How to get Pitch Black Pokémon TCG Cards from The Pokémon Center without timing out

It's that time of the year: a new Pokémon card set is going on sale. There are many ways to buy Mega Evolution: Pitch Black, the newest Pokémon set, but there's incentive to do so via The Pokémon Center. Not only does the official site sell at the actual suggested retail value, the shop also has exclusives you can't get anywhere. Even in the best scenario, however, trying to score on TPC's website can be a dumpster fire.

Here's what you need to know about Pokémon's new Mega Evolution: Pitch Black sale.

What's going on sale?

The Pitch Black set will be sold in Elite Trainer Boxes (11 packs), Booster Bundles (6 packs), Booster Packs (a single pack of 10 cards) and Booster Display Boxes (36 packs). All of these are preorders, as the Pitch Black set does not release until July 17, 2026. TPC has a strict purchase limit. The number fluctuates, but typically, you can only buy two ETBs, one booster pack or display box, and a small number of Booster Packs per household.

When is TPC selling Pitch Black?

It's live now! Good luck with the queues.

What cards are in Pitch Black?

Image: Yuka Morii via Bulbapedia

Pitch Black is a set with over 115 cards. TPC says it contains "more than 20 Trainer cards" and more than "35 Pokémon and Trainer cards with special illustrations." The set is the same as the Japanese release of Abyss Eye, which features artwork from popular contributors like Mina Nakai, Shibuzoh, Naoya Kimura, Hyogonosuke, and more. For collectors, cards like the crocheted Wailmer card by Asako Ito and Yuka Morii's clay rendition of Mankey will catch eyes.

The special art cards depict Pokémon such as Armarougue, Goldeen, Primarina, Manetric, Slowbro, Dhelmise, Thievul, and Zarude. The Gold card belongs to Mega Darkrai. You can peruse most of the Japanese version of set here, but overall, the art is a step up from both Perfect Order and Chaos Rising. Expect competition for Pitch Black to be fiercer as a result.

What should I pre-order from TPC's website?

Normally, ETBs are better suited for newer players who need things like dice and coins; everyone else gets a better deal from Booster Bundles. TPC's Elite Trainer Boxes are special, however. They contain more packs than ETBs sold elsewhere, and the packaging is different. They provide two promo cards rather than one, and they display a special TPC stamp.

While they're more expensive than other options, ETBs are worth considering if you're a collector or a reseller. TPC's variants aren't reprinted, so they gain significantly more value over time. In the short term, TPC-branded boxes are typically resold for two to three times the price of normal ETB packages.

Is my estimated wait time really this long?

Image: Asako Ito via Bulbapedia

Yes and no. When you first load in, the site will give you a time frame that probably sounds discouraging. That number is an estimate, and it can change rapidly. Don't fret if it goes up and do not reload the page if the time increases. Doing so will put you at the end of the queue — or even worse, flag you as a potential bot. Wait it out: even if you're on the site for multiple hours, chances are still good that you'll be able to buy something. The Pokémon Center's stock is massive.

How should I prepare?

If possible, you should be on an Ethernet-connected desktop. If you're on a mobile device, your phone can quietly screw you over by automatically refreshing the page when you swipe away. Some users do have success on mobile, but the reality is that Wi-Fi is sometimes unreliable. TPC interprets connection changes or wonkiness as bot behavior.

Before loading the website, clear your cookies. Open the website in a single tab on your browser, without Incognito mode on. The website cautions against using VPNs, or multiple devices to connect. Go in with a couple of credit cards at the ready.

If you get flagged, the best-case scenario is that your multi-hour wait time lengthens. In the worst-case scenario, the site bans you from purchasing anything at all.

How should I navigate TPC's website?

Photo: Thimo Pedersen via Unsplash

After waiting for multiple hours and finally getting onto the site, your instinct might be to zoom over to the new TCG area. This is a mistake. Pokémon fans advise each other to move through TPC's website slowly, counting somewhere between 3 and 5 seconds per click. If you get a Captcha, do it slowly as well.

Have your credit card ready, and do not use autofill of any kind. Type everything in manually, and do so slower than you think you should. Do not use a direct product link to join the queue; start from the site’s home page. TPC interprets autofill or pinpointed navigation as bot behavior.

When you check out, make sure to have everything you want in a single transaction. TPC may not allow you to double-dip, and you run the risk of finding an error next time around.

What does Error 17: Access Denied mean?

Sorry, friend. TPC has mistaken you for a bot, and you are now banned from purchasing anything from the Pitch Black presale. Users claim that you can circumvent this by logging out of TPC's website, clearing your cache, and trying again with a different payment method and email. Your mileage may vary. Error 17 does not always go away, unfortunately.

What does Error 15 mean?

Image: The Pokemon Company International

Error 15 typically occurs while trying to check out, or while navigating the site. It is the more average error that websites display when there are millions of people trying to connect at once. The good news is that you haven't been shadow-banned. The bad news is, the error can be hard to get rid of. Once again, try clearing your cookies and history, and possibly restarting your router. Whatever you do, don't hit refresh a million times. You might end up with the much worse error 17!

Why is it saying the TCG product is unavailable?

Sometimes, you'll add a Pokémon card product to your cart, try to check it out, and the website will suddenly tell you it's out of stock. You'll go back to the original page, which claims the product is still in stock. Unless you've been waiting for 12 hours or something, chances are high that this is just an error and the product is still available. You can try again, or you can try the cart trick.

What is the cart trick?

The cart trick refers to a popular workaround when TPC won't let you add a product to your cart or let you check it out. Go to the product's page, but don't add it to your cart. Instead, click on your cart first. From here, click back to the product. It should now theoretically say that the product is available.

The trick might have less to do with finding a legitimate loophole than navigating the site without reloading, which could get you flagged as a bot.

Image: The Pokémon Company

I didn't get anything. Am I cooked?

TCG fans categorize going home empty-handed as a cannon event, but don't lose hope. Major retailers like Target also have their own presales. Admittedly, it can be much harder to score from other sources with lower stock that don't enforce nearly as strict policies as TPC does.

My best advice: check in with your local card shop and see if they do pre-orders. If you're willing to put in some work, many LCS hold presale events as well. Participating gets you a "Build and Battle" box that contains 40 cards as well as three booster packs. The promo cards for these events have a special stamp.

For these events, you'll have to learn how to play the actual game. You get three packs just for showing up. If you stick around and actually play the matches, you'll get another three booster packs. Events can also be annoying, as you'll be packed with a bunch of people with varying degrees of hygiene during the summer.

Still, it's a guaranteed way to score new Pokémon cards — and to do so before the official release date. I attended a couple for the release of Chaos Rising and was able to acquire most of the basic set and a couple of Special Illustration cards. I did so two weeks before the set actually went on sale!

Image: OLM/The Pokémon Company

The per-pack cost might mean paying less than MSRP for a pre-release event. My shops sold tickets for $40, which got me six booster packs and a 40-card Battle box. True, I hated everything when I was four hours into an event that never seemed to end. I also didn't have to get up at 5am for a chance to buy new cards with an up charge. If I hadn't gone, I probably would have wasted way more time anxiously refreshing websites just to get beaten by a bot.

Still, it's worth trying the gauntlet that is The Pokémon Center's Pitch Black presale. How else are you going to get that unique ETB?

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