All 30 Pikachu Cards From Pokémon's 30th Celebration
30th Celebration guarantees a different, uniquely illustrated Pikachu in every single pack, thirty of them total, no repeats. No anniversary set has ever built its chase mechanic around one Pokémon quite like this.
Let's take a look at all 30 of the Pikachus. Now that all of them have been revealed, here's the full lineup, artist by artist, alongside other popular cards they've done. Plus, everything else we know so far about the 30th Celebration release calendar.
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Key Takeaways
Every pack of 30th Celebration guarantees one of 30 uniquely illustrated Pikachu, numbered 01/30 through 30/30 (cards 017/103 through 046/103)
The lineup includes the original Pikachu character designer, Atsuko Nishida, alongside veteran TCG names like Ken Sugimori, James Turner, and Shinji Kanda
Two of the thirty illustrators, Yuu Nishida and Kazuki Minami, are past winners of Pokémon's own Illustration Grand Prix contest, five years apart
30th Celebration releases worldwide on September 16, 2026
1. Pikachu (017/103), Illus. Ken Sugimori
It only makes sense that the Pikachu subset opens with the artist who finalized Pikachu's actual design back in Generation I. Ken Sugimori essentially recreates the classic Pokemon Jungle version of the iconic mascot. Sugimori has illustrated over a thousand English print cards across nearly a hundred sets since the TCG began, and his credits run from the Base Set Blastoise to Neo Destiny's Shining Tyranitar. Putting his Pikachu first in the lineup isn't just tradition, it's the only place it could have gone.
2. Pikachu (018/103), Illus. danciao
Pikachu mid Volt Tackle, ground cracked beneath him, red static tearing across the frame. danciao has become one of the TCG's fastest rising names, illustrating the Zekrom ex SIR from Black Bolt, the Iron Valiant ex SIR from Prismatic Evolutions, and a widely praised Mega Charizard X ex SIR from Phantasmal Flames, all inside about a couple of years. That run of hits is exactly why this card has that same coiled, about to explode energy collectors have come to expect from danciao's work.
3. Pikachu (019/103), Illus. satoma
A softer entry, Pikachu sitting in a flower garden with the kind of gentle, unhurried color work satoma is known for. satoma illustrated the Special Illustration Rare version of Lillie's Determination from the Mega Evolution set as well as the Cresselia IR from Shrouded Fable, and this Pikachu carries the same quiet, unforced charm. Simple, sweet, no theatrics required.
4. Pikachu (020/103), Illus. Takeshi Nakamura
In this one, Pikachu looks like he's pressed against some glass with his back against open sky, this is the most candid, least posed shot in the early run, closer to a photo you'd catch by accident than a composed portrait. Nakamura handled Bewear in Shrouded Fable with that same loose, caught in motion feel, and it carries straight through to this Pikachu.
5. Pikachu (021/103), Illus. Asako Ito
This is a true attention-grabber: a photograph, not a painting, of a crocheted Pikachu doll lying in the grass, its yarn ears and stitched cheeks made with obvious, careful handiwork. Asako Ito works almost entirely in fiber art for the TCG rather than paint or digital illustration. It's the kind of card that either clicks with a collector instantly or completely baffles them, and that's exactly what makes it memorable.
6. Pikachu (022/103), Illus. sowsow
Pikachu curled up on a pile of pillows holding a Poké Ball, the kind of cozy, domestic scene sowsow has built an entire reputation on since debuting in Forbidden Light back in 2018. sowsow's Alt Art Gengar VMAX from Fusion Strike remains their most valuable and most requested card, but they also shine with other Sword & Shield Alt Arts like Espeon V from Evolving Skies.
7. Pikachu (023/103), Illus. James Turner
James Turner works in flat, bold lines here, Pikachu jumping through a shower of flower petals with almost no shading at all, instantly recognizable as his style even without the credit line. Turner's history with Pokémon goes well beyond illustration. He finalized the design of Shadow Lugia for Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, becoming the first Westerner to officially design a Pokémon, then joined Game Freak and eventually became Art Director for Sword & Shield, where he designed Golurk, Dondozo, and Tatsugiri. Now, he's THE Creative Director of Pokémon Art and Design at TCPI!
