Pokémon 30th anniversary Japanese products compared

Pokémon marked the card game’s 30th anniversary with a group of Japanese releases on Wednesday 16 September 2026. Unusually, the 30th Celebration set came out on the same day in every language, so Japan had no head start this time. Here is what each release holds, what it cost in Japan and who it suits.

Every 30th anniversary product at a glance

Prices in Japan include Japanese tax. Ours are in Australian dollars with GST included and flat $14 tracked shipping.

The 30th Celebration booster box

This is the box to open. Every card in the set is foil and thirty artists each drew their own Pikachu for it, with one in every pack, so a box of 20 packs gives you 20 of the 30. We opened a full case of 20 sealed boxes before listing it. Every box held 1 Special Art Rare, 4 Art Rares, 5 ex and 2 gold border classic reprints. A Futuristic Rare turned up in roughly 1 box in 4, so neither of those is ever promised.

The top card is a secret Mew that wasn’t on the checklist at all, in three versions numbered R/RGB, G/RGB and B/RGB. Our 30th Celebration card list goes through every card in the set.

The 30th Celebration Futuristic Box

The Futuristic Box is the premium collector’s edition, with artwork by YOSHIROTTEN. It holds two Pikachu ex promo cards finished in the Futuristic Rare style, one of each version, along with 64 special sleeves, a flip deck case, a rubber play mat with its own case, 12 metal damage counter dice, metal Poison and Burn markers, 2 coins and a display frame set. There are no booster packs inside, which makes it a box to keep and display.

The Espeon & Umbreon Premium Deck Set

The deck set holds two fixed 60 card decks built around Espeon ex and Umbreon ex. The cards collectors want from it are the Special Art Rare style Espeon and Umbreon illustrated by REND, while the decks also carry full art Espeon ex, Umbreon ex, Victini and Zeraora. It comes with a metal double deck case, a paper play mat, two coins and damage counters, so it suits someone who wants to play as well as collect. Our Eevee and Umbreon guide covers the other Eevee family cards worth knowing.

The 30th Celebration AR Set

The 30th Celebration set has 20 Art Rares, numbered 104 to 123. A box gives you 4 of them, so finishing the run by opening boxes takes a lot of packs. Our 30th Celebration AR Set is all 20 as loose singles, one of each, for collectors who would rather fill the binder page straight away.

The October card sets

Nine smaller card sets follow on Friday 16 October 2026 at 1,200 yen each, one for the three starter Pokémon of each region from Kanto to Paldea. The official 30th site also lists a range of anniversary sleeves, deck cases, play mats and collection files alongside the card products.

Which one suits you?

For opening packs, the booster box is the one, with every card foil and a different Pikachu in every pack. For a display piece, the Futuristic Box. For someone who wants to play, the Espeon & Umbreon deck set, while the AR Set gets you all 20 Art Rares without the luck of the packs. Our gift guide has more ideas at every budget.

Sources

• Pokémon Card Game 30th anniversary site, product list (Japanese)
• Pokémon Card Game 30th anniversary site, 30th CELEBRATION expansion pack (Japanese)
• Pokémon Card Game 30th anniversary site, FUTURISTIC BOX (Japanese)
• Pokémon Card Game 30th anniversary site, Premium Deck Set Espeon and Umbreon (Japanese)
• Samurai Sword Tokyo, every Japanese 30th Celebration product

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