The Pokémon Company has officially revealed all 76 main set cards for the upcoming Japanese Storm Emeralda expansion, which stars Mega Rayquaza ex and introduces an innovative split Stadium card mechanic when it launches in Japan on July 31st.
Card game enthusiasts are getting their first comprehensive look at the much-anticipated expansion. Following an initial teaser trailer, The Pokemon Company released official card images for the Japanese set, which serves as the direct counterpart to the upcoming English release known as Delta Reign. Reliable Pokémon TCG source PokeBeach confirmed that the set is structured to include a total of 115 cards.
Mega Rayquaza Leads the Japanese Storm Emeralda Expansion
The expansion is structured around Mega Rayquaza ex as its headline star, marking a major thematic return for the iconic Legendary Pokémon. The trademark for Storm Emeralda was first discovered back in June 2025. The name is a reference to Rayquaza’s role in Pokemon Emerald, where it resides in the ozone layer. The “a” at the end could also be a nod to Legends: Z-A, where Mega Rayquaza plays an important part in the DLC. The English name, Delta Reign, references its Delta Stream Ability. M Rayquaza-EX was also the star of 2015’s Roaring Skies during the XY era when Mega Evolutions were first introduced.
Set to arrive on store shelves in Japan on July 31st as their sixth Mega Evolution set, the complete main set contains 76 cards, while the broader set configuration totals 115 cards. This makes it similar in size to other sets in the Mega Evolution line. North American players will see these cards arrive under the English name Delta Reign on November 6th — a whopping three months after Japan. Since the Mega Evolution block began, English sets have released every two months. Delta Reign would have normally launched in September, but the special release of 30th Celebration took its slot and pushed it to November. That expansion will arrive alongside a similar Mega Rayquaza-themed set for Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Split Stadium Cards Bring Legendary Mechanics Back
The standout mechanical addition in the new set is a brand-new kind of Stadium that’s split across two different cards. This new card type features artwork that’s split across two different cards. To play the Stadium, you’ll need to have both halves in your hand to complete the full illustration.
This invokes clear parallels to the HeartGold & SoulSilver era, which featured a similar concept for its Legend cards. These were Pokemon cards that could only be played together, combining Legendary Pokemon like Entei & Raikou or Kyogre & Groudon, or Lugia LEGEND, where you needed both halves of the card to play it. Because both halves share the same name, you can only ever play two sets of the card in a deck. Thus far, just one set of split Stadium cards has been revealed with the Legendary Summit card. With this set’s new Cyclizar, the Saboteri 9-card illustration that started in Mega Evolution is getting closer to completion.
Translation Efforts and International Release Timelines
While community translators work through card translations — with thanks going to Jake C. and Toine L. for them — early reveals point to a diverse mix of cards. Heracross is a Grass-type Basic Pokemon with 130 HP, featuring the Spike Draw attack for 20 damage that lets you draw 2 cards from your deck, and a [G][G][C] attack dealing 130 damage while the Pokemon also does 30 damage to itself, with a Fire weakness (x2) and a retreat cost of 3. Surskit is a Grass-type Basic Pokemon with 50 HP, featuring a [C] attack to search your deck for up to 2 Surskit and put them onto your Bench before shuffling, and a [G] attack for 10 damage, with a Fire weakness (x2) and a retreat cost of 1. Masquerain is a Grass-type Stage 1 Pokemon evolving from Surskit with 110 HP, featuring Scary Patterns for 30 damage that stops the Defending Pokemon from attacking during your next turn, and Bug Panic for 50x damage which reveals the bottom 7 cards of your deck, dealing 50 damage for each Pokemon revealed with the Bug Panic attack before shuffling them back and discarding the rest, with a Fire weakness (x2) and retreat cost of 1.
Cacnea is a Grass-type Basic Pokemon with 70 HP, featuring Knock Away for 10+ damage where you flip a coin to add 10 more damage on heads, with a Fire weakness (x2) and retreat cost of 2. Cacturne is a Grass-type Stage 1 Pokemon evolving from Cacnea with 130 HP, featuring Linear Attack to deal 30 damage to 1 of your opponent’s Pokemon without applying Weakness and Resistance for Benched Pokemon, and Punishing Needle for 10+ damage dealing 50 more damage for each of your opponent’s Pokemon in play that has an Ability, with a Fire weakness (x2) and retreat cost of 2. Combee is a Grass-type Basic Pokemon with 50 HP, featuring a 10-damage attack that returns the Pokemon and all attached cards to your hand, and Bug Panic for 50x damage revealing the bottom 7 cards of your deck, with a Fire weakness (x2) and retreat cost of 1. Vespiquen is a Grass-type Stage 1 Pokemon evolving from Combee with 120 HP, featuring Pierce for 40 damage, and Clean Hit for 80+ damage which adds 80 more damage if your opponent’s Active Pokemon is an Evolution Pokemon, with a Fire weakness (x2) and retreat cost of 1. Wimpod is a Grass-type Basic Pokemon with 70 HP and the Punk Out Ability, which activates if your opponent has any Pokemon ex in play.
US fans have the Pitch Black expansion headed their way in July, plus the 30th Celebration collection in September, before Delta Reign arrives on November 6th. Once the set releases in Japan on July 31st, we should have a much more complete picture of what to expect with the English-language Delta Reign release.
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