Pikachu Cards in the Pokémon 30th Celebration Set: 30 Arts + 2 Pikachu-ex

By Eduard Mihaila · August 22, 2026

The Pokémon Company just revealed the headline feature of the 30th Anniversary set: a Pikachu card in every booster. Behind the announcement sit two separate collections — 30 unique Pikachu Rare arts and two Pikachu-ex Illustration Rares, one by day and one by night. Here’s what’s confirmed, what the cards look like, and how to track their value with the PixelBinder card database.

Quick answer: the 30th Celebration set (code 30C, worldwide release September 16, 2026) guarantees one Pikachu card per booster. In total: 30 Pikachu Rare cards — each with its own illustration, artist and attacks — and 2 Pikachu-ex Illustration Rares built around a day/night theme. The Pikachu-ex hold the value; the Pikachu Rares are easier to pull but form a sub-collection to complete.

A Pikachu card in every booster

This is the set’s standout mechanic: every booster in the 30th Anniversary set holds at least one Pikachu card. Not the same Pikachu repeated endlessly — quite the opposite. The Pokémon Company stresses that “each Pikachu card is unique by its illustration, its artist and its attacks.” Opening boosters becomes a hunt to collect a mini Pikachu set inside the main set.

In practice, that splits across two very different rarity tiers — worth keeping straight when you sort your pulls or compare prices.

The 30 Pikachu Rare cards

The first collection is 30 “Pikachu Rare” cards, each with its own Pikachu numbering. Every card shows a different Pikachu: pose, setting, season, attack — all of it changes from one card to the next, and each illustration is credited to a distinct artist.

These stay the most accessible cards in the sub-collection — you’ll pull them regularly — but their count (30) and the variety of arts make it a real collecting project. Some, prized for their illustration or artist, will stand out on the resale market once the set is in circulation.

To keep track, remember that the printed number at the bottom of the card and the rarity symbol are enough to place each Pikachu in the series. When in doubt, the simplest route is to scan the card to read its set and number automatically, rather than comparing art by art.

The two day and night Pikachu-ex

This is the peak of the Pikachu collection: two Pikachu-ex Illustration Rares, built around the day / night duality that runs through the whole 30th Anniversary set.

• The “day” Pikachu-ex sits in a radiant illustration, Pikachu at the center of a swarm of colorful Pokémon. In play it runs Pika-Pika Parade and Thunderbolt (200), with 190 HP.
• The “night” Pikachu-ex flips the mood: dark background, purple highlights and fireworks. Its Zip-Zap Frenzy and Thunder (200) attacks make it a nocturnal mirror of the first, also at 190 HP.

These two Pikachu-ex will hold the value of the sub-collection: rarer than the Pikachu Rares, full-art, and carried by the anniversary theme. Careful, though, not to confuse them with the MEP Pikachu-ex promos handed out in the 30th anniversary boxes: same Pokémon, but a different card, on a different market. We break down the boxes and promos in our tour of the Pokémon 30th anniversary products.

Where the Pikachu fit in the rest of the set

These Pikachu cards sit on top of the numbered set (128 cards + secrets) and its other highlights: the Double Rares Greninja ex, Espeon ex, Sylveon ex, Umbreon ex, the Illustration Rares, and above all the two Futuristic Rare Mewtwo-ex and Mew-ex. For the full picture:

• The 30th Celebration card list covers the numbered set and the revealed secrets.
• The 30th Anniversary set page details the code, date and rarities.
• The 30th anniversary collector guide places it all in the anniversary calendar.

The set also reprints iconic cards through the Classic Collection booster, Base Set Charizard at the front — one more reason to open packs beyond the Pikachu hunt.

How to track and value your Pikachu cards

With 30 Pikachu Rares, two Pikachu-ex and promos sharing the same name, the risk is mixing up versions and mis-valuing your collection. Two habits:

1. Browse. Once the set is indexed, open it in the PixelBinder card database and sort by price: each Pikachu shows its number, rarity and live Cardmarket value.
2. Scan. Frame a card with PixelBinder: the app identifies it in English, French or Japanese, reads its collector number and shows its value instantly. A set Pikachu-ex is never confused with an MEP promo or a Pikachu Rare.

Track your 30th Celebration Pikachu with PixelBinder

PixelBinder scans and values Pokémon cards in English, French and Japanese straight from your iPhone camera. The app reads each card’s name, language and number, so a day Pikachu-ex is never mistaken for its night version or a promo. Every card is valued with live Cardmarket and eBay data, then your collection total tracks itself. Scan a card once: you start free with 25 scans, no commitment.