Pitch Black has 17 Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares.
Illustration Rares in Pitch Black
Illustration Rares (IR) and Special Illustration Rares (SIR) are the full-art, scene-style cards collectors chase hardest. Pitch Black packs 17 of them into its 120 cards: 11 standard IRs and 6 larger-art SIRs. That puts the full-art count at roughly 14% of the set — a meaningful share of why Pitch Black is fun to open.
The Pitch Black full-art cards to hunt
- Mega Zeraora ex (#114) — Special Illustration Rare
- Mega Chandelure ex (#115) — Special Illustration Rare
- Mega Darkrai ex (#116) — Special Illustration Rare
- Morpeko ex (#117) — Special Illustration Rare
- Gladion's Final Battle (#118) — Special Illustration Rare
Star Pokémon with full-art cards in Pitch Black
The marquee Pokémon getting the IR/SIR treatment here, with their prints:
- Mega Darkrai — Mega Darkrai ex (#48), Mega Darkrai ex (#101), Mega Darkrai ex (#116), Mega Darkrai ex (#120)
- Morpeko — Morpeko ex (#55), Morpeko ex (#102), Morpeko ex (#117)
- Mega Zeraora — Mega Zeraora ex (#27), Mega Zeraora ex (#98), Mega Zeraora ex (#114)
- Mega Chandelure — Mega Chandelure ex (#38), Mega Chandelure ex (#99), Mega Chandelure ex (#115)
- Fomantis — Fomantis (#85)
These cards drive much of Pitch Black's secondary-market value and help push a full master set to 194 cards. The rarest card overall, Mega Darkrai ex (#120) (Mega Hyper Rare), sits just above them on the rarity ladder.
IR vs SIR in Pitch Black
If you're prioritising, the 6 Special Illustration Rares are the scarcer, pricier tier — full-bleed art and lower pull rates — while the 11 standard Illustration Rares are more attainable but still some of the best-looking cards in Pitch Black. Together those 17 full-art cards are the heart of the set's chase and the reason a master set climbs to 194 cards.
Figures are from the pokemontcg.io dataset (TCGplayer pricing), as of June 2026.