Pokémon 30th Celebration: Every Pikachu Revealed So Far
Numbers 28, 42 and 50. Twenty-seven more where those came from.
Thirty Pikachu. One for every year the Pokémon Trading Card Game has existed. That's the idea at the centre of 30th Celebration, and we think it's the best thing about it — anniversary sets usually settle for a nice logo and some reprints, and this one has actually gone and built itself a spine.
Nineteen are out in the open so far, including one drawn by Ken Sugimori and a matched Day and Night pair of Pikachu ex special illustration rares. The set arrives worldwide on 16 September. So: here's everything shown, who drew it, and where we'd honestly put our own money.
The short version
- 30 Pikachu in the set, 19 revealed so far
- 16 September 2026 — worldwide, and that includes us
- Ken Sugimori has drawn one, which is a proper event
- YOSHIROTTEN did the Futuristic Rares and the foil Basic Energy
- Legendary birds, Reshiram, Zekrom, Unown and Drifloon are all in
Thirty Pikachu, one per year
It's a charming bit of design and, let's be honest, a slightly ruthless one. Thirty separate cards that anybody with a Pikachu soft spot is going to feel quietly obliged to finish? That'll keep singles moving long after the last pack's been opened. Charming and ruthless at the same time. Very Pokémon.
Nineteen were public as of 13 August, with a few more since. The good news is they're spread across the rarities rather than crammed in at the top, so a fair number will be ordinary, cheerful, no-drama pulls. The money will pile up around a handful at the sharp end rather than smearing itself across all thirty.
Our wrap on the left, the Japanese pack it takes after on the right.
The Ken Sugimori Pikachu
If the name doesn't ring a bell: Sugimori designed the original 151 and drew the artwork most of us picture when we picture Pokémon at all. That slightly wonky, warm, hand-painted look from the early days? Him.
He hardly ever illustrates cards now. So a Sugimori Pikachu tucked inside the thirtieth anniversary set is about as tidy a piece of symbolism as this game is ever going to manage, and we'd be surprised if it isn't the card people are still asking us about in five years' time. Cards with an actual story behind them hold on in a way that raw rarity never quite does — and there's no shorter story than "drawn by the bloke who drew Pokémon".
Only chasing one card from the set? Make it this one. And a slightly joyless bit of maths, sorry: buying it as a single after release will almost certainly cost you less than chasing it through packs. Nowhere near as fun, though, and we're not going to pretend otherwise.
Day and Night Pikachu ex
Two Pikachu ex, one Day and one Night, each with its own special illustration rare. Matched pairs don't come round often, and they misbehave in the market compared to a single chase card — collectors want both, so you've got double the demand chasing a supply that's been cut in half. You can see where that ends up.
We'd expect the pair to be the priciest thing in the set at launch, and we'd expect one of the two to pull ahead once everybody's decided which artwork they actually prefer. That gap tends to show itself inside the first month. So if you only want one of them, sitting on your hands for a few weeks is no bad thing.
What else has turned up
Another of the thirty, this one by Shinji Kanda.
| Revealed | Cards |
|---|---|
| 18 August | Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres |
| 17 August | Reshiram, Zekrom, Unown and Drifloon |
| 16 August | Day and Night Pikachu ex special illustration rares |
| 11 August | Pikachu illustrated by Ken Sugimori |
| 8 August | Meowth, Alolan Meowth and their illustration rares |
One handy thing about the Legendary birds: they show up as promos in the Poster Collection as well as in the set itself. Two routes to the same artwork usually keeps the promo versions sensibly priced while nudging the pack-pulled ones up. Which is lovely news if you just want them on a shelf and don't much care where they came from.
The YOSHIROTTEN energies, which we're oddly excited about
YOSHIROTTEN is a graphic artist rather than one of the usual card illustrators, and he's handled the Futuristic Rares plus a full run of foil Basic Energy.
Now. Foil energy is normally the bit you flick past on the way to something better. Nobody's ever opened an ETB hoping for the energy. This time it's actually been designed rather than bolted on, and sixteen of them come in the standard Elite Trainer Box — which is a real reason to want the box rather than a number on the back of it.
And if you happen to be near a PokémonXP event between 28 and 30 August, they're handing one out at random while stocks last. Same as the pack version, so it's a nice thing to own rather than a rare one — but a nice thing to own is still a nice thing to own.
Common questions
How many Pikachu cards are in 30th Celebration?
Thirty — one for each year of the Pokémon Trading Card Game. Nineteen had been revealed as of 13 August 2026, with a few more since.
When does 30th Celebration come out in the UK?
First products land worldwide on 16 September 2026, then more on 2 October, 30 October, 6 November and 4 December. It's a long old rollout, so we've laid every product and date out in our 30th Celebration release date guide.
Which 30th Celebration card will be worth the most?
Nobody knows, and anyone telling you they do is having a guess in a confident voice. For what it's worth, ours is that the Day and Night Pikachu ex special illustration rares lead at launch, with the Sugimori Pikachu the better card to still own in five years. Ask us again in December and we'll tell you how wrong we were.
Quick note on packs: contents are randomised, so cards vary pack to pack and no specific card — including anything pictured or mentioned above — is ever guaranteed. Card images and product renders are © The Pokémon Company International, Nintendo and Creatures Inc., shown here for editorial purposes. We're an independent shop and aren't affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by The Pokémon Company.