Five years separate Japan’s two big TCG anniversary sets, and the design brief could hardly have changed more. In 2026, the 30th anniversary Pokemon set, 30th CELEBRATION (M6a), is a 103-card MEGA-era expansion at ¥360 a pack that pulls the historic reprints inside the main set, adds a brand-new rarity, and guarantees a Pikachu in every single pack. Its predecessor, the 25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION (S8a) of 2021, was a compact 28-card celebration sold at ¥297 a pack, with its famous reprints tucked away in a separate promo pack you earned by buying boosters.
USD figures convert at ¥154/USD, approximate.
S8a (2021) was small, promo-driven and lottery-constrained: 28 main cards, 5-card ¥297 packs, reprints in the separate S8a-P promo pack. M6a (2026), released September 16, 2026, is bigger in every dimension: the official card list (103 main-set cards 001–103, the 30 Classic Collection reprints and 8 Basic Energy) was published September 9, 2026, and PokeBeach’s compiled count for the full set — including the AR/SAR/FUR block 104–135, all 32 of which have now been seen but which, as of September 16, 2026, was not in the official database — is 165 numbered cards plus 8 Basic Energy (173 in all; PokeBeach’s headline figure is 176); 6-card ¥360 packs, 30 historic reprints inside the set, and the new FUR rarity, at an MSRP of ¥7,200 per 20-pack box.
- The S8a booster box, the 25th Anniversary Golden Box and the M6a booster box are currently listed in the store.
- Set reference: 30th CELEBRATION card list.
30th Anniversary Pokemon Set vs 25th at a Glance
The M6a picture is incomplete in places: illustrators for the AR and SAR cards, for instance (the two FUR cards are credited to YOSHIROTTEN).
| Item | 25th — S8a (2021) | 30th — M6a (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Official name | Sword & Shield Expansion Pack “25th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION” | MEGA Expansion Pack “30th CELEBRATION” |
| JP release | October 22, 2021 | September 16, 2026 — worldwide simultaneous |
| Pack | 5 holo cards incl. 1 basic Energy, ¥297 | 6 holo cards incl. 1 basic Energy, ¥360; 1 Pikachu guaranteed per pack |
| Box | 16 packs, ¥4,752 | 20 packs, ¥7,200 |
| Set size | 28 main cards (001–028) plus secrets | 165 numbered cards = 103 main (001–103) + 32 secret rares (104–135, AR/SAR/FUR) + 30 Classic Collection (136–165), plus 8 Basic Energy (173 cards in all) — official card list published September 9, 2026, per PokeBeach’s compiled count (PokeBeach’s headline figure is 176). No SR (Super Rare) tier. |
| All-holo? | Yes — every card is holofoil | Yes — every card is holofoil, Energy included |
| Historic reprints | In the separate S8a-P promo pack (25 cards, not in boosters) | 30 Classic Collection reprints (136–165) inside the main set, special spec |
| Top new rarity | UR Mew 030/028 | FUR (Futuristic Rare) Mewtwo ex 134/103 and Mew ex 135/103, plus SAR (Special Art Rare) 124–133/103, the set’s ten Pokemon ex |
| Premium bundle | 25th Anniversary Golden Box, ¥17,600 | 30th CELEBRATION FUTURISTIC BOX, ¥27,500 |
The headline shift: the 25th set celebrated the anniversary around the boosters, while the 30th set builds the celebration into them. For the wider 30-year context beyond these two sets, see our anniversary sets history from the 10th to the 30th.
Pack and Box Structure
S8a packs held 5 holo cards for ¥297, one of them a basic Energy, drawn from just 28 main cards — every card in the set holofoil. A box was 16 packs at ¥4,752 (~$31). Mirror-finish parallel versions of the holo cards also exist, which is why collectors track cards like the store’s Mew Mirror 002/028 as a distinct variant.
M6a packs step up to 6 holo cards for ¥360, again with 1 basic Energy per pack — this time in a special design by graphic artist YOSHIROTTEN — and with an official guarantee that every pack contains one of the 30 Pikachu cards drawn by 30 different illustrators. A box is 20 packs at ¥7,200 (~$47). So a 30th box costs about 1.5x a 25th box at MSRP but carries 25% more packs and a bigger card pool: 103 main cards versus 28.
Both sets share the all-holofoil identity that made the 25th set feel premium in hand. The difference is scale — S8a offered a compact 28-card main checklist; M6a is a full-sized chase set. Our S8a pull-rate and best-cards guide covers what actually comes out of a 25th box.
