We are no stranger to Pokemon or the Pokemon Trading Card Game, which is perhaps bigger than it ever has been. The Pokemon Company are often releasing new sets of Pokemon Cards, normally on a quarterly cadence, with masses of fans hunting for the rare full arts or things that sparkle. So it just makes sense that Pokemon is releasing a 30th Celebration commemorative expansion, for the Pokemon Trading Card Game. It’ll become available on September 26th, 2026.
These packs appear to be in a similar fashion to the recent First Partner Illustration Collection, which was released earlier this year, where every card is foil — although they won’t all be full art. This expansion is going to take a lot of the classic and standout cards of the year and bring them back, along with stamping them with the 30th Celebration Pikachu face.
In the 30th Celebration packs players can find an all-new card rarity — Futuristic Rare. This new category of card will feature new, vibrant visuals created by the Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN. These cards are apparently designed with a goal of depicting Pokemon in deliberate striking artwork that’s meant to ‘look towards hope in an unknown future’.
Each booster pack will also include one of 30 unique Pikachu foil cards, illustrated by a different artist, which will feature Pokemon throughout different daytime and nighttime moments. These cards, shown in the trailer, look really fantastic — I love the squishy faced Pikachu especially.
Image credit from: @switchstock (x.com)
These packs will also include a Pokemon TCG Live code card, for those that play the mobile game.
This is apparently also the first ever Pokemon TCG expansion to debut with a simultaneously coordinated global launch, and is expected to be followed by additional products released throughout the year. I imagine that there’ll be much more to come to celebrate Pokemon’s 30th anniversary.
