The next era of the Pokémon Trading Card Game still has no cards and no date and no known mechanic. As of this morning it may have names. Four trademark filings by Nintendo and Creatures Inc. and Game Freak came to light in Japan on October 29, and three of them read like set names written for the three legendary beasts Pokémon put in its ex★ teaser at Worlds. If the reading is right, Entei and Raikou and Suicune will not just front the new series. Each one gets a set of its own.
Three names and three beasts
The three filings are Magma Heartbeat for Entei and Lightning Impact for Raikou and Aurora Ripples for Suicune, in Japanese マグマの鼓動 and イナズマの衝撃 and オーロラの波紋. PokeBeach reports the names are registered under the same categories used for Pokémon TCG set names, and PokePursuit notes that category is Class 28, the class that covers games and toys and playthings. That filing pattern is why collectors are treating three short phrases as set names rather than as merchandise slogans.
The teaser already told us the cast
Pokémon itself put these three Pokémon at the front of the ex★ series on August 31, when a video at the World Championships closing ceremony in San Francisco revealed the ex★ logo as the series that follows the Mega Evolution series. Samurai Sword Tokyo records that Suicune and Entei and Raikou appeared with the logo and that no specific cards for any of the three were shown. Bill’s Archive adds that each beast appeared in its own element, with Suicune in water and Entei in fire and Raikou in lightning, and that the images were promotional renders rather than card artwork. The trademark names line up with those three elements one for one.
What the filings do not say
Here is where the Rumor Mill label earns its place. Bill’s Archive states plainly that none of the four filings mentions ex★ or any Pokémon, so tying the names to the new series is inference, however strong the match looks. Pokémon has announced no set name and no release date and no card mechanic for ex★, and nothing in the filings changes that. Whether the three names mean three separate releases is also unconfirmed. PokePursuit raises that reading as a possibility, and we are treating it as conjecture until Pokémon shows a product.
A fourth filing for new players
The fourth trademark is Battle Start Deck, in Japanese バトルスタートデッキ. Bill’s Archive reads it as a product name rather than a set name, and PokePursuit suggests it sounds like a line of ready to play decks that would sit beside the new sets. A named deck line arriving with a new series would make sense for newer players, but that purpose is also conjecture at this point. All the filing itself proves is that the name was registered alongside the other three.
What this means for collectors
Our take is that this is a watch story, not a buying story. There is nothing to preorder and no card to chase, and anyone selling certainty about ex★ dates or contents today is selling past what the record shows. What the filings do change is the shape of the wait. The Mega Evolution series still has dated releases ahead of it, including Aura Seeker in Japan on November 27 and the MEGA x MEGA Parade High Class Pack in Japan in February 2027, and PokeBeach has suggested the new series could start in the spring after that run ends. Treat the spring timing as PokeBeach reading the calendar, not as a Pokémon announcement.
What to watch next
Watch for the follow up announcement Pokémon told fans to wait for at Worlds, because that is where a set name becomes official. Watch the Japanese trademark record as well, since a pack design or a product listing would turn this inference into something harder. And watch whether the three names stay together in future filings. Three sets named for three beasts would be an unusual way to open a series, and these filings are the first concrete sign that Pokémon may be building the ex★ opening around the same Johto trio it chose for the teaser.