Pokémon trading card game celebrations: unpacking and the coolest cards we put out

The Pokémon series turned 25 earlier this year, and The Pokémon Company has gone to great lengths to celebrate the historic anniversary. From an album with new music from world-famous talents like Katy Perry, J. Balvin and Post Malone to new anniversary products, the Pokémon series has been ushering in its 25th birthday in style. The Pokémon Trading Card Game joined the festivities, announcing a special collection of Celebrations that is sure to be highly sought after.

The Celebrations product line offers players the opportunity to revisit the different eras of the Pokémon trading card game. The cards found in these packs are some of the most beloved and iconic cards of the long-term TCG. However, the booster packs are not sold individually, which means you have to get them through special packs. While you can get unique Celebrations sets with promo cards for Pokemon like Lance’s Charizard, Zacian, and Dragapult Prime, these only include two or four Celebrations booster packs (along with a few booster packs from other recent expansions). The best ways to collect the most Booster Packs from the Celebrations Expansion are through the Elite Trainer Box (10 Celebrations Booster Packs) or the Pikachu VMAX Premium Figure Collection (8 Celebrations Booster Packs), which also Comes with a Pikachu VMAX figure.

The Pokémon Company sent us a box from the Pokémon Trading Card Game Celebrations line for our typical galleries of the coolest cards we pulled out of packs. However, since the booster packs are not sold individually for this commemorative expansion, the company submitted a sample of the ways people can purchase the exclusive booster packs.

You can see some unboxing images of the various packages in the gallery below.

Each pack includes a combination of Pokémon TCG Celebration booster packs and booster packs from other recent expansions, such as Chilling Reign, Darkness Ablaze, Vivid Voltage, and Battle Styles. The cards we’re focusing on in the gallery you see below are those specifically drawn from the Celebration upgrade packs found in these packs.

The cards in the Celebration packs are largely reprints and remakes of popular cards from the classic Pokémon TCG expansions, but with a special anniversary logo and holographic enhancements. I was excited to see that the original iconic Charizard was included on the reprint list, but unfortunately I didn’t get it out. Still, Gen 1 cards were the most prevalent in my experience. It’s also worth noting that if you open a bunch of packages, you’re likely to receive a ton of duplicates, given the low card count in this expansion.

You can check out some of my favorite cards that I pulled from the Celebrations expansion below.

The first collections of the Pokémon Trading Card Game: Celebrations will be released tomorrow, October 8, and others will be released during the rest of October. For more information on the Pokémon Trading Card Game, including galleries for all recent expansions, click the image below to go to our dedicated hub.