# How many Illustration Rares are in Pitch Black?

> Pitch Black has 17 Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares.
>
> Source: https://www.nomekop.app/faqs/how-many-illustration-rares-in-pitch-black — NOMEKOP, an independent Pokémon TCG binder tool
> (not affiliated with Nintendo / The Pokémon Company). Figures as of June 2026.

**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)](/card/me5-114) — Special Illustration Rare
- [Mega Chandelure ex (#115)](/card/me5-115) — Special Illustration Rare
- [Mega Darkrai ex (#116)](/card/me5-116) — Special Illustration Rare
- [Morpeko ex (#117)](/card/me5-117) — Special Illustration Rare
- [Gladion's Final Battle (#118)](/card/me5-118) — 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.