout: the rare sits at the back, behind only a basic Energy and the code card. Peel off the code card, move the one Energy to the front, and your last card is the hit. Full era-by-era steps are in our pack trick guide at /guides/pokemon-pack-trick.
Does the Mega Evolution card trick work?
Yes, and "card trick" and "pack trick" are two names for the same thing. Mega Evolution packs follow the Scarlet & Violet-era order, so the cards sit in a fixed sequence with the rarest at the back. Peel off the code card, move the single basic Energy to the front, then thumb through — the last card is your holo, ultra rare or illustration rare, and the one before it is a reverse holo. It tells you where the hit is inside a pack you are already opening. It cannot identify a good sealed pack from the outside and it does not change the printed pull rates.