Chase Cards: UR Mew vs FUR Mewtwo
Each set introduced its own top-end pull, and the 30th anniversary Pokemon cards carry the bigger checklist. In S8a it was the UR Mew 030/028 secret rare, alongside new cards like Surfing Pikachu V and Flying Pikachu V and a Pikachu V-UNION. Those chase slots sat on top of a set where every common pull was already holofoil.
M6a goes further and creates a new rarity tier: FUR (Futuristic Rare), exactly two cards — Mewtwo ex 134/103 and Mew ex 135/103, both drawn by YOSHIROTTEN. The official site describes FUR artwork as vivid, future-facing visuals marking the 30th anniversary. Below the FUR tier sits SAR (Special Art Rare), 10 cards numbered 124–133 covering the set’s ten Pokemon ex; all 10 have now been seen, with the last three (Mewtwo ex 128, Mew ex 129, Gengar ex 131) surfacing with release-day listings (SNKRDUNK, September 16, 2026) — the block (104–135) was not in the official card database as of September 16, 2026. There is no SR (Super Rare) tier in M6a — only AR, SAR, FUR, the Classic Collection and the main-set rarities.
PokeBeach reported, from an official box opening shown before release, that one 20-pack box contained 20 unique Pikachu, 2 Classic Collection cards, 4 AR, 1 SAR and 1 FUR — a single reported opening, not an official or guaranteed pull rate, and none has been published since release either. Japanese market sites forecast Mew ex FUR around ¥105,000–220,000 and Mewtwo ex FUR around ¥105,000–200,000 before release (September 9, 2026); the lowest release-day asks on SNKRDUNK were ¥22,222 for Mew ex FUR and ¥17,999 for Mewtwo ex FUR (September 16, 2026). The Pikachu ex SAR pair was forecast around ¥70,000–95,000 before release; the release-day asks were ¥11,000 (day) and ¥13,000 (night). On the 25th side, graded 25th singles have five years of real trading behind them; the store’s PSA 10 collection carries the S8a-P promo cards that became the set’s long-term chase pieces.
The 30-Pikachu subset has no 2021 equivalent at all: 30 different Pikachu illustrations, one guaranteed per pack, each numbered NN/30 on top of its set number. It is the clearest sign that M6a was designed as a set you rip for fun as much as for value.
The Reprint Mechanism: Promo Pack vs In-Set Classics
Both anniversaries reprinted historic cards — but delivered them completely differently.
In 2021, the reprints lived in the Promo Card Pack 25th ANNIVERSARY edition (S8a-P): 25 cards, one random card per pack, and the packs were distributed through campaigns and bundles rather than sold individually. You got one for every four S8a packs bought at participating shops, five inside the Golden Box, and one in the ¥1,188 convenience-store Special Set. The official ruling was blunt: S8a-P cards cannot be used in official tournaments. Full details in our S8a-P promo pack guide.
In 2026, the 30 Classic Collection reprints sit inside the main M6a set (numbered 136–165) in a special spec — the official September 9 card list confirms all 30, including the 1996 Expansion Pack Charizard (137/103), “Crystal” Lugia (142/103), Dark Tyranitar (144/103), Pikachu & Zekrom GX (160/103) and Magikarp (165/103). The official page states they are not usable in the current Standard regulation, only in whatever regulation the original card is legal in.
The practical difference for buyers: in 2021 the reprint chase was a separate product layered on top of the boosters. In 2026 the reprints come out of the same ¥360 packs as everything else.
Distribution: 2021 Lottery vs 2026 Lottery
Neither set was simply stacked on shelves.
2021: Pokémon Center Online sold S8a boxes by lottery (applications August 13–19, 2021; one box per winner, with four bonus promo packs), retail shops ran the 4-packs-for-1-promo campaign, convenience stores carried the Special Set, and Amazon’s Pokémon Store later took made-to-order reservations until November 30, 2021.
2026: Pokémon Center Online allocated M6a boxes by lottery — an initial August 10–14 window, then an additional window from August 28 12:00 to August 31 16:59, 2026, with results on September 4 and delivery November 11–20, 2026 for lottery winners. Separately, our own M6a booster box is currently listed at ¥26,449 (~$172) for the Sealed option and ¥24,912 (~$162) for No Shrink. The pattern is familiar: lottery-allocated pre-release supply, exactly as the 25th and the Golden Box were handled in 2021.
On SNKRDUNK, the lowest asking price for a sealed M6a box fell from ¥47,200 on September 1 to ¥28,200 on September 10 and ¥17,500 on release day, September 16, 2026 — as release-day listings multiplied.
