Pokémon’s biggest competitive event had never been held in Japan — not once, in over two decades of World Championships — until August 2023. When it finally happened, it happened in Yokohama, and the TCG got a Pikachu card that only exists because of it.
The 2023 Pokémon World Championships ran across three days at PACIFICO Yokohama, and the lead-up product was a Japanese-exclusive deck built specifically for the occasion: a sealed 30-card set headlined by a full art Pikachu ex found nowhere else. It’s the kind of release that only exists because of a single dated event — no ongoing print run, no later restock, just one deck tied to one weekend in one city.
This guide covers the event itself, what came in the deck, and exactly how the Yokohama Pikachu card differs from the regular Pikachu ex it was reprinted from — plus the other special version of that same card that collectors sometimes mix it up with.
The 2023 Pokémon World Championships Yokohama Deck: Pikachu is currently listed at ¥54,600. It’s a sealed 30-card deck, released July 28, 2023 ahead of the first Worlds ever held in Japan, and its headline card is a Yokohama-exclusive full art Pikachu ex — card number 001/030, distinct from the standard Pikachu ex (ex Starter Set 001/021 in Japan / Paldea Evolved 063/193 in English) it reprints.
The First Worlds Held in Japan
The 2023 Pokémon World Championships ran August 11–13, 2023 at PACIFICO Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture. It was the first time the event had ever been held in Japan, and only the third time it had been held outside the United States.
For a franchise built in Japan, that’s a notable gap — more than two decades of World Championships before the tournament finally landed in the country where Pokémon originated. The Yokohama event, and the products released around it, exist because of that milestone.
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 11–13, 2023 |
| Venue | PACIFICO Yokohama Convention Center |
| Location | Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan |
| Significance | First Worlds held in Japan; third held outside the US |
Four Formats, One Weekend
The 2023 Worlds ran four separate competitive tracks under one roof:
- Pokémon TCG — played under the 2023–24 Standard format.
- Pokémon VGC — video game competition under Scarlet & Violet, Regulation Set D.
- Pokémon GO — competitive play under the Great League format.
- Pokémon UNITE — played on the Theia Sky Ruins map, themed around Rayquaza.
The TCG side is what produced the collectible most relevant to Japanese card buyers today — the Yokohama Deck: Pikachu, covered below.
Why This Deck Matters to Collectors
Most Pokémon TCG collectibles connect to a set, a season, or an ongoing print schedule. The Yokohama Deck connects to a single dated milestone that will never repeat — the first time the World Championships happened in the country where the franchise started. That combination is what separates it from a typical special-edition product: the artwork, the numbering, and the release window are all locked to that one weekend in August 2023.
For collectors specifically tracking Japan-exclusive material rather than the wider English-language market, that kind of one-event product tends to sit in a different category from a standard set chase card — it’s tied to a moment rather than a print run, which is part of why buyers ask about it by name years later.
The Free Event Distribution: Stretchy Form Tatsugiri
Alongside the tournament, a separate in-game giveaway ran for players: a serial code redeemable for a Stretchy Form Tatsugiri, distributed from August 7 to 31, 2023. This was a video-game distribution rather than a TCG product, but it shared the same commemorative window as the Yokohama event.
The 2023 Yokohama Deck: Pikachu
Ahead of the tournament, Japan got a standalone commemorative product: the 2023 Pokémon World Championships Yokohama Deck: Pikachu, released July 28, 2023 — roughly two weeks before the event itself.
The deck’s contents:
- 30 unique cards, plus basic Energy (10 Lightning, 8 Fighting)
- An aluminium deck tin
- A yellow “Pikachu Pokémon World Championships 2023” coin
- 64 card sleeves themed around the 2023 Pokémon World Championships
- A sheet of cardboard damage and status-condition markers
It was built and released specifically to lead into the Yokohama tournament — a sealed, ready-to-play deck rather than a booster product, positioned as the commemorative centerpiece of the whole event.
The Yokohama Pikachu Card, Explained
The card everyone associates with this deck — sometimes referred to informally as the “Yokohama Pikachu” — is a special full art printing of an existing card: Pikachu ex, originally released in Japan’s ex Starter Set Pikachu ex & Pawmot (001/021) and printed in English as Paldea Evolved 063/193 (for more on Japan-exclusive starter-set cards, see our Japan-exclusive Pokémon cards guide). The base card runs HP190, Lightning type, and was originally illustrated by N-DESIGN Inc.
For the Yokohama Deck, Japan reprinted it as a full art card with new artwork by illustrator kantaro, depicting Pikachu battling Koraidon and Miraidon, with a 2023 Pokémon World Championships stamp embossed into the design. This version was given its own deck-specific numbering — 001/030 — separate from the standard card’s 063/193. On Limitless TCG’s catalog it’s tracked under set code WCS23, listed as “World Championships 2023 Yokohama Deck –Pikachu– #1.”
