Japanese Sun & Moon Pokémon TCG Sets

All sets

About the Sun & Moon era

The Sun & Moon era began on November 18, 2016 with Pikachu's New Friends, a 4 card blister of Pikachu with Rowlet, Litten and Popplio released alongside the Pokémon Sun and Moon games, and its SM-P promos swapped the black star for a rectangular PROMO symbol. Collection Sun and Collection Moon followed on December 9, 2016 with 60 cards and 13 secret cards each, headlined by Solgaleo and Lunala, and introduced Pokémon-GX. They became the English Sun & Moon set of February 3, 2017.

The era's structure is what sets it apart. Each main expansion block, Islands Await You and Alolan Moonlight, To Have Seen the Battle Rainbow and Darkness that Consumes Light, Awakened Heroes and Ultradimensional Beasts, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, then Forbidden Light, Sky-Splitting Charisma, Super-Burst Impact, Tag Bolt, Double Blaze, Miracle Twin and Alter Genesis, was followed by one or two Enhanced Expansion Packs of new prints for the same Pokémon, printed in Mirror Holofoil with no rarity symbols on the regular cards. English sets combined each block with its enhancements, so Facing a New Trial reached Burning Shadows, Ultra Force reached Forbidden Light, Champion Road with its modernized Neo, e-Card, ADV and PCG era reprints reached Celestial Storm, and Night Unison and Full Metal Wall reached Unbroken Bonds. Shining Legends, Dragon Storm and the Movie Special Pack Detective Pikachu became English special sets of their own.

Mechanics arrived block by block. Awakened Heroes and Ultradimensional Beasts introduced Ultra Beast Pokémon-GX with a red GX graphic, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon brought Prism Star cards and both forms of Necrozma, Tag Bolt introduced TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX, two Pokémon on one Basic card with higher HP, and Alter Genesis added TAG TEAM trios and TAG TEAM Supporter cards before becoming Cosmic Eclipse.

Three high class packs anchor the collecting side. GX Battle Boost of October 20, 2017 carries the full art Lillie, the era's most valuable Japanese card in PSA 10. GX Ultra Shiny of November 2, 2018 paired 150 cards with 100 secret Shiny Pokémon and became the Shiny Vault of Hidden Fates. Tag All Stars of October 4, 2019 closed the era as a retrospective of the TAG TEAM block, and Dream League of August 2, 2019 introduced full art prints of Pokémon with a Trainer. The set hubs below carry every card list, the live chase prices ranked by PSA 10 value and the editorial history of each release.

• Pokémon-GX and TAG TEAM Collection Sun and Collection Moon introduced Pokémon-GX on December 9, 2016, Tag Bolt introduced TAG TEAM Pokémon-GX on December 7, 2018 and Alter Genesis added TAG TEAM trios and TAG TEAM Supporters.
• Enhanced Expansion Packs Most main expansions were followed by one or two Enhanced Expansion Packs of new prints in Mirror Holofoil, from the Sun & Moon Strength Expansion Pack to Dream League, and English sets combined each block with its enhancements.
• GX Ultra Shiny The high class pack of November 2, 2018 paired 150 cards with 100 secret Shiny Pokémon and became the Shiny Vault of the English Hidden Fates.
• The full art Lillie GX Battle Boost of October 20, 2017 carries the full art Lillie, the era's most valuable Japanese card in PSA 10.
• Thirty eight sets Seventeen main expansions, seventeen enhanced expansion and concept packs, three high class packs and the SM-P promos make up the era.
• Detective Pikachu The Movie Special Pack of April 26, 2019 featured Pokémon rendered in 3D by the Moving Picture Company and Framestore, the visual effects studios of the live action film.

