Ruler of the Skies, known as Domination Céleste in French, has been live on Pokémon TCG Pocket since July 30, 2026. It is led by Mega Rayquaza ex, the legendary dragon's first Mega Evolution in the mobile game, alongside 233 cards and a set of collection missions handing out boosters and exclusive items through the end of August.
Official key art for Ruler of the Skies. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
When did Ruler of the Skies release, and how many cards does it add?
Ruler of the Skies went live on Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 1:00 AM UTC (July 29 at 6:00 PM PT), with extra accessories unlocking on August 2. The set totals 233 cards including secrets, 78 of them secret rares, a count in line with Pulsing Aura, the Mega Lucario ex set released three months earlier on April 28, 2026.
The gap between the two was nearly three months to the day, slower than earlier in the year: Mega Shine, the set built around Mega Gengar ex, had launched on March 26, just one month after its predecessor. The Pokémon Company framed Ruler of the Skies as a bigger milestone tied to the app's half-year mark, which explains both the longer wait and the larger card count.
The Rayquaza wallpaper gallery unlocked by the set, in-app screenshot. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
What does Mega Rayquaza ex, the set's headline card, actually do?
Mega Rayquaza ex has 180 HP for a single-energy retreat cost, and crucially, Basic status: unlike the other two Mega Evolutions in this set, it can be played from turn one, no evolving required. Its attack, Mega Burst, costs one Fire and one Lightning energy, discards every Fire and Lightning energy attached, and deals 50 damage for each energy discarded that way.
It is a high-risk, high-reward card, built to hit hard once rather than to last. With two energies of each type attached, Mega Burst deals 200 damage, enough to knock out virtually any ex card in the game, but the Pokémon is then left with no energy at all. That trade-off has been the main deck-building debate since launch, and it explains why Mega Rayquaza ex dominates both the online discourse and the pull requests.
Mega Rayquaza ex, Basic stage, 180 HP. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Which other Mega Evolutions join Rayquaza in Ruler of the Skies?
Two more Mega Evolution ex cards share the spotlight: Mega Metagross ex (230 HP, Metal type, evolving from Metang) and Mega Gardevoir ex (220 HP, Fighting type, evolving from Kirlia). Unlike Mega Rayquaza ex, both require their evolution line to be completed first, which makes them slower to set up but steadier once they are on the board.
| Card | Stage | HP | Attack cost | Attack effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mega Rayquaza ex | Basic (playable from turn one) | 180 | Fire + Lightning | Mega Burst: 50 damage per Fire/Lightning energy discarded |
| Mega Metagross ex | Stage 2 (evolves from Metang) | 230 | 3 Metal energy | Repeated Strike: 100 damage plus 10 per Metal energy attached |
| Mega Gardevoir ex | Stage 2 (evolves from Kirlia) | 220 | Fighting + 2 energy | Resonant Blade: 100 damage plus 50 if a Supporter was played this turn |
Mega Metagross ex is the sturdiest of the three at 230 HP, with a limited weakness to Fire at just +20 damage. Mega Gardevoir ex rewards an active playstyle: playing a Supporter card before attacking pushes its damage to 150, enough to rival Mega Rayquaza ex on a well-sequenced turn.
Mega Metagross ex, 230 HP, the sturdiest of the three Mega Evolutions. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Mega Gardevoir ex, 220 HP, stronger after a Supporter card. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
What other Pokémon and Trainer cards are in the set?
Ruler of the Skies is not limited to the three Mega Evolutions: Genesect, Absol and Psyduck are among its notable cards, alongside new Trainer cards such as Carrie, Timmy and the Stadium card Rainbow Cave. These cards feed the themed collection missions covered below, more than the Mega Evolutions alone.
Carrie, a Supporter card, swaps your Active Stage 1 Pokémon for one on your Bench, a repositioning tool that helps when an opponent is targeting a specific weakness. Timmy, also a Supporter, moves a Colorless energy onto a Stage 2 Pokémon, a direct boost for setting up Mega Metagross ex or Mega Gardevoir ex faster. The Rainbow Cave Stadium card changes how energy is generated for the whole match while it stays in play.
Genesect, one of the set's notable cards outside the Mega Evolutions. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Absol, a Darkness-type card in the set. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Carrie, a Supporter Trainer card. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
What are the collection missions, and what do they reward?
Ruler of the Skies adds collection missions built around Pokédex tiers and themed sets: registering a set number of cards from the expansion hands out wallpapers, icons, badges, and above all Hourglasses, the currency that opens booster packs. The Hoenn Legends themed mission, which asks for Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza and Mega Rayquaza, is the most generous of the themed missions.
| Tier or mission | Goal | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Pokédex, 40 cards | Register 40 cards from Ruler of the Skies | Portfolio cover and Mega Rayquaza wallpaper |
| Pokédex, 155 cards | Register 155 cards from Ruler of the Skies | Mega Rayquaza icon and badge |
| Hoenn Legends | Collect Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza and Mega Rayquaza | 12 Wonder Hourglasses and 2 Shop Tickets |
| Museum Collections 1 and 2 | Collect more than 20 cards per collection | 36 Wonder Hourglasses, 12 Booster Hourglasses and 10 Shop Tickets |
An elite mission rounds things out: it hands out a ready-made Fighting deck built around Mega Lucario ex and Iron Valiant ex, two cards from earlier sets, available from late July through late October. It is a way for newer players to catch up on a card they missed without digging through older boosters.
Timmy, a Trainer card that speeds up Stage 2 Mega Evolutions. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
What new gameplay features come with this update?
Three technical additions arrive with Ruler of the Skies: 2D barcode deck sharing, automatic registration across every relevant Pokédex for cards that appear in more than one set, and a guaranteed rarity of Diamond 4 or higher under certain pack conditions.
Deck sharing scans a barcode generated by another player to copy their exact build, a feature other mobile card games already had but that Pokémon TCG Pocket had been missing since its late 2024 launch. Cross-set registration removes the annoyance of needing two copies of the same card to check off two different Pokédex entries, a friction point the community had raised for months.
Rainbow Cave, a Stadium card that changes how the match generates energy. © The Pokémon Company / Pokémon TCG Pocket.
Should you pull for Mega Rayquaza ex, or is there a guaranteed alternative?
No exact pull rate is published on the Ruler of the Skies announcement page, and the game's track record since its 2024 launch is consistent: Hourglasses build up for free every 12 hours or through missions, and can also be bought, but nothing guarantees landing Mega Rayquaza ex specifically, let alone its shiny version.
If the goal is having Rayquaza sitting on a desk rather than waiting in a digital inventory, the Mega Rayquaza crystal LED Pokéball reproduces that Mega Evolution's silhouette laser-engraved inside a K9 crystal block, on a USB-powered base with a multicolour remote, for 29.99 euros, with no pull involved. The plainer version, the Rayquaza LED Pokéball on a wood stand, exists at the same price for base-form Rayquaza. Both belong to the light-up Pokémon Pokéball collection, which covers 29 Pokémon.
How does Pokémon TCG Pocket work if you have not played it yet?
Pokémon TCG Pocket is a free app on iOS and Android, launched in late 2024, that turns the Pokémon trading card game into short matches built for a phone. You open booster packs with Hourglasses, build an exact 20-card deck, and battle other players or the game's AI. Physical Rayquaza is riding the same Mega Evolution wave: the paper set Delta Reign, on physical cards, also introduces Mega Rayquaza ex, on a release schedule of its own, separate from the mobile version.
