The most interesting new card in Japan this month will never sit on a store shelf. Mega Heatran ex headlines Gym Promo Card Pack 6, a seven card promo set that players earn at Pokémon Card Gym events across Japan starting November 1. Every pack holds exactly one random card, so even showing up and playing only gets you one pull at a time.
The seven cards in the pack
Two of the seven are brand new cards. Mega Heatran ex is the headliner and Lebanne is a new Supporter. Golett and Gastly return with new illustrations while keeping the same play text as their earlier prints, Golett from Storm Emeralda and Gastly from Perfect Order. The final three are Hariyama, Energy Recycler, and Gwynn, brought back as reprints with the Gym stamp, and all three are cards that see play in official tournaments in Japan.
Why Heatran is the chase
Mega Heatran ex is a Basic Metal Pokémon with 300 HP, and it is built to sit in the Active Spot and refuse to move. Its Ability, High Density Armor, cuts damage from opposing attacks by 60 while it is at full HP. Its attack, Gigantic Press, hits for 140 and then hits for 140 more the next time it is used, so a second straight swing lands for 280. Lebanne plays right into that plan, because a coin flip that lands on heads heals 150 damage from your Active Pokémon, while tails still heals 30.
How you actually earn one in Japan
There is no checkout line for this pack. At a Gym Battle, entering earns one pack and winning earns one more. At events with nine or more players, the winner of the rock paper scissors round earns one as well. A separate battle format played with a ready made deck also gives one pack for entering, plus an Eevee promo card for taking part. During this Gym Battle run, entry also comes with a separate 30th promo pack. Prizes are limited, and the official announcement warns that distribution ends when stock runs out.
Why this matters for collectors
Supply for this set will be set by turnout, not by print orders at retail. One random card per pack and a seven card pool mean Mega Heatran ex will enter the market slowly, through players in Japan who earned it, and early singles prices will reflect that trickle. Collectors outside Japan face the usual choice, pay the early import price for singles or wait. PokeBeach expects the new cards to reach English in a set around six to nine months from now, and Bulbagarden notes that international prints of Gym promos can be delayed or inconsistent, so that wait is an expectation and not a promise.
What to watch next is the first weekend of November. The first singles listings out of Japan, the first tournament results with Heatran in a deck, and any sign of an English announcement will tell us whether this is a fun Gym chase or the start of a real price run. If you are in Japan, the cheapest pull in the set is the one you earn at the table.