30th Celebration: Pokémon's first ever simultaneous TCG release!
30 years of Pokémon TCG will be celebrated in a world-wide 30th Celebration release!
By Gergy · 5 min read
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First—we really need to talk about this. It is more important than ever that everyone reading this does not panic buy. Buying from scalpers, livestream-events and price gouging retailers will significantly harm future availability; as would buying far too much at retail just because you can. We all must be patient and wait for restocks; there are millions of collectors—Pokémon knows this and I trust they will help make sure product is available to you for this release. Let's please be kind and fair to all your fellow collectors! Thanks!
Mark your calendars — Celebrating 30 years of Pokémon TCG with a brand new set this Autumn!
16th September 2026 will be the release day for the first ever simultaneous, globally co-ordinated Pokémon TCG release[1]. This set has 158 cards, plus a bunch of classic reprints will make quite the welcome return. Something interesting about this set, Pokémon claims that every card will be foil, including the basic energies! This means, all of the available cards including the new 30 different Pikachu cards within this set will ALL be foil.
The Sealed Product
I'm hoping Pokémon is anticipating absolutely unparalleled demand for this set, with factories around the world printing double-time for this set. We haven't seen any massive amounts of stock for even the most modern sets (other than Ascended Heroes booster bundles which managed to get a 4pp limit for the Pokémon Center pre-order window in November 2025). I'm hoping the reason for this is evidence of fully utilising the 8-month cycle leading up to the available product for this release to make sure this product is available to you. The new 2025 print facility in the Netherlands really doesn't seem to be pumping out all that much product, even though Ascended Heroes has seen some of the craziest demand to date.
Below is a sneak preview of both an English booster pack, plus the Japanese equivalent booster box and pack. We're expecting to see a huge variety of products for this release, from Pokémon Center exclusive Elite Trainer Boxes, to Premium Collection boxes, all the way to Ultra Premium Collections like we've experienced before with 25th Celebration products.
The Pika Ensamble
Pokémon have announced that there will be 30 collectible foil Pikachu cards within this set. There's no denying that Pikachu has been an absolute staple, and a massive fan-favourite amongst the franchise for the better part of 29 years; which is when the first 1997 episode of the Pokémon Anime featuring Ash and Pikachu hit screens on TV Tokyo[2][3].
As you can see on the images above, each of the Pikachu cards get a dedicated Pika-ears silhouette collector number next to the bottom border. This showing which card is which, out of the 30 cards available in the sub-set. If you're not really a fan of Pikachu, don't worry because this set will have plenty of other cards for you...
Futuristic Rare
A brand new rarity will be featured in the new 30th Celebration release—Futuristic Rare! Illustrated by famed Japanese artist Yoshirotten—both these new rarities feature stunning visuals which appears to be almost a elevation above the Black White Rare & Mega Hyper Rares we're used to:
Charizard, and a Sun & Moon Era Tag Team makes a return!
The details are light on this one, so far Pokémon have only revealed two reprints that we expect to find amongst this new set. What we do know, is there's a brand new original Charizard reprint, and a tag team reprint featuring Pikachu & Zekrom! Just like the 20th and 25th Anniversary Celebration collections, these reprints will feature the Celebrations logo in 30th flavour.
Four Illustration Rares revealed
Lapras is a huge fan favourite, so it's a delight to see an art that takes us right back to the Orange Islands adventures. Driftblim makes a surprise appearance at a fairground carnival (with a much kinder temperament I hope!), with midnight-form Lycanrock making a menacing manifestation. Finally, if this Hisuian Zorua looks familar to you, this was illustrated by none other than 0313 — Famous for a number of stunning fan-favourite modern arts such as Marshadow (MEG), Minor (PAR) and Togepi&Cleffa&Jigglybuff GX (COS)
Notable mentions
We're also seeing a selection of commons and double rares featuring more fan-favourites, so there will literally be something for every fan and collector in this set. Personally I am a huge, HUGE fan of this Umbreon art. Iori Suzuki is a relatively new illustrator having their first art Scatterbug 005/191 featured Surging Sparks[4], and being the artist behind the incredible Keiran Special Illustration Rare from Prismatic Evolutions.
All of the artists featured in previews from Pokémon for this release have made some incredible contributions.
I can't wait to get my hands on this set!
Pokémon Center Pre-orders and Restock information
For readers in the UK, click here to join the free PokéMart Discord community—for completely free UK Pokémon restock notifications.
You will need to queue for one of 6,500 free spaces; however, you can subscribe to premium giving full access while you wait for a spot. Your subscription will cancel itself when your free spot rolls around, you keep full access as a free user.
Use my code GERGY25 for 25% off your first premium month (normally £4.99)! If you subscribe with my code, I'll earn a small commission, and you'll be pinged as soon as the queue goes up! Win-win!