Koraidon and Miraidon — the two legendaries depicted battling Pikachu on the full art card above — are also included in the deck as their own standalone cards, numbered 013/030 and 009/030 respectively.
So the short version: same Pikachu ex, same stats and attacks as the standard version it reprints (ex Starter Set 001/021 in Japan; Paldea Evolved 063/193 in English), but a different piece of artwork, a different card number, and a distribution limited to this one commemorative deck. If you’re used to how Pokémon Center exclusives work — see our Pokémon Center Pikachu promo guide for other event-tied Pikachu variants — this follows the same pattern: an existing card given a one-off treatment tied to a specific occasion.
What Else Is in the Deck
Beyond the headline Pikachu ex, the deck runs 29 other unique cards plus its energy count. Not every card in the list has been individually confirmed, but the following are documented:
| Category | Confirmed cards |
|---|---|
| Pokémon | Annihilape, Cyclizar, Koraidon, Magnemite, Mankey, Miraidon, Pawmi, Pawmo, Pawmot, Primeape, Squawkabilly, Tadbulb, Kilowattrel |
| Trainers | Energy Retrieval, Energy Search, Great Ball, Professor’s Research, Nemona, Judge, Ultra Ball, Switch, Pokémon Catcher, Dendra, Jacq, Youngster |
| Basic Energy | 10 Lightning, 8 Fighting |
That’s a Koraidon/Miraidon-era, Lightning-and-Fighting deck built around the same two legendaries shown battling Pikachu on the headline card’s artwork — a coherent theme running through the whole product, not just the chase card. Nemona, one of the Trainer cards confirmed in the list, is the rival character introduced in Scarlet & Violet, which keeps the deck’s supporting cast tied to the same generation as its box art rather than pulling in older-era Trainers.
The Pawmi evolution line (Pawmi, Pawmo, Pawmot) and the Primeape/Annihilape line each get multiple stages represented, which is typical of a preconstructed theme deck built to actually play rather than a pure novelty box — it can be shuffled up and used, not just displayed.
Don’t Confuse It With the 2024 Reprint
Pikachu ex (Paldea Evolved 063/193) got a second special treatment roughly a year later: a version with a silver snowflake stamp, included in the Holiday Calendar 2024 release from August 23, 2024. That’s a completely separate product with no connection to the Yokohama Worlds event — different stamp, different release, different occasion. If you’re buying specifically for the Worlds tie-in, confirm you’re looking at the 001/030 WCS23 numbering and the Koraidon/Miraidon full art, not the snowflake-stamped Holiday Calendar version.
Where to Find It Today
We ship Japanese sealed product out of Tokyo with tracked delivery worldwide. The 2023 Pokémon World Championships Yokohama Deck: Pikachu is currently listed at ¥54,600.
For other Japanese sealed decks and booster boxes, browse our sealed Japanese product collection, or see our broader roundup of best Japanese Pokémon promo cards for other event-exclusive singles worth tracking. For anything not currently listed, our Quick Order page is the fastest way to request a quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was the 2023 Pokémon World Championships held?
August 11–13, 2023, at PACIFICO Yokohama in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. It was the first time the event was held in Japan and only the third time held outside the United States.
Is the Yokohama Pikachu card the same as the regular Pikachu ex from Paldea Evolved?
It’s the same underlying card — same stats and attacks as Pikachu ex 063/193 — but reprinted as a full art card with new artwork by kantaro, depicting Pikachu against Koraidon and Miraidon, embossed with a 2023 Pokémon World Championships stamp. It carries its own deck-specific number, 001/030.
What’s included in the 2023 Pokémon World Championships Yokohama Deck: Pikachu?
30 unique cards plus basic Energy (10 Lightning, 8 Fighting), an aluminium deck tin, a yellow Pikachu Pokémon World Championships 2023 coin, 64 event-themed card sleeves, and a sheet of cardboard damage and status markers. It released July 28, 2023, ahead of the tournament.
What’s the difference between the Yokohama Pikachu and the 2024 Holiday Calendar Pikachu ex?
They’re two separate special versions of the same base card. The Yokohama version (001/030, WCS23) has Koraidon/Miraidon full art tied to the 2023 Worlds. The Holiday Calendar 2024 version, released August 23, 2024, instead carries a silver snowflake stamp and has no connection to the Yokohama event.
What competitive formats were played at the 2023 Yokohama Worlds?
Four: Pokémon TCG (2023–24 Standard format), Pokémon VGC (Scarlet & Violet, Regulation Set D), Pokémon GO (Great League format), and Pokémon UNITE (Theia Sky Ruins map).
Was the 2023 Yokohama Worlds the first time the event was held outside the United States?
No — it was the third time the World Championships had been held outside the US, but the first time it was held specifically in Japan.
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