There’s a particular kind of excitement that hits right before a new Pokémon TCG expansion—like when the store lights flick on for tournament nights and someone cracks a booster pack too fast. Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising is that moment, except the doors open early.
The expansion arrives May 22, 2026, but if you’re the type who refreshes Event Locator pages like it’s a hobby, you’re in luck. Starting May 9, 2026, select Play! Pokémon Stores will begin selling the Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising Build & Battle Box. Misryoum newsroom reported that this gives Trainers a chance to squeeze in a Prerelease battle and get a feel for the new cards before the official release date. To find a Prerelease event near you, be sure to use the Event Locator.
Prerelease itself uses a 40-card deck, with four Prize cards set aside at the start of play—so it’s not the usual 60-card setup with six Prizes. It’s a format that’s basically built for quick learning: you get fun games, new Trainers get a smoother entry into the Pokémon TCG, and more experienced players still get something real out of it. There’s also that extra spark—limited card pool, and the variance you get from whatever you pull in a Build & Battle Box—so deck-building creativity actually matters, not just “netdecking and hoping.”
Each Build & Battle Box includes four Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising booster packs and a 40-card, ready-to-play deck featuring key cards from current and prior expansions. You also get one of four unique foil promo cards, which basically decides what your deck wants to become. Depending on your promo, you’re playing with the devious Delphox, amped-up Ampharos, cunning Crobat, or good-natured Goodra.
Delphox comes in hot with the Fox Pokémon and its Energized Storm attack. In most situations, you’ll do at least 60 damage just by fulfilling its attack cost, but if you keep attaching Energy to your Pokémon, the damage can really storm out of control. Just don’t forget the part that always trips people up: spread out your Energy while avoiding a Knock Out that could leave you with no Pokémon ready to attack.
Then there’s Delphox’s Flaring Magic, which asks you to discard a precious Basic Energy card. The trade-off is that drawing until you have seven cards in your hand each turn helps you set up more Delphox and more Flaring Magic Abilities. Consistency is key in Prerelease battles, and more cards in hand can never hurt—unless you run out of cards in your deck. (Yeah, it’s a small sentence, but it’s also a reminder that “more draw” isn’t always free.)
For players who like clean, almost math-y win conditions, Ampharos’s Synchro Pulse Ability lines up with your hand size and your opponent’s hand size. If you sync them up, Ampharos will probably be able to one-hit KO almost any Pokémon you encounter in a Prerelease battle. Flashing Bolt can do up to 220 damage if you complete this task, and it won’t always be easy—so Misryoum editorial team noted that cards like Judge, which resets both players’ hands to four cards each, or Trainer cards that lower (or increase) hand size can swing things.
Crobat’s Nighttime Maneuvers reads like a cousin of other smoothing abilities, but it has its own condition: Crobat needs to be in the Active Spot. If you meet it, you can stack the exact card you need to draw next turn—or combine the effect with a Supporter card. And once you’re thinking in that mode, the options get messy in a good way: looking for a Punk Helmet to KO an opponent’s Active Pokémon on their next attack? You’ve got it. Want multiple Crobat on board to keep pressure with Poison Sound Wave? Stack a Golbat or Crobat on top of your deck and use Grimsley’s Move to put it directly onto your Bench! Night sky is the limit.
Goodra, meanwhile, leans into disruption. Its Slimy Sliding Ability tries to mess with your opponent’s retreat plans—especially in a format where switching effects get more valuable when KOs feel close. If Goodra’s in play, your opponent may not be able to retreat their Active Pokémon, which sets you up for an easy KO later. But it’s not just tricks: its Dragon Pulse attack does 160 damage for , and it can easily one-hit KO the other Prerelease promo cards. It can be tricky to get two different types of Energy attached, and you’ll have to watch what happens when discarding the top card of your deck.
Whether you’re heading to a local game store or playing with friends, Misryoum suggests you treat this as both a warm-up and a preview: quick, fun battles with cards from the new Mega Evolution—Chaos Rising expansion. If you can’t make it to a Prerelease event, these Build & Battle Boxes will be available for purchase when the expansion officially launches. And honestly, by the time May 22 rolls around, you’ll probably already know which promo you want to chase next.
Zendaya and Jean Smart Aim for Emmys History