Pitch Black Cards Worth Grading: Chase List, What Grades a 10, and Real DCM Results
Three Pitch Black cards graded DCM 10 with their Heritage labels: Mega Darkrai ex 116, Mega Zeraora ex 114 and Morpeko ex 117
The seven cards that matter in Mega Evolution: Pitch Black, with the grades 232 real copies received and what kept the rest at 9.
Quick answer
The Pitch Black cards worth grading are the gold Mega Darkrai ex (#120, Mega Hyper Rare) and the six Special Illustration Rares (#114 to #119): Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Darkrai ex, Morpeko ex, Gladion's Final Battle and Gwynn. Of 232 Pitch Black cards graded on DCM through October 19, 2026, 16.8% received a 10 and 51.3% a 9. Most 9s were held back by photo glare or by being photographed inside a holder, not by card damage.
Mega Evolution: Pitch Black is the set collectors have been sending us more than any other this autumn. Since the first copy came through on July 10, DCM Optic has graded 232 Pitch Black cards, which is enough to say something useful about which cards are worth grading, what they actually grade, and what keeps a clean pull at a 9.
If you want the art tour, our Pitch Black review covers every chase card with images. This article is about grading them.
The chase list
Pitch Black numbers 84 cards in the main set and runs to #120 with secret rares. Seven of those cards carry nearly all of the set's value:
| # | Card | Rarity | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 120 | Mega Darkrai ex | Mega Hyper Rare (gold) | The only gold card in the set and the headline chase |
| 116 | Mega Darkrai ex | Special Illustration Rare | The alternate art by AKIRA EGAWA; the most graded card in the set on DCM |
| 114 | Mega Zeraora ex | Special Illustration Rare | Second most graded; art by GIDORA |
| 115 | Mega Chandelure ex | Special Illustration Rare | Fits the set's theme better than anything else in it |
| 117 | Morpeko ex | Special Illustration Rare | Fan favourite, the lighter moment in a dark set |
| 118 | Gladion's Final Battle | Special Illustration Rare | Character SIRs have been outperforming Pokémon SIRs at auction |
| 119 | Gwynn | Special Illustration Rare | Naoki Saito art, the second character SIR |
Below those sit 11 Illustration Rares. Silvally #95 and Primarina #88 are the standouts on art, and both are cheap enough to grade for the collection rather than the resale.
Horizontal bar chart of the most submitted Pitch Black cards on DCM, led by Mega Darkrai ex 116 with 48 submissions
Those seven cards account for 51% of every Pitch Black submission on DCM. Mega Darkrai ex #116 alone is 48 of the 232.
How Pitch Black cards actually grade
Bar chart of DCM grades on 232 Pitch Black cards: 16.8% graded 10, 51.3% graded 9, 23.7% graded 8
| DCM grade | Cards | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 10 (Gem Mint) | 39 | 16.8% |
| 9 (Mint) | 119 | 51.3% |
| 8 (Near Mint-Mint) | 55 | 23.7% |
| 7 or lower | 19 | 8.2% |
That 10 rate is lower than DCM's population as a whole, where about one card in five grades a 10, and the reason is in the reports: the dark, textured foil on this set's chase cards is hard to photograph. Most of the 9s on the Special Illustration Rares did not cite a corner, an edge or a scratch. They cited the photos.
Why a clean pull comes back a 9
Read the written reason on any DCM report and you will see one of three things on Pitch Black 9s.
Gold Mega Darkrai ex 120 graded DCM 9 with image confidence C, with a note explaining glare kept it from a 10
1. Glare on the foil. The gold Mega Darkrai ex above scored 9 in all four categories. The report says the card presents at Gem Mint level, but glare across the gold surface kept the photos from confirming it. That is an image confidence C, and the fix is lighting, not a different card. Our lighting guide shows the setup.
2. The card was photographed in a holder. Several Mega Darkrai ex #116 copies came through inside a rigid holder. The report holds those at 9 because the surface and edges cannot be fully inspected through plastic. Take the card out, shoot it on a dark mat, and grade it again.
3. A real flaw. The 8s and below are mostly genuine: a soft corner, edge whitening on the black borders, or a surface scratch. Pitch Black's black-bordered cards show whitening more readily than lighter sets, so check the edges under a lamp before you decide to grade.
Three real 10s
The cards in the header image are three Pitch Black 10s graded on DCM this month, each with its Heritage label:
- Mega Darkrai ex #116, graded 10 on October 18. All four categories scored 10 on both faces.
- Mega Zeraora ex #114, graded 10 on October 17. Two of three evaluations scored it a perfect 10; the third put centering at 9, and the measured borders were inside the 10 tolerance.
- Morpeko ex #117, graded 10 on October 14.
Every DCM grade links to a public report with the photos, the four subgrades per face and the written reason, so you can check these yourself.
Is it worth grading?
For the gold Mega Darkrai ex and the six SIRs, yes, and the order of operations matters: grade on DCM first for $2.99 or less, then decide whether a card at 10 justifies a mail-in submission and a sealed slab. For the Illustration Rares, a DCM grade documents condition for a listing or your collection. For the rest of the set, grade for the record, not for the price.
Pull-rate reporting on this set is still thin and the community estimates disagree, from roughly one Special Illustration Rare per box to one in every five or six boxes, with the gold Darkrai far rarer than that. Treat any single pull-rate figure as a guess until there is more sealed-box data.
Grading figures are from DCM production records for cards identified as Pitch Black, July 10 to October 19, 2026. These are cards DCM users chose to submit, not a random sample of the print run. Pokémon and card names are trademarks of their owners.
Best ValueVIP$99150 credits · $0.66/gradeLowest one-time pack rateBasic$2.991 credit · $2.99/grade+1 bonus on first purchasePro$9.995 credits · $2.00/grade+3 bonus on first purchaseElite$19.9920 credits · $1.00/grade+5 bonus on first purchaseSee all credit packsCredits never expire. New accounts start with two free grades.Frequently asked questions
- Which Pitch Black cards are worth grading?
- The gold Mega Darkrai ex #120 and the six Special Illustration Rares, #114 to #119: Mega Zeraora ex, Mega Chandelure ex, Mega Darkrai ex, Morpeko ex, Gladion's Final Battle and Gwynn. Illustration Rares such as Silvally #95 are worth grading for the collection rather than for resale.
- What does a Pitch Black card usually grade?
- Of 232 Pitch Black cards graded on DCM through October 19, 2026, 16.8% received a 10, 51.3% a 9 and 23.7% an 8. Many of the 9s were limited by glare on the dark foil or by being photographed inside a holder rather than by damage to the card.
- Why did my Special Illustration Rare grade a 9 instead of a 10?
- Read the written reason on the report. On Pitch Black the most common causes are glare on the textured foil, which lowers image confidence, and photographing the card inside a holder, which prevents a full surface and edge inspection. Reshoot the card out of the holder in even light and grade again.
- How many Special Illustration Rares are in Pitch Black?
- Six: #114 Mega Zeraora ex, #115 Mega Chandelure ex, #116 Mega Darkrai ex, #117 Morpeko ex, #118 Gladion's Final Battle and #119 Gwynn. The gold Mega Darkrai ex #120 is the set's single Mega Hyper Rare.