The Mega Gallade ex Special Illustration Rare promo is a limited card being handed out to celebrate the launch of Storm Emeralda in Japan. It reprints the Mega Gallade ex from Chaos Rising with new art by Akira Egawa, and there are exactly two ways to earn one. Both run inside Japan, and both are tied to playing the new set in a sealed format.
Quick answer: Win the promo by either placing well at an in-store Storm Emeralda deck-building tournament (a Rock-Paper-Scissors award or three tournament wins) or by playing the sealed format at home and entering the lottery, where 2,000 applicants are drawn at random. Both routes run July 31 to October 31, 2026, in Japan only.
Event window and what you need first
The Mega Gallade ex SAR Get Battle campaign is scheduled from July 31, 2026 through October 31, 2026. Storm Emeralda itself, the M6 set starring Mega Rayquaza ex, releases in Japan on July 31st, so the promo campaign begins the same day the packs go on sale.
To enter the in-store tournaments you need a Pokémon Card Game Players Club account, since entry is handled through an application lottery rather than a walk-in sign-up. The at-home route uses a separate application form instead of the Players Club draw. Both formats are sealed, meaning you build a deck from freshly opened packs rather than a pre-made list.
| Detail | Tournament route | Lottery route |
|---|---|---|
| Where | Participating card shops in Japan | Played at home |
| How you win | Rock-Paper-Scissors award or 3 wins | Random draw of 2,000 applicants |
| Entry method | Players Club account application | Special application form |
| Format | Sealed, 40-card deck | Sealed format played at home |
| Dates | July 31 – October 31, 2026 | July 31 – October 31, 2026 |
Route 1: Win it at an in-store tournament
This path rewards actual play. It leans on your results at a sanctioned store rather than luck, and it is where the majority of copies will come from.
Just showing up has a payoff too. Every participant receives a Mega Rayquaza cardboard deckbox, a Poke Pad promo, and an Urbain promo, each stamped with the event logo.
Route 2: Enter the at-home lottery
If you can’t get to a store, the sealed battle Storm Emeralda campaign lets you qualify from home. A total of 2,000 players are selected this way.
How many copies actually exist
Some early reports claimed only 2,000 of these cards would ever be printed. That figure only covers the at-home lottery. The tournament route adds far more copies on top of it, and those events do not have a published cap.
The scale is already large. There are 636 events scheduled between July 31 and August 31 alone, with more across the full window. Distribution is expected to resemble the earlier Victini promo handout, meaning thousands of copies beyond the lottery’s 2,000. Even so, no total print run has been confirmed, and stores will eventually run out of their allotment.
Getting one outside Japan
Both routes are Japan-only, and there is no sign of an English printing of the Mega Gallade ex SAR promo. Storm Emeralda’s cards will reach the West inside the Delta Reign set on November 6th, but the promo is not part of that release.
For collectors outside Japan, the secondary market is realistically the only way in. Because supply is spread across a heavy tournament schedule, the hope is that enough copies circulate to keep resale prices from climbing to the extreme levels seen with cards like Moonbreon.
Note: If you win through a tournament, you take the card home tied to your qualifying result. Lottery winners do not receive theirs at the table; the promo is mailed to selected applicants after the draw, so delivery arrives later rather than on the day you play.
