The latest Pokémon Trading Card Game expansion, Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown, arrives September 13, 2024, but you can visit your local game store to play with it early! Starting August 31, 2024, select retailers will begin selling the Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown Build & Battle Box, giving fans a chance to have a Prerelease battle and experience the latest expansion before its official release date. To find a Prerelease event near you, be sure to use the Event Locator.

The Prerelease format allows players to compete using a 40-card deck with four Prize cards set aside at the start of play, as opposed to a 60-card deck with six Prize cards. With its quick, fun games, this format is perfect for introducing new players to the exciting world of the Pokémon TCG and gives seasoned players a window into all that Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown has to offer. Due to the limited card pool and the variance of cards that can be acquired in a Build & Battle Box, Prerelease events are also a great opportunity to flex your creative deck-building muscles.

Each Build & Battle Box includes four Scarlet & Violet—Stellar Crown booster packs, a 40-card ready-to-play deck featuring key cards from current and prior sets, as well as one of four unique foil promo cards to boost your Prerelease deck. Depending on which promo card you get, you could add the bodacious Bouffalant, the self-destructive Drifblim, the crabby Crabominable, and the limber Ledian. Whichever promo card you end up with, it will certainly shape your Prerelease strategy!