Release timeline

1. SM-P Promotional cards November 1, 2016 · 408 cards · SM-P
2. Pikachu's New Friends November 18, 2016 · 4 cards · SM0
3. Collection Moon December 9, 2016 · 73 cards · SM1M
4. Collection Sun December 9, 2016 · 73 cards · SM1S
5. Sun & Moon Strength Expansion Pack January 27, 2017 · 68 cards · SM1+
6. Alolan Moonlight March 17, 2017 · 62 cards · SM2L
7. Islands Await You March 17, 2017 · 62 cards · SM2K
8. Facing a New Trial April 21, 2017 · 66 cards · SM2+
9. Darkness that Consumes Light June 16, 2017 · 64 cards · SM3N
10. To Have Seen the Battle Rainbow June 16, 2017 · 64 cards · SM3H
11. Shining Legends July 15, 2017 · 82 cards · SM3+
12. Awakened Heroes September 15, 2017 · 62 cards · SM4S
13. Ultradimensional Beasts September 15, 2017 · 62 cards · SM4A
14. GX Battle Boost October 20, 2017 · 125 cards · SM4+
15. Ultra Moon December 8, 2017 · 78 cards · SM5M
16. Ultra Sun December 8, 2017 · 78 cards · SM5S
17. Ultra Force January 19, 2018 · 63 cards · SM5+
18. Forbidden Light March 2, 2018 · 110 cards · SM6
19. Dragon Storm April 6, 2018 · 66 cards · SM6a
20. Champion Road May 30, 2018 · 86 cards · SM6b
21. Sky-Splitting Charisma June 1, 2018 · 112 cards · SM7
22. Thunderclap Spark July 6, 2018 · 73 cards · SM7a
23. Fairy Rise August 3, 2018 · 63 cards · SM7b
24. Super-Burst Impact September 7, 2018 · 111 cards · SM8
25. Dark Order October 5, 2018 · 65 cards · SM8a
26. GX Ultra Shiny November 2, 2018 · 250 cards · SM8b
27. Tag Bolt December 7, 2018 · 118 cards · SM9
28. Night Unison January 11, 2019 · 70 cards · SM9a
29. Full Metal Wall February 1, 2019 · 69 cards · SM9b
30. Double Blaze March 1, 2019 · 116 cards · SM10
31. GG End April 5, 2019 · 69 cards · SM10a
32. Movie Special Pack: Detective Pikachu April 26, 2019 · 25 cards · SMP2
33. Sky Legend April 26, 2019 · 69 cards · SM10b
34. Miracle Twin May 31, 2019 · 115 cards · SM11
35. Remix Bout July 5, 2019 · 80 cards · SM11a
36. Dream League August 2, 2019 · 75 cards · SM11b
37. Alter Genesis September 6, 2019 · 117 cards · SM12
38. Tag All Stars October 4, 2019 · 226 cards · SM12a

Top 10 cards

No card pricing is published yet.

Japanese Sun & Moon Pokémon TCG Sets FAQ

How many sets are in the Sun & Moon era?

There are 38 published Sun & Moon era sets in this hub.

When were the Sun & Moon era sets released?

The published Sun & Moon era sets were released from November 1, 2016 to October 4, 2019.

What are the top chase cards in the Sun & Moon era?

Tracked chase cards are not currently available for the Sun & Moon era.

How many sets are in the Japanese Sun & Moon era?

Thirty eight: seventeen main expansions from Collection Sun and Collection Moon to Alter Genesis, seventeen enhanced expansion packs and concept packs, the GX Battle Boost, GX Ultra Shiny and Tag All Stars high class packs and the SM-P Promotional cards.

When did the Japanese Sun & Moon era start and end?

It began with Pikachu's New Friends on November 18, 2016, the main expansions ran from December 9, 2016 to September 6, 2019 and Tag All Stars closed the era on October 4, 2019, after which the Sword & Shield era began.

What is an Enhanced Expansion Pack?

A Japanese subset released after a main expansion with new prints of Pokémon from that expansion, printed in Mirror Holofoil with no rarity symbols on the regular cards. Their cards were combined into the English versions of the main expansions.

Where did the Hidden Fates Shiny Vault come from?

From GX Ultra Shiny, the high class pack of November 2, 2018 that paired 150 cards with 100 secret Shiny Pokémon.

Which Japanese Sun & Moon era cards do collectors chase most?

The full art Lillie of GX Battle Boost leads, followed by the Shiny Pokémon-GX of GX Ultra Shiny, the TAG TEAM alternate arts of Tag All Stars and the Trainer full arts of Dream League. Each set hub ranks its own chase cards by live PSA 10 value.

Sources

• Bulbapedia: List of Japanese Pokémon Trading Card Game expansions, Sun & Moon Era
• Bulbapedia: Sun & Moon (TCG)
• Bulbapedia: Hidden Fates (TCG)
• Slabfolio set hubs for the Japanese Sun & Moon era