It should be no surprise that the Pokémon mascot and beloved yellow mouse is Pokémon 30th Celebration’s star. Pikachu has been one of the most recognisable characters for three decades, so the upcoming expansion is plastered with his face, and now, even more Pokémon cards featuring the iconic ‘mon than ever before in one set. Far too many, actually.
Two new Pikachu cards have now been revealed for the upcoming Pokémon set - a day version and a night version. This mirrors the day/night split already used for the 30th Celebration UPCs and the Mew and Mewtwo ex Futuristic Rares.
That brings the revealed total to 34 Pikachu cards. That’s a colossal amount for the Pokémon TCG’s anniversary expansion, made up of the 30 Pikachu cards - one in every pack - as well as the two Futuristic Rare variants (locked to ~£160 boxes) and the two ex cards just revealed. However, the recent leaks show two further SIRs, meaning that total could be 36.
Callum Self
I don’t feel the need to explain how that’s a lot. 2021’s Celebrations had around 13 Pikachu cards, including the Flying Pikachu that has recently surged in price, meaning that the upcoming set has over double the amount. Fortunately, it seems the leaks suggest that the 30 Pikachu cards take up their own mini card list - if they didn’t, they’d potentially take up 23% of the total cards for 30th Celebration.
Even then, it’s hard to truly enjoy Pikachu when the sheer number of cards is overwhelming. I’m not a fool - I love Pikachu as much as the next collector, and young kids, even my own, still heavily associate Pokémon with the Electric-type.
Take your pick: Pika-Pika Parade 🥁 or Zip-Zap Frenzy ⚡️
— Pokémon TCG (@PokemonTCG) August 10, 2026
Here's your first official reveal of these Pikachu ex cards from #PokemonTCG: 30th Celebration expansion, available September 16 🎉 pic.twitter.com/6QcIzJOtZI
But its cute little face has been stamped on every element of the anniversary expansion. The 30th anniversary badge uses its head, multiple anniversary products have been released - like the GameBoy-style plush I still desperately want to own - and the actual booster pack art has the character front and centre.
Of course, I understand why. Pikachu is the most appealing character, but when the Pokémon franchise has countless iconic characters and over 1,000 in the Pokédex - and far too little inclusion of Squirtle and Giratina for my liking - it feels slightly disappointing. I could do with less Pikachu, The Pokémon Company. I promise we’ll all live.
