I've been playing an unhealthy amount of Pokémon Legends Z-A recently. As someone who mostly avoided the X&Y games - simply because I was at the 'I'm too old for Pokémon now' phase - I hadn't learned to truly appreciate Mega Pokémon, but Legends Z-A gave me a reason to fall in love with this mechanic, and Zygarde popping up throughout Lumiose left me excited to finally capture the legendary. Now, with Pokémon Perfect Order confirmed to be releasing soon, it gives me another way to have Zygarde, with Mega Zygarde ex leading the charge for the upcoming expansion.
There's still a couple of months to wait until Pokémon Perfect Order arrives, as we've still got Ascended Heroes - January's special expansion - to release and join the growing list of Pokémon sets. However, as with any upcoming line-up of Pokémon TCG products, the reveals are popping up just before it arrives in Japan. That's the case with Perfect Order - a.k.a. Nihil Zero in Japan - which launches there later this month.
To translate all that excited Pokéchatter into plain English: the Pokémon Perfect Order release date is Friday, March 27, 2026, and it's the third standard expansion of the Mega Evolutions era. There's no surprise that Mega Zygarde ex is the focal point here, and the title of the set ties nicely into Legends Z-A's plot - which I won't spoil here.
However, thanks to fansite Pokébeach's images of the products - Elite Trainer Boxes, single booster packs, booster bundles, and the always-fun-to-open booster boxes - we know that a few other Mega Pokémon are leading the set too. That includes Mega Clefable ex, Mega Starmie ex, and Meowth ex, and it's honestly quite interesting to see such a varied group of 'mon as the pack art for the set.
The biggest reveal, however, is that Pokémon Perfect Order isn't a big set by any means. In fact, based on confirmed info from Pokémon's official press release, it kind of resembles Phantasmal Flames, with just over 120 cards in total, including those Illustration Rares and above.
Phantasmal Flames is a fairly small expansion compared to many others from recent years, and in my opinion it's hard not to believe that The Pokémon Company's decision to deliver these smaller sets has a bit to do with its struggle to keep up with printing demand. However, considering my Pokémon Phantasmal Flames review was quite positive about the pull rates, I'm hoping we'll have a similarly 'small but perfectly formed' experience this time around.
Also, for the players out there, I can't claim to be an expert TCG battler (I'm a pack cracker and binder filler, more than a competitive trainer) but even I can tell Mega Zygarde ex's abilities are pretty terrifying.
At 310 hit points, it's far from being one of the highest HP Pokémon cards out there - which is a vulnerability for a Pokémon that grants three prize cards when it's KOd. But if you can protect it long enough, those attacks could truly wreck. Gaia Wave's 200 damage for three energy is strong, but not apocalyptic when compared to other Mega 'Mons' ultimate attacks.
It's the five energy Nullifying Zero that you're going for here, giving you a 50/50 chance of dealing 150 damage to each and every benched Pokémon your opponent has. Yes, coin flips are swingy - but it's a coin flip for each benched Pokémon, meaning that, depending on their deck, you could be wiping out multiple cards a turn. It's gnarly stuff.
It's not clear when Pokémon Perfect Order pre-orders will go live, and considering how random Pokémon Center can be with its drops, it's worth bookmarking the following pages now and checking regularly if you're hoping to buy this set:
- Pokémon Center (global)
- Chaos Cards (global)
- Walmart (US)
- Target (US)
- Magic Madhouse (UK)
We'll be sharing news, announcements, and those exciting Special Illustration Rare reveals for Pokémon Perfect Order as they come, so make sure to join our Wargamer Discord to be some of the first trainers to know. You can also choose to get pinged when we post new deals, so if any Pokémon products drop to below market price - well, you can try and jump on it first.