Parents, Here’s the Deal with Pokèmon’s 30th Anniversary Cards

Pokèmon is celebrating its 30th anniversary this 2026, three decades after the original game was released in Japan in 1996. Millennial parents practically grew up with Pokèmon—from playing the original games on Nintendo consoles to walking around catching Pokèmon on our  smartphones—so it’s no wonder we’re also raising a new generation of fans.

And here’s something for Pokèmon fans young and not-so-young: the Pokèmon Trading Card Game: 30th Celebration expansion just dropped. If you missed the news and are wondering why your child is suddenly talking about booster packs, rare cards, Pikachu pulls, or something called an “ETB,” here’s everything you need to know.

Pokèmon TCG simply stands for Pokèmon Trading Card Game. These aren’t just card collectibles that fans can collect, admire, or trade with other collectors. Players can actually build “decks” with the cards and use them to play the game itself.

Pokèmon created the special 30th Celebration expansion to mark its anniversary milestone, which dropped in stores this September 16, 2026. Each booster pack contains:

• Five foil cards, including one of 30 Pikachu Rare cards

• One foil Basic Energy Card

Other things to note for collectors:

• There are 30 specially numbered Pikachu Rare cards to collect, each featuring a different illustration, artist, and attacks.

• The anniversary collection also celebrates Pokèmon TCG history with classic cards alongside new artwork.

Products that dropped on September 16 include:

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration 2-Pack Blister: Includes a foil Pokèmon TCG card featuring Eevee, a plastic coin, and two 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Knock Out Collection: Includes a foil Pokèmon TCG card featuring Eevee, a plastic coin, and two 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Binder Collection: Includes a 9-pocket binder featuring a design commemorating 30 years of Pokèmon, and five 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Poster Collection: Includes a poster featuring images of more than 160 cards from the 30th Celebration expansion, foil promo cards featuring three Legendary Pokèmon from the Kanto region—Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres—and three 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Pokèmon ex Box — Sylveon ex & Greninja ex: Includes either a Sylveon ex or Greninja ex as a foil promo card in both ready-to-play and oversized versions, and four 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box: Includes nine 30th Celebration booster packs, a full-art Nidorina promo card, 65 card sleeves, 16 foil Basic Energy cards, dice, a plastic coin, a storage box with dividers, and a player’s guide.

• Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box: Includes 11 30th Celebration booster packs and two full-art Nidorina promo cards—including one with the Pokémon Center logo—plus the accessories found in the standard Elite Trainer Box.

If you’ve forgotten the basics or are just entering the world of Pokèmon cards, here are a few more things to know:

• Booster pack: A small sealed pack containing random Pokèmon cards. You won’t know which cards you’re getting until you open it.

• Pull: Collector slang for a card you get from opening a pack. If your child screams, “Look what I pulled!” it basically means, ”Look at the card I got!”

• Promo card: A specific card included with a product or promotion rather than simply randomly pulled from a regular booster pack.

• ETB or Elite Trainer Box: A larger Pokèmon TCG product that contains booster packs plus accessories such as card sleeves, dice, Energy cards, storage, and a player’s guide.

• Rare: A card classification—there are several different rarity levels within Pokèmon TCG sets.

• Chase card: Collector slang for a particularly desirable or rare card someone hopes to pull.

Now that you are somewhat up to date with Pokèmon TCG, you should also know that Pokèmon is releasing different 30th Celebration products at different price and commitment levels. Here are a few more things to look forward to in the next few months:

October 2026:

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Booster Bundle: Includes six 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Mini Tins: Each includes two 30th Celebration booster packs, a sticker sheet, an art card, and a matching mini tin. All ten artworks will create two different images.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Battle Deck — Espeon ex & Umbreon ex: Each includes an all-foil 60-card deck led by either Espeon ex or Umbreon ex, a deck box, coin, and playmat.

November 2026:

• Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Tech Sticker Collection: Includes either Alolan Exeggutor or Lucario as a foil promo card, a corresponding tech sticker sheet, and three 30th Celebration booster packs.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Ditto Premium Collection: Includes a colorful acrylic display showcasing the promo card or another Pokèmon from the eight 30th Celebration booster packs included in the set.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection—Day & Night: A massive collection featuring Pikachu ex and Espeon ex or Pikachu ex and Umbreon ex, playmat, card sleeves, deck box, 29 30th Celebration booster packs, one 30th Celebration Classic Collection booster pack containing three cards, and other accessories.

• Pokèmon TCG: 30th Celebration Figure Collection — Mew & Mewtwo: This collection includes a foil promo card, an oversize card of Mew or Mewtwo, a colorful sculpted figure of Mew or Mewtwo, and five 30th Celebration booster packs.

Are your wallets ready? Pokèmon recommends buying Pokèmon 30th Anniversary TCG products from official or established retailers.

In the Philippines, you can check established hobby, toy, and gaming retailers that normally carry official Pokèmon TCG items, including:

• Toys R’ Us

• Toy Kingdom

• DataBlitz

Stock—especially for newly released and highly sought-after sets—can vary by store and branch, so it’s best to check availability.

Happy Pokèmon TCG hunting!

A childhood Pokémon card collection discovered in storage is helping pay for a wedding after three vintage cards sold for an estimated P2.4 million.