Premium Products: Golden Box vs Futuristic Box
The 25th’s premium item was the 25th Anniversary Golden Box at ¥17,600: an all-holofoil 60-card Pikachu deck, faux-leather cases, metal dice and markers, a playmat, and five S8a-P promo packs. It went through a Pokémon Center Online lottery in October 2021 and then an Amazon made-to-order run in early 2022. Our Golden Box guide breaks down the contents piece by piece.
The 30th’s counterpart is the 30th CELEBRATION FUTURISTIC BOX at ¥27,500 (September 16, 2026), joined by the Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon at ¥6,200 and a 30th CELEBRATION Card Set at ¥1,200 (released October 16, 2026). The Futuristic Box carries FUR-spec Pikachu ex promos numbered 131/M-P and 132/M-P — we cover it in the Futuristic Box guide. The FUTURISTIC BOX is sold out at the time of this update — sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
Same playbook, higher price ceiling: ¥17,600 for the 25th, ¥27,500 for the 30th, both lottery-era products anchored around exclusive Pikachu-line content. On SNKRDUNK, the lowest asking price for a sealed FUTURISTIC BOX fell from ¥115,000 on September 1 to ¥95,998 on September 10 and ¥49,500 on release day, September 16, 2026, as release-day listings multiplied.
What 25th Anniversary Product Costs
The most useful thing the 25th set can tell a 30th-set buyer is what five years did to sealed anniversary product. Store listings against 2021 MSRP:
| Product | 2021 MSRP | Currently listed at |
|---|---|---|
| S8a 25th Anniversary Collection booster box | ¥4,752 | ¥65,874 (~$428) |
| 25th Anniversary Golden Box | ¥17,600 | ¥191,835 (~$1,246) |
| 25th Anniversary Collection Special Set | ¥1,188 | ¥55,633 (~$361) |
Those are current listing prices for factory-sealed items, not predictions — and they are not a promise that M6a follows the same curve going forward. The two sets differ in exactly the ways that matter for supply: M6a released worldwide simultaneously, prints a much larger set, and pulls its historic reprints from inside the main set rather than a limited promo pack. Whether that keeps sealed supply looser than 2021’s is something the market will answer, not us. For how the 25th itself compared to the 20th-anniversary CP6 set, see our 25th vs 20th anniversary guide.
Where to Buy Both Eras from Japan
We ship factory-sealed Japanese product and PSA-graded singles worldwide from Tokyo with tracked delivery.
For the 30th side, the M6a 30th CELEBRATION booster box is currently listed at ¥26,449 (~$172) for the Sealed option. The full 30th picture — every product and revealed card — is in our Pokémon 30th anniversary cards guide.
Browse the full Pokémon card collection, and PSA 10 graded singles including the 25th Anniversary promo cards.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main difference between the 25th and 30th anniversary Pokemon sets?
Structure. S8a (2021) was a 28-card set with 5-card ¥297 packs and its historic reprints in a separate promo pack (S8a-P) earned by buying boosters. M6a (2026) is a 103-card set with 6-card ¥360 packs that includes its 30 historic reprints inside the main set, adds the new FUR rarity, and guarantees one of 30 Pikachu cards in every pack.
How much did the 25th Anniversary Collection cost at release?
¥297 per 5-card pack and ¥4,752 for a 16-pack box at October 2021 MSRP. The Golden Box was ¥17,600 and the convenience-store Special Set was ¥1,188.
What is a FUR card in 30th CELEBRATION?
FUR (Futuristic Rare) is a new rarity introduced in M6a, with vivid future-themed artwork by graphic artist YOSHIROTTEN. Exactly two exist in the set: Mewtwo ex 134/103 and Mew ex 135/103. Below FUR sits SAR (Special Art Rare), 10 cards (124–133) covering the set’s ten Pokemon ex. Pull rates are officially unpublished; PokeBeach reported one box opening with 1 FUR and 1 SAR, but that is a single reported opening, not a guaranteed rate.
Are the anniversary reprint cards tournament-legal?
No in both cases. The 2021 S8a-P promo cards cannot be used in official tournaments at all. The 2026 M6a special reprints cannot be used in the current Standard regulation — officially, they are only usable in whatever regulation the original card is legal in.
What does 25th Anniversary sealed product cost in 2026?
The S8a booster box, the Golden Box and the Special Set are currently listed at Samurai Sword Tokyo as factory-sealed product shipped from Tokyo with tracking; the product pages show the current prices, against 2021 MSRPs of ¥4,752, ¥17,600 and ¥1,188.
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