Four sets at once, all released to celebrate the same anniversary. Two in English, two in Japanese. As of today, they’re listed in the Cardtracker catalog, with each card’s number, rarity, type, and artist listed.
30th Celebration consists of 161 cards, 128 of which are numbered. What stands out are cards numbered 23 through 52: thirty Pikachu, each with its own artwork and a rarity level that didn’t exist before. It’s labeled “Pikachu Rare.” That’s one Pikachu per year, and together they make up one-fifth of the entire set.
Above the 128, the familiar lineup begins. Eighteen Illustration Rares, ranging from Alolan Exeggutor to Maushold. Ten Special Illustration Rares, including two Pikachu ex, as well as Greninja ex, Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, Sylveon ex, Gengar ex, Jirachi ex, Salamence ex, and Fuecoco ex. And then two cards in a type that appears here for the first time: Futuristic Rare, for Mewtwo ex and Mew ex.
A curiosity at the bottom: three Mew cards that don’t have a number but a letter—B, G, and R.
The Classic Collection is the actual birthday cake
Thirty cards, and almost every card comes from a different era. It’s not a set to complete; it’s a timeline.
| Card | What it was |
|---|---|
| Charizard, No. 4 | Base Set, 1999 |
| Misty | Gym Heroes |
| Dark Tyranitar | Team Rocket era |
| Gengar Prime | HeartGold and SoulSilver |
| Palkia LV.X | Diamond and Pearl |
| Darkrai & Cresselia LEGEND | the LEGEND cards that consisted of two halves |
| Greninja BREAK | XY |
| Raikou | Amazing Rare |
| Pikachu & Zekrom GX | Sun and Moon |
| Mew VMAX, Zacian V, Arceus VSTAR | Sword and Shield |
| Magikarp | Illustration Rare, the current style |
So there are card types included that haven’t been produced in a long time. Prime, LEGEND, LV.X, BREAK, Amazing Rare: anyone familiar with them will immediately know which year their own box is from.
The Japanese Editions
The Japanese counterpart is called 30th Celebration and contains 173 cards, including the basic Energy cards. There’s also the Premium Deck Set featuring Espeon and Umbreon, which contains 49 cards. We’ll leave Japanese card names in Japanese, since that’s what’s written on the card itself. The rarity and set name are listed in English, so you’ll still know what you have.
What You Can Do with It in Cardtracker
Open a set and turn on “Check Off.” One tap adds a card to your collection, listed as “Near Mint” with a quantity of one. You can adjust the condition and purchase price later under “Cards.” For a set of 161 cards, that saves you an afternoon.
The binder view displays the set as an album, with nine slots per page, in card number order. What you have is shown in color; what you’re missing is grayed out. It’s handy for seeing how far along you are—and, to be honest, it’s just fun to flip through.
One thing to know: the prices for a brand-new set are populated gradually. We retrieve a price as soon as someone looks up a card for the first time—not for all 43,263 cards at once. So in the first few days after a release, you’ll still see empty spots. Those will fill in on their own.