Storm Emeralda Officially Returns To Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Era

Pokémon fans have been desperate to return to the legendary Hoenn region and the era of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire for quite some time. However, while The Pokémon Company has re-released titles set in the Kanto region, and continues to expand the world of Pokémon with more recent entries, fans are still yet to get a game or experience set once again within the iconic region that played host to easily some of the best legendaries and stories in the series.

Fortunately, that is all changing, as The Pokémon Company has finally announced several Pokémon projects set in the Ruby and Sapphire era that are sure to delight fans. From a Rayquaza LEGO set to the upcoming Pokémon: Storm Emeralda, fans have more than enough to look forward to. Indeed, it is the latter that should really capture everyone’s attention, as it promises to not only expand upon an existing Pokémon property in a big way, but also reintroduce a fan-favorite mechanic.

Pokémon: Storm Emeralda is the upcoming Pokémon TCG set starring the one and only Mega Rayquaza ex. The set has finally been revealed by The Pokémon Company, alongside a handful of cards featured in the set, such as Fletchling and its evolutions and the intriguing Legendary Summit stadium, and is set to release in Japan first on July 31, 2026. This is just one of the many recent Pokémon TCG announcements, but a particularly special one for both fans of Rayquaza and those aforementioned Hoenn enthusiasts.

The Storm Emeralda set will include around 115 cards, 76 of which will be in the main set and around 40 of which will be secret rares. This is a fairly typical number of new cards, as it has been roughly the same in previous Mega sets. What makes Storm Emeralda such a unique set, beyond the addition of Mega Rayquaza ex, is the introduction of the split stadium card. Legendary Summit sees the return of the LEGEND cards from the Heart Gold and Soul Silver era, something that is frankly a tad unexpected yet ultimately very welcome.

It isn’t clear if we’ll get more of these split stadium cards in the set. Of course, we’ll find out when the full set releases in Japan, and get to go hands-on with the cards when they release in the US on November 6, 2026, under the Delta Reign Mega Evolution set. Unfortunately, this is a month later than most would have expected, as sets tend to release roughly two months after their Japanese counterparts. However, due to the ongoing Pokémon 30th anniversary celebrations, part of which was the 30th Celebration set, Delta Reign was pushed back a month.

Regardless, it is great to see the TCG return to the Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire era, during which Mega Rayquaza first appeared. Forming the set around Mega Rayquaza, an already exceptionally popular and beloved Pokémon, is sure to draw a lot of people toward it, especially considering how beautiful the revealed art is. Of course, those not interested in the Pokémon TCG, or those intending on skipping the set, can catch Mega Rayquaza in Pokémon Legends: Z-A’s DLC, or can simply wait until the next mainline game arrives for even more great Pokémon content.

Systems

Released

October 30, 2024

Developer(s)

DeNA, Creatures Inc.

Publisher(s)

The Pokemon Company

Multiplayer

Online Multiplayer

Cross-Platform Play

Yes

Cross Save

Yes