6 min read

Last week we told you that 30th Celebration comes out on 16 September 2026 and that you can already pre-order it at RareCards. This week we're lining up which new cards and mechanics have been revealed in the meantime.

When does 30th Celebration come out?

The release date is still set for 16 September 2026, and nothing changed about that this week. That's special, because it's the first time in the history of the Pokémon TCG that a set comes out worldwide on exactly the same day, in English, Japanese and Chinese at once. Normally there are weeks to months between the Japanese release and the international release, so this simultaneous launch is reason enough for extra attention on its own.

The story behind the name: 30 years of Pokémon TCG

The name 30th Celebration refers to the 30th anniversary of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, launched in 1996 in Japan. It's not the first time Pokémon has celebrated an anniversary with a special set: in 2021 the 25th anniversary got its own celebration with the set Celebrations. 30th Celebration builds on that idea, but bigger and with a completely new visual layer. The fact that Mewtwo and Mew take the lead is no coincidence: this legendary duo was already central to the very first games and the film that put the Pokémon franchise on the map worldwide.

New mechanics and game rules

For those who know the game but haven't been following this set yet: 30th Celebration introduces a brand-new rarity called Futuristic Rare, often abbreviated to FUR. This is the first completely new rarity in quite some time and stands out thanks to a vivid, colourful foil finish designed by Japanese illustrator YOSHIROTTEN. The style is deliberately futuristic and, according to Pokémon, should radiate "hope for an unknown future". The first two Futuristic Rare cards revealed are Mewtwo ex and Mew ex.

On top of that, every card in the set is foil, including the basic energy cards. That's unusual: normally commons and uncommons in a set stay matte. Every booster also contains one guaranteed card from a set of 30 unique Pikachu cards, each drawn by a different illustrator. This week it became known that one of those 30 illustrations was made by Ken Sugimori, the original character designer of Pokémon. A booster consists of 5 foil cards (so always including 1 Pikachu), 1 foil basic energy card and 1 code for Pokémon TCG Live.

These cards have already been revealed

Over the past period more and more concrete cards from 30th Celebration have been confirmed. This is what we know for sure so far:

  • Mewtwo ex (Futuristic Rare, card number 157/128): 230 HP, Psychic type. The attack Photon Bullets does 50 damage to each of your opponent's Pokémon ex, and Psychic Powers does 230 damage but means Mewtwo ex can't attack on the following turn.
  • Mew ex (Futuristic Rare, card number 158/128): the second FUR card, also drawn by YOSHIROTTEN, and the logical counterpart to Mewtwo ex.
  • Umbreon ex: gets a Special Illustration Rare and forms the centrepiece of the Ultra-Premium Collection together with the night version of Pikachu ex. Special Illustration Rare art reveals of both Eeveelutions have also been confirmed for the Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon.
  • Salamence ex and Greninja ex: confirmed as important Pokémon ex cards in the set, exact HP and attacks haven't been shared yet.
  • Jirachi ex (Metal type, 160 HP): Wish Granter lets you draw cards until you have 7 cards in hand, and Swift does 150 damage that isn't affected by resistance, weakness or effects on your opponent's active Pokémon.
  • Pikachu ex in a day and a night version (Lightning type, 190 HP): the day version has Pika-Pika Parade, which lets you bring basic Pokémon from your deck to your bench, the night version has Zip-Zap Frenzy, which fills your bench with basic energy cards.
  • Meowth and Alolan Meowth, including their Illustration Rare versions, were revealed this week.
  • Nidorina gets an Illustration Rare treatment as an exclusive promo in the Elite Trainer Box.
  • Outside the main numbering of 128 cards, secret rares have also been confirmed already, including Lapras (131), Drifloon (136), Lycanroc (138) and Hisuian Zorua (145).

How does 30th Celebration compare to earlier anniversary sets?

The previous big anniversary set was Celebrations from 2021, marking the 25th anniversary. That set consisted of 50 cards: 25 new cards and 25 classic reprints in the Classic Collection, packed in boosters of 4 cards. 30th Celebration is considerably bigger: the main set runs to 128 cards in the English edition (103 in the Japanese edition, which uses different numbering), with secret rares on top of that. Just like with Celebrations, there's a separate Classic Collection again, this time of 30 reprinted iconic cards, including the original Base Set Charizard. The boosters also contain 6 cards instead of 4, and the simultaneous worldwide release is unique in the history of the TCG.

Is 30th Celebration worth holding on to?

Historically, anniversary sets often do well on the secondary market. Celebrations from 2021 is a good example: at the time that set drew a lot of attention from collectors and investors and stayed in demand for a long time. 30th Celebration has ingredients that could reinforce that effect: the Futuristic Rare rarity is exclusive to this set, every card is foil, and the simultaneous worldwide release brings extra media attention. The choice of Mewtwo and Mew as the leading roles also appeals to a broad group of collectors.

Please note: card values can go up and down. There is no guarantee of an increase in value.

The Japanese and Chinese counterpart

30th Celebration also comes out in Japan on 16 September 2026, with its own 30th CELEBRATION FUTURISTIC BOX full of exclusive Pikachu ex promos. On 16 October 2026 a separate Japanese product follows on top of that, the 30th CELEBRATION Card Set, with 9 regional first-partner promos. In China the set gets its own Iridescent Future Memorial Gift Box. These Japanese and Chinese products aren't available at RareCards yet. As soon as the pre-order for these variants goes live, we'll let you know right away, among other places via our WhatsApp group.

Pre-order at RareCards

As we already shared last week, you can pre-order the English 30th Celebration at RareCards right now. Want to be sure you don't miss any new reveals, extra products from later waves or the Japanese and Chinese variants as soon as they become available? Then join our WhatsApp group. That's where we share updates about stock and new pre-orders first.

Frequently asked questions

When can I pre-order 30th Celebration at RareCards? You already can, since last week: the pre-order for the English 30th Celebration is live in our collection. For the Japanese and Chinese variants, and for products from later waves, the pre-order follows as soon as Pokémon officially makes them available. Via our WhatsApp group you'll hear about it first.

What's the difference between the regular Elite Trainer Box and the Pokémon Center version? The regular Elite Trainer Box contains 9 boosters and 1 Illustration Rare promo of Nidorina. The Pokémon Center version contains 11 boosters (2 extra) and 2 foil promos of Nidorina, one of which carries the Pokémon Center logo. Both variants also include the usual accessories such as dice, damage counters and energy cards.

Will 30th Celebration also come out in German, French or other European languages? At this moment it's only confirmed that the set comes out worldwide at the same time in English, Japanese and Chinese. A concrete release date for German, French or other European language versions hasn't been officially announced yet. As soon as there's more clarity about that, we'll let you know.

Conclusion

The past week brought a lot of new information about 30th Celebration: the first Futuristic Rare cards with Mewtwo ex and Mew ex, extra details about Jirachi ex and the day and night versions of Pikachu ex, and a clearer picture of how the set compares to Celebrations from 2021. The release date of 16 September 2026 is still fixed, as is the simultaneous worldwide launch. Don't want to miss any of the latest reveals and pre-orders? Then join our WhatsApp group.