Portal guides · Pokemon
The Pokemon 30th Anniversary set is the celebration of thirty years of the Pokemon Trading Card Game, and it is the set every collector has been talking about since it landed in September. If you want the whole list in one place, every card is pictured on our Pokemon 30th Anniversary set page.
This guide explains what the set is, how the English card list is made up, which cards collectors are chasing, and how to build the complete master set. Everything here is either from The Pokemon Company's own announcements or from our checked card list. We have left prices out on purpose, because they change every week.
See every card in the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set, with pictures, on our set page
Last checked: 21 October 2026. The release date, the all foil finish, the Pikachu in every pack, the Futuristic rare Mewtwo ex and Mew ex and the Classic Collection come from The Pokemon Company's announcements on pokemon.com. The card counts and the rarity split come from our own English card list on the set page, checked against the full set on 19 September 2026. No prices are quoted, because they move.
The short answer
- Its official name is Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration. It released worldwide on 16 September 2026, at the same time in every language.
- The English set has 199 cards: 128 in the main set, 30 numbered secret rares, 3 RGB Mew secret rares, 30 Classic Collection reprints and 8 Basic Energy.
- Every card is foil, so there are no separate reverse holo copies to hunt. The master set is the 199 cards.
- Every booster pack holds one of 30 different Pikachu, numbered 023 to 052 in the main set.
- The chase: the two Futuristic rares, Mewtwo ex and Mew ex, the Special Illustration Rares, the RGB Mews and the Classic Collection reprints.
What the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set is
The celebration, in plain terms.
The Pokemon 30th Anniversary set is officially called Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration. The Pokemon Company released it worldwide on 16 September 2026, and it was the first expansion to launch in every region on the same day.
Two things make it different from a normal expansion. Every card in it is foil, right down to the Basic Energy. And it looks back over the whole history of the game, with a Classic Collection of reprints sitting alongside brand new artwork.
It sits in the Mega Evolution series, but it is a celebration set rather than a standard expansion, so it collects differently. More on that below.
NoteNot the same as Celebrations
Celebrations was the 25th anniversary set from 2021. The 30th Anniversary set is a separate release with its own card list, so check which one a listing means before you buy.
How many cards are in the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set?
The English set, counted card by card.
The English Pokemon 30th Anniversary set has 199 cards. The main set is numbered 001 to 128, and everything above that is a secret rare or a special card.
Inside the main set there are 71 Commons, 15 Rares, 12 Double Rare ex cards and the 30 Pikachu cards. Above it sit 30 numbered secret rares, from 129 to 158: 18 Illustration Rares, 10 Special Illustration Rares and the 2 Futuristic rares.
Then come the cards that sit outside the normal numbering: 3 RGB Mew secret rares in red, green and blue, 30 Classic Collection reprints numbered H1 to H30, and 8 Basic Energy.
One card from every rarity
| Part of the set | Cards |
|---|---|
| Main set, 001 to 128 (including the 30 Pikachu) | 128 |
| Numbered secret rares, 129 to 158 | 30 |
| RGB Mew secret rares | 3 |
| Classic Collection, H1 to H30 | 30 |
| Basic Energy | 8 |
| Total | 199 |
English set only. Promo cards from collection boxes are numbered separately and are not part of the 199.
TipCollecting Japanese instead?
The Japanese 30th Anniversary set has its own card list and its own numbering, so an English checklist will not line up with it. Pick your language first, then build everything around it.
The 30 Pikachu: one in every pack
The subset that makes this set.
The Pokemon Company confirmed that every 30th Anniversary booster pack contains one of 30 different Pikachu cards, each with its own illustration. In the English set they are numbers 023 to 052, and each one also carries its own small subset number out of 30.
That makes the Pikachu run a collection in its own right. Plenty of collectors are building just the thirty, in a binder page of their own, before they think about the rest of the set.
The chase cards to watch
Where the attention is, without the prices.
The Futuristic rares. This is a brand new rarity, and the first two cards to carry it are Mewtwo ex (157) and Mew ex (158), both illustrated by YOSHIROTTEN. They sit at the very top of the numbered secret rares.
The Special Illustration Rares. Ten of them, numbers 147 to 156: Fuecoco ex, Greninja ex, two Pikachu ex, Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, Sylveon ex, Gengar ex, Jirachi ex and Salamence ex.
