30th Celebration

What 30th Celebration is

30th Celebration is a special expansion released simultaneously worldwide on September 16, 2026 under the set code 30C, during the Mega Evolution Series in English and the MEGA Series in Japan, as part of the Pokémon 30th Anniversary. It marks 30 years of the Pokémon Trading Card Game itself, which began in Japan with the Expansion Pack, known outside Japan as Base Set, in October 1996. The set has 128 cards in the numbered set plus 30 secret rares from 129 to 158, with the RGB rares and the 30 card Classic Collection numbered separately, so the full checklist passes 160 cards.

Every card in the set is holofoil, including the Basic Energy cards, and almost every card carries the Pokémon 30th Anniversary logo. The set runs on a day and night theme, with many cards printed as daytime and nighttime counterparts, and it is built around Mewtwo ex and Mew ex with Umbreon ex, Espeon ex, Sylveon ex, Salamence ex, Greninja ex and Gengar ex among its 12 Pokémon ex.

Three new ideas define the set: 30 Pikachu rare cards at 23 to 52, one in every pack, each by a different illustrator; Futuristic rare cards, Mewtwo ex 157 and Mew ex 158, illustrated by YOSHIROTTEN, who also drew the key visual and the Basic Energy cards; and RGB rare cards, secret Mew cards in a highly saturated color scheme by the same artist.

What makes 30th Celebration different

• 30 Pikachu rares Thirty Pikachu cards at 23 to 52, one in every pack, each by a different artist and printed with a distinct holofoil pattern and the anniversary logo behind the text, form a subset that collectors can complete only by opening many packs.
• Futuristic and RGB rares Mewtwo ex 157 and Mew ex 158 debut the Futuristic rare, illustrated by YOSHIROTTEN with vivid lighting and 3D Energy and Poké Ball graphics, and the same artist's RGB rare Mew cards are secret cards in saturated red, green and blue schemes.
• The Classic Collection Thirty reprinted cards from Base Set to the modern day return with sparkling golden borders and separate numbering. Based on early opening data, they turn up in regular 30th Celebration boosters, about one in every 10 packs; each Ultra-Premium Collection adds a three card Classic Collection pack.
• Day and night The set and its products pair daytime and nighttime versions of the same Pokémon, with Espeon ex and Umbreon ex as the faces of the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections and Battle Decks.
• A worldwide launch 30th Celebration is the first set released globally on the same day, including in Simplified Chinese, and every card in it is holofoil, Basic Energy included.

How 30th Celebration arrived

30th Celebration was first teased on Pokémon Day 2026 and released on September 16, 2026, two months after Pitch Black on July 17, 2026 and seven weeks before Delta Reign on November 6, 2026. The international set includes the cards of the Japanese 30th Celebration expansion and the 30th Celebration Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon.

Launch day brought the Elite Trainer Box with nine packs and a full art Nidorina promo, a Pokémon Center version with two more packs, the Greninja ex and Sylveon ex Boxes, the Poster Collection with Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres promos, the Tech Sticker Collections and the Two Pack Blister and Knock Out Collection with a holofoil Eevee 116. A stamped Mewtwo 63 came as a gift with purchase at retailers across the USA, Canada and Oceania.

The Booster Bundle followed on October 2, 2026, the Espeon ex and Umbreon ex Battle Decks on October 30, 2026 and, on November 6, 2026, the Mewtwo and Mew Figure Collections, the Ditto Premium Collection and the Day and Night Ultra-Premium Collections.

30th Celebration products

30th Celebration is sold through the Elite Trainer Box, blisters, collections and Battle Decks, with five card packs that each hold one Pikachu rare and an extra Basic Energy card. The sealed table above tracks the products as they are listed.

Collecting and grading 30th Celebration

The set is days old, so its market is still forming. The special illustration rares from 147 to 156, led by Mewtwo ex 151, Mew ex 152 and the two Pikachu ex at 149 and 150, and the Futuristic rare Mewtwo ex 157 and Mew ex 158 are the cards collectors are chasing first, with the RGB rare Mew cards and the golden Classic Collection behind them. The live chase list above ranks every tracked card by PSA 10 value as sales arrive.

The 30 Pikachu rares are the set's long project: one comes in every pack, but completing all thirty takes many packs, and complete sets are likely to trade as a unit. Because every card is holofoil, even commons show scratches under grading lights.

Sealed 30th Celebration means Elite Trainer Boxes, collections and bundles, and the sealed table above tracks what each one trades for as listings appear.