Pokemon TCG Pocket’s next expansion is almost here, and it’s a big one. Ruler of the Skies officially launches on July 29, 2026, at 6 PM PDT (9 PM ET / 1 AM BST July 30), bringing Mega Rayquaza to the app for the first time as the expansion’s face card. If you’ve been holding your pack hourglasses in reserve, this is the set they were made for.
Here’s everything confirmed so far: all revealed cards, stat details, new app features launching with the expansion, the Welcome Back Missions, and what’s lined up for August.
Why Ruler of the Skies Is a Big Deal
Rayquaza has technically appeared in Pokemon TCG Pocket before, but only as a promo card — never as the star of a full expansion. Ruler of the Skies fixes that, and the timing is deliberate. 2026 is Pokemon’s 30th anniversary year, and The Pokemon Company has been steadily ramping up the significance of each TCG Pocket expansion as the year progresses. Ruler of the Skies is coded as B4 and is technically the twentieth overall expansion in the game’s history, following B3b’s Everyday Wonders set.
Rayquaza is consistently one of the most popular Legendary Pokemon in the franchise, so an expansion built around its Mega Evolution was always going to pull strong engagement. The trailer that went live today confirmed the card lineup, and even from the early preview it’s already shaping up to be one of the more PvP-relevant expansions in recent memory.
Every Revealed Card in Ruler of the Skies
Eleven cards have been officially revealed so far. The full set will be larger once the expansion goes live, but here’s what’s been confirmed:
- Mega Rayquaza Ex
- Mega Gallade Ex
- Mega Metagross Ex
- Swanna Ex
- Genesect
- Dragonair
- Psyduck
- Absol
- Skyla (Trainer)
- Wally (Trainer)
- Rainbow Cave (Stadium)
Mega Rayquaza Ex Stats and Attack Breakdown
Mega Rayquaza Ex is the centerpiece of the set and its stats are worth going through in detail:
- HP: 180
- Attack — Mega Burst: Requires Fire and Lightning Energy. Discard all Fire and Lightning Energy from Mega Rayquaza, then deal 50 damage for each Energy discarded. With two Energy attached, that’s 100 damage — and the ceiling scales with how much Energy you’ve built up.
- Weakness: None
- Retreat Cost: 1
No weakness on a 180 HP card with a retreat cost of just one is genuinely strong by TCG Pocket standards. The Mega Burst attack has a self-limiting mechanic since you’re burning your Energy on activation, but the burst damage potential is high and the lack of any weakness means opponents can’t simply hard-counter it with a type advantage.
Other Notable Cards: Mega Gallade, Mega Metagross, Swanna, Dragonair, and the Trainer Cards
The three other four-diamond rarity cards confirmed alongside Mega Rayquaza are all worth talking about:
- Mega Gallade Ex and Mega Metagross Ex are both confirmed as four-diamond ex cards. Full stat details haven’t been disclosed yet, but both have the potential to slot into competitive decks once their attacks and costs are known.
- Swanna Ex has 150 HP and its Jet Wing attack deals 140 damage — clean, straightforward, and likely useful in certain builds.
- Dragonair and Genesect are the cards most likely to be chased for their illustration rare versions. Dragonair in particular has been drawing attention from the community for its artwork in the reveal trailer.
On the Trainer card side, both Skyla and Wally are notable additions. Skyla lets you switch your Active Stage 1 Pokemon with one from your Bench, while Wally lets you pull a Normal Energy from your Energy Zone and attach it directly to a Stage 2 Pokemon — a useful acceleration tool for slower Evolution builds. The Rainbow Cave Stadium card allows each player to discard the newly spawned Energy from the Energy Zone once per turn to generate the next Energy in sequence, which opens up some interesting deck construction angles around Energy manipulation.
New App Features Launching With Ruler of the Skies
The expansion update brings several quality-of-life improvements to the app itself, not just new cards:
- Deck Sharing via 2D QR Codes — You’ll now be able to share full decklists with other players using scannable 2D pattern codes, the same system already used for friend requests and private battles.
- Cross-Pack Card Dex Registration — Cards that appear in multiple booster packs will now be registered in the Card Dex for each corresponding pack, including retroactively for cards you’ve already collected. No more gaps in your Dex from pack-specific tracking.
- 4-Diamond or Higher Guaranteed Pack Category — This is a significant addition for collectors. Once certain conditions are met when opening packs from an expansion, the next pack you open from that same expansion is guaranteed to contain a four-diamond rarity card or higher. This applies retroactively to previous expansions as well, so if you’re still hunting specific cards from Everyday Wonders or earlier sets, this system can help.
- New Cosmetics — Mega Rayquaza-themed card covers and backdrops launch on August 1, a few days after the expansion itself.
Welcome Back Missions and What’s Coming in August
For players who have been away from the game for a while, Ruler of the Skies introduces Welcome Back Missions that award up to 120 pack hourglasses for returning players. That’s a meaningful chunk of resources to re-engage lapsed users ahead of what looks like a packed content window.
For active players, here’s what’s confirmed for August:
- Mega Houndoom Ex Drop Event (mid-to-late August) — Complete Solo Battles to earn B series vol. 11 promo packs.
- Wonder Pick Event — Collect Pachirisu and Beldum cards.
- Deluxe Pack: ex Return — The popular Deluxe Pack booster format is coming back, giving players another avenue to expand their collections.
When Exactly Does Ruler of the Skies Go Live?
The expansion drops July 29 at 6 PM PDT / 9 PM ET. For players outside North America that’s July 30 at 1 AM BST / 2 AM CET. It’s a mid-week launch as usual for TCG Pocket expansions, so if you’re planning to open packs right at launch, set a reminder now.
Pokemon TCG Pocket remains one of the most actively updated mobile games running right now, and Ruler of the Skies looks like one of the stronger expansions in the B series. Mega Rayquaza alone is enough to drive interest, but the supporting cast — especially the Trainer cards and the guaranteed four-diamond system — gives this set real depth beyond just the headline pull.
For more on what’s going on in gaming right now, check out our breakdown of the Mina the Hollower iam8bit collection pre-order that just went live today, and the full rundown of the Xbox Free Play Days July 23 games available right now until July 27.
