The Pokémon Company has revealed not one, but two Pikachu SIR cards for the Pokémon 30th Celebration. It follows the day-night theme that the expansion has been following, but that means there are two gorgeous chase cards from the iconic mascot. However, there’s a huge missed opportunity here, to the point I’m sad that it didn’t happen.
Like many collectors, I have my Pokémon 30th Celebration pre-orders ready to go - I’m just waiting until the upcoming Pokémon set finally releases. Since the expansion’s reveal back in February this year, it’s been a lengthy wait, but thankfully, details and reveals are being shared fairly regularly now.
It’s a packed set, even with a lot of Pokémon TCG cards yet to be seen. I’m not going to go into the whole ‘this proves the 30th Celebration leaks again - I’ve already done that. But, it’s pretty clear that the duo of Pikachu SIRs just shared does continue to prove the original leak was accurate. That said, I can still hope for a Squirtle SIR even if I shouldn’t expect it.
However, even as someone who has some Pikachu fatigue right now, these SIRs are absolutely adorable. With seemingly endless Pokémon surrounding the yellow electric mouse in each version. It’s almost like there’s 30 in each, right? That would be a neat little easter egg to celebrate the 30th anniversary. Right? Right?
Wrong. I counted, and as far as we can tell, there’s not 30 in each - which feels like a truly underwhelming experience. They’re still essential binder additions, where I will store all of my 30th Celebration Pokémon cards with glee. Yet, considering how many unique ‘mon they added to each card, it feels frustrating they couldn’t reach 30. Maybe one for the 35th anniversary.
Truthfully, even without the 30 Pokémon in each card, both Pikachu SIRs are already stacked with familiar faces. The day version has Espeon, Sylveon, Fuecoco, Meowth, Maushold, and more, while night offers Eevee, Umbreon, Gengar, Greninja, and Snorlax, along plenty of others.
I’m going to be sharing plenty of news as the hype for the Pokémon 30th Celebration set continues - including a review of the new expansion - so make sure to sign up for our newsletter above. Also, leave a comment below if you managed to count all of the Pokémon in the cards - there are a few obstructed ones to take note of.
