Just in time for the holiday shuffle of pocket change and screen time, Pokémon TCG Pocket is rolling out a new booster: Crimson Blaze lands on December 17, 2025. The set throws the original Kanto starters back into the spotlight — and yes, Charizard arrives with a roar.
What Crimson Blaze brings to the table
The headline cards are Mega Charizard Y ex, Mega Venusaur ex and Mega Blastoise ex, each arriving with fresh art and a lab-research visual theme that gives the set a slightly scientific, collector-friendly vibe. The official announcement is on the Pokémon Company site, which lays out the release and some of the new visuals (Pokémon News).
If you watched the trailer, the Mega Charizard Y ex is the one likely to cause the loudest reactions. Early impressions from community coverage point to an attack that hits extremely hard — numbers that could outpace many existing threats if you can fuel it. That does mean decks that accelerate energy or lean on ramp-support will be the most interested. Mega Venusaur and Mega Blastoise take different routes: Venusaur leans on disruptive status effects, while Blastoise wants a heavier investment to shine.
Trainer cards and supporters teased alongside the trio seem built to push consistency into those decks. Quick Grow Extract and a Serena supporter who searches for Mega Evolution Pokémon ex were shown in trailers, and other tools hinted at ways to assemble evolutions faster or tutor specific resources — small comforts for anyone trying to get four or six energy onto a single attacker in a fast meta.
Seasonal events and how to chase the new cards
Crimson Blaze is more than a pack drop; it arrives with a winter event slate designed to keep players engaged into January. The game’s holiday campaign runs across the end of December into early January, with missions and seasonal rewards. Separate solo-battle drops and timed events — including special promotional boosters and a Miracle Draw-style feature — stagger new promo cards and limited-time tickets that exchange for unique art variants.
If you’re planning to chase specific promos, keep an eye on the in-app schedule: the roadmap lists multiple short events across late December and January that rotate what drops are available. That makes staying logged in during the first three weeks after launch the simplest way to collect what you want.
Why collectors and competitive players will both care
Crimson Blaze strikes a familiar balance: flashy, powerful cards that draw collectors plus mechanical toys that could shake up the mobile meta. For collectors, the research-lab artwork and fresh card backs are a neat visual hook; for competitive players, the tension is about how long these Mega Pokémon ex will remain viable before the next power creep arrives. Some community writers have already pointed out that Charizard’s raw damage output looks dangerously high on paper — which is precisely the kind of thing that changes top-level decklists.
If you also follow physical card markets, this digital expansion is a reminder that Mega Evolution-era designs still carry value for both nostalgia and play — and if you’re hunting physical product deals while the app refreshes, a guide on tracking TCG discounts can help you convert virtual excitement into cardboard finds. For help with searching for bargains on Mega Evolution products, see our roundup on Where to Find the Best Pokémon TCG Deals Right Now.
Crimson Blaze’s arrival also echoes other Pokémon media leaning into Mega Evolutions this season; fans tracking the broader Mega-Evolution resurgence may want to compare how the mechanic plays out across formats, including the recent Mega-focused content in Pokémon Legends: Z‑A Mega Dimension.
Expect to see a flurry of decklists, theoretical techs and collector discussions the week of release. If you’re opening packs on the 17th, bring patience (and maybe a spare energy-acceleration plan). Whether you’re chasing art, nostalgia or the next meta-defining attacker, Crimson Blaze looks designed to deliver on all three — at least until the next expansion rolls in.