Pokémon 30th Celebration cards appear to leak, but the mystery source has vanished
A recent leak of Pokémon cards from the 30th Celebration has sent the community into a frenzy, but the original source has vanished in the aftermath.
With Pokémon 30th Celebration excitement reaching fever pitch, any glimpse at unrevealed cards was always going to spread quickly. When images claiming to show Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rare Pokémon cards from the set appeared online, collectors wasted no time sharing them, but the person who may have originally posted them has since disappeared.
We’ve had a few reveals ahead of the Pokémon 30th Celebration pre-orders going live. The Umbreon and Espeon ex promos with the UPCs, as well as the recent reveal of Jirachi, both of which were official. That’s not including the classic cards coming to the upcoming Pokémon TCG expansion, nor the Futuristic Rares revealed during the initial trailer.
So, when what appeared to be photos of the Illustration Rare and higher rarity pages from a Pokémon 30th Celebration ETB began circulating online, the community shared them quickly. Instagram, X, Reddit and YouTube were flooded with the leaks, but as accounts share and the story gets further away from the original source, “who shared it?” becomes less of a question, and more of a requirement.
Callum Self
Based on my own research for Kanto Post, the earliest posts I could trace appear to come from a regular X user. The account has since deleted the posts, and has untagged themselves from those who do source them, but some hints of their posts remain. In replies to some of the shared leaks, statements like “everything I got”, “don’t think [my] friend is at the event anymore”, and answering some collectors questions paint a bit more of a picture. It’s not confirmation they were the original leaker, but the times associated with the remaining posts line up to being earlier than the accounts.
The person who may have shared these leaks seems to be distancing themselves, so I won’t be sharing their name nor handle. I did attempt to reach out, but I’ve received no reply. I’ll update this article if I receive a response.
Instead, when taking a deeper look at the photos, some very telling details point towards authentic over fake, though nothing is real until The Pokémon Company does an official reveal. The ETB checklist is consistent with previous ones, and the design of the pages matches the official iconography and white-and-yellow scheme of the recent product reveals.
The Alolan Exeggutor Illustration Rare starts at #129, which matches previous English card reveals that the standard set ends with #128, while Mew, Mewtwo, and Pikachu SIRs match the day-and-night designs we’ve seen recently. That’s public knowledge, and has been for some time based on the Futuristic Rares and the UPC promos, so it’s easier to fake, but some other details stand out.
For example, Jirachi was just revealed on Tuesday 7th July. Yet, it’s an SIR in this checklist (and it’s stunning as well). For a fake, incorporating a newly revealed Pokémon into a complete-looking checklist within days would require either unusually quick work or access to information beyond what was publicly available. Fuecoco seems like an odd inclusion for an SIR, and the triple Meowth IR group that is not only split with other cards between them, but is just a weird idea for a fake.
The images do not immediately show obvious signs often associated with AI-generated Pokémon cards, such as inconsistent typography, malformed symbols, or repeated artwork errors. However, the absence of these issues does not prove the images are genuine. The rarity symbols seem consistent, especially with the introduction of the ‘C-Star’ for classic card reprints. The Futuristic Rare symbol for Mewtwo ex doesn’t match the purple star on the card, but it does match Mew ex’s green star.
However, you should remain cautious. With the original source’s disappearance, no images independently verified, and a lack of comment from TPC or distributors, this makes it hard to trust it fully.
If it’s a selection of fake Pokémon cards next to existing reveals, it’s a fairly consistent one at that. But in a world where leaks can spread fairly easily, we can’t be certain that it’s real. At this stage, Kanto Post cannot independently authenticate these images, not until the leaker or “their friend” shares more information again - if you are the person behind these, feel free to contact us at callum@kantopost.com.
If these cards are genuine, Pokémon 30th Celebration is shaping up to be a modern classic. It’s not massive, like Pokémon Ascended Heroes, but the cards look amazing and there are plenty of chases to love. It does make me nervous about getting any packs, but with the hope of a massive printing cycle, alongside smaller packs, makes me excited for the set.
For now, these remain unverified images circulating online. The evidence suggests this could be one of the more convincing Pokémon leaks in recent memory, but until The Pokémon Company confirms the cards or the original source provides more context, collectors should treat them as possible - not confirmed.
