The two sets at a glance
Celebrations came out on October 8, 2021, with 25 new cards and a 25-card Classic Collection of reprints. A Celebrations pack had four cards.
30th Celebration came out on September 16, 2026, with 128 numbered cards, 161 counting the secret rares, plus a 30-card Classic Collection. A 30th Celebration pack has five foil cards and a foil Basic Energy, and every card in the set is foil.
Pikachu, twice
Both sets are built around Pikachu. Celebrations had Flying Pikachu and Surfing Pikachu as V and VMAX cards. 30th Celebration goes much further, with a Pikachu Rare in every pack, 30 of them by 30 different illustrators, and two Pikachu ex Special Illustration Rares by kantaro.
The headline Pikachu cards
Two Classic Collections
Both sets include a Classic Collection of reprints that keep their original numbers. Celebrations' 25 have a yellow border, a 25th anniversary Pikachu stamp and an etched, confetti-style holo foil. 30th Celebration's 30 have a gold border and a 30th anniversary stamp.
Only one card is on both lists: Base Set Charizard 4/102, reprinted identically in both, down to the copyright line. Put the two next to each other and the easiest way to tell them apart is the border colour and the anniversary stamp.
Base Set Charizard, reprinted twice
How the picks differ
Celebrations leaned into vintage oddities: Here Comes Team Rocket!, Imposter Professor Oak, _____'s Pikachu, a Gold Star Umbreon and Shining Magikarp, and its newest picks came from Sun & Moon. It also reprinted two LV.X cards, Luxray GL and Garchomp C.
30th Celebration spreads its 30 across every era up to Scarlet & Violet, from Base Set Pikachu to a 2023 Magikarp Illustration Rare, with one LV.X of its own, Palkia.
Celebrations Classic Collection picks
Which one is better to open?
The two feel very different in hand. Celebrations had a 25-card main set, so the Classic Collection made up half of everything you could pull, and each pack had four cards. 30th Celebration has a much bigger main set, every card is foil, you always get a Pikachu, and counts of opened packs put an Illustration Rare in about one pack in five.
If you want a set you can finish, Celebrations is far smaller: 50 cards against 191 for 30th Celebration and its Classic Collection together. If you want more to find in each pack, 30th Celebration gives you that.
Collecting both
Side by side, the two Classic Collections make a nice history of the TCG, and the two Charizards are an easy place to start. Both sets and both Classic Collections have their own set pages on Pooka, and you can track them all in the Pooka app.
All cards in this guide
| Card | Set | Rarity | Released | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Flying Pikachu V #6 | Celebrations | Rare Holo V | 2021 |
 | Surfing Pikachu V #8 | Celebrations | Rare Holo V | 2021 |
 | Pikachu ex #149 | 30th Celebration | Special Illustration Rare | 2026 |
 | Pikachu ex #150 | 30th Celebration | Special Illustration Rare | 2026 |
 | Charizard #4 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
 | Charizard #4 | 30th Celebration: Classic Collection | Rare Holo | 2026 |
 | Here Comes Team Rocket! #15 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
 | Imposter Professor Oak #73 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
 | _____'s Pikachu #24 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
 | Umbreon ☆ #17 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
 | Shining Magikarp #66 | Celebrations: Classic Collection | Classic Collection | 2021 |