The RGB Mews. Three Mew secret rares in red, green and blue, outside the normal numbering.
The Classic Collection. Thirty reprints from across the history of the game, including Base Set Charizard, Lugia, Shining Celebi, Dark Tyranitar, Rayquaza EX and Mew VMAX. The Pokemon Company has said these reprints are not legal in the Standard format, so they are collector cards. In our one month on Top 10, the Classic Collection Lugia and Charizard sat at the top of the whole English set.
The cards to watch
Commonly saidOnly the chase cards matter
Not in this set. Every card is foil and every Pikachu has its own art, so the full set is striking on its own. Chase what you love and enjoy filling the rest.
How to collect the 30th Anniversary master set
Simpler than most sets, and here is why.
A master set usually means every card plus every reverse holo version. Because every card in the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set is already foil, there are no separate reverse holo copies, so the English master set is the 199 cards in the list above.
Start with the list. Our free checklist covers every card, so you can tick off what you own today at no cost.
Then hold every gap open. Placeholders are digital downloads you print at home, one for every slot, so the binder looks complete in shape from the first day and you swap in each real card as you find it.
Finally, give it a home. The Master Set Bundle puts all three together: the 30th Anniversary printed binder in your choice of size, the English master set checklist and the full set of digital placeholders.
TipPick the binder size first
199 cards fit a 9 pocket binder with room to spare. If you want the Classic Collection or the Pikachu on pages of their own, size up and leave space.
Our 30th Anniversary range
Everything below is made to fit this set.
The 30th Anniversary printed binder carries the anniversary design edge to edge, and there are character binders for Day Pikachu, Night Pikachu, Espeon, Umbreon, Sylveon and Gengar if you would rather house the set around a favourite.
The English master set checklist and placeholders are built from the same checked card list as this guide, so every slot lines up.
Everything is gathered in one place on the 30th Anniversary collection page.
Questions people actually ask
What is the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set called?
Officially it is Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration. It marks thirty years of the Pokemon Trading Card Game and released worldwide on 16 September 2026.
How many cards are in the Pokemon 30th Anniversary set?
The English set has 199 cards: 128 in the main set, 30 numbered secret rares, 3 RGB Mew secret rares, 30 Classic Collection reprints and 8 Basic Energy.
How many cards are in the 30th Anniversary master set?
199 in English. Every card in the set is foil, so there are no separate reverse holo versions to add. Promo cards from collection boxes are numbered separately and sit outside the 199.
Is there a Pikachu in every 30th Anniversary pack?
Yes. The Pokemon Company confirmed every booster pack contains one of 30 different Pikachu cards, each with its own illustration. In English they are numbers 023 to 052.
What are the chase cards in the 30th Anniversary set?
The two Futuristic rares, Mewtwo ex and Mew ex by YOSHIROTTEN, the ten Special Illustration Rares, the three RGB Mews and the Classic Collection reprints such as Base Set Charizard and Lugia.
Is the 30th Anniversary set the same as Celebrations?
No. Celebrations was the 25th anniversary set from 2021. The 30th Anniversary set is a separate release with its own card list.
Are the Classic Collection cards legal to play?
The Pokemon Company has said the Classic Collection reprints are not legal in the Standard format. They are collector cards.
The Pokemon 30th Anniversary set is a proper party: all foil, a Pikachu in every pack, a brand new rarity and thirty famous reprints. In English it comes to 199 cards, and because every card is already foil, the master set is exactly that.
Grab the free checklist, hold every gap open with placeholders, and give the set a binder that does it justice.
Collect better.
Where these numbers came from
- Pokemon.com, Get Ready for Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration: official: release date, simultaneous worldwide launch, every card foil, a Pikachu in every pack, Futuristic rares by YOSHIROTTEN, Classic Collection not Standard legal
- Pokemon.com, The Pokemon TCG: 30th Celebration expansion is available now: official: worldwide release on 16 September 2026, Mega Evolution series, Classic Collection
- Portal TCG, Pokemon 30th Anniversary set page: our English card list, every card pictured, checked against the full set 19 September 2026
- Portal TCG, 30th Celebration one month on Top 10: our ranking of the most valuable English cards, prices from Pulse TCG