8. Pikachu (024/103), Illus. DOM
Pikachu sprinting through a neon lit city at night, streaks of electricity trailing behind him. DOM previously illustrated the Samurott from White Flare, and that same menacing elegance can be found in this new Pikachu just this time with a more city-focused setting.
9. Pikachu (025/103), Illus. Atsushi Furusawa
A quieter moment, Pikachu perched on a cluttered desk surrounded by books and office supplies, the kind of small background detail Furusawa is known for packing into every corner of a scene. Furusawa is a freelance illustrator who was once a semifinalist in Pokémon's own Illustration Grand Prix with a Charizard entry, and has since illustrated dozens of cards across the Japanese and English print runs, including the widely loved sleepy Dragonite V alternate art from Evolving Skies, showing Dragonite dozing in the sky surrounded by Spearow and Fearow. That same eye for a quiet, lived in scene is all over this Pikachu too.
10. Pikachu (026/103), Illus. Tomokazu Komiya
Easily one of the most abstract cards in the set. Komiya has always been known for strange art styles on cards dating back all the way back to the Neo era with Neo Revelation Jynx, Neo Discovery Politoed, and many others. More recent cards that highlight this incredibly unique are style include the Scarlet & Violet Base Drowzee.
11. Pikachu (027/103), Illus. Narumi Sato
Pikachu in a garden thick with pink flowers, calm and naturalistic. Comes with an Ability that hides him from damage while benched, which lines up nicely with how tucked away and half hidden he looks in his own artwork, one of those rare cases where the mechanic and the art are clearly telling the same story.
12. Pikachu (028/103), Illus. USGMEN
A simple, flat style shot of Pikachu leaping through a green forest. USGMEN is no stranger to the flat shot-style with the ever-popular Paldean Fates Bubble Mew being the crowning achievement of their illustrations... so far.
13. Pikachu (029/103), Illus. Susumu Maeya
Pikachu curled up in a pile of autumn leaves, textured and warm. Maeya's Froakie and Frogadier from Mega Evolution: Chaos Rising line up side by side into one continuous scene running from Froakie beneath the waves through Frogadier emerging into the air up to Mega Greninja ex hovering above it all on its shuriken.
14. Pikachu (030/103), Illus. OKACHEKE
Pikachu peeking around a wooden stair railing, caught mid sneak like he wasn't supposed to be there. OKACHEKE's Misty's Psyduck has that same playful, caught in the act energy, and it's a fun, low key entry in a subset that otherwise leans pretty dramatic.
15. Pikachu (031/103), Illus. Yuu Nishida
Pikachu mid punch against a clear blue sky, all motion and energy. Nishida is a part time high school art teacher from Akita prefecture who won the very first Pokémon Card Game Illustration Grand Prix. Her goal, in her own words, is to draw illustrations that fill the viewer with warmth, and her alternate art Sylveon V from Evolving Skies is proof it works, a simple bakery scene that became one of the era's most sought after chase cards.
16. Pikachu (032/103), Illus. Tetsu Kayama
A more serious take, Pikachu with a determined, almost annoyed expression, sparks flying off his cheeks in a tangled forest scene. Kayama's Sandy Shocks ex had that same wound up tension running through it, a mood this artist returns to often.
17. Pikachu (033/103), Illus. Teeziro
Pikachu darting past an old wooden door as autumn leaves fall around him. Teeziro's Umbreon V contrasts this with a much darker and dominant mood, although you can still see the similarities in the art itself just like with the Celebi V as well.
18. Pikachu (034/103), Illus. Shinji Kanda
The most visually loud card in the entire subset. Pikachu bounds through an explosion of flowers made of dense, saturated dot work, closer to a woodblock print than a typical card illustration, and it's exactly the kind of obsessive detail that's earned Kanda a nickname among collectors, the "Shinji Tax," for how much a card's price jumps the moment his name is on it. Kanda debuted in the TCG in 2022 with Magmar in Starbirth and broke out almost immediately with the Giratina V alternate art from Lost Origin, one of the defining chase cards of the entire Sword & Shield era. He later turned Magikarp, of all Pokémon, into a modern grail with an Illustration Rare from Paldea Evolved. Handing him a Pikachu, arguably the only Pokémon more famous than the ones he's already elevated, is a genuinely interesting pairing.
19. Pikachu (035/103), Illus. Rianti Hidayat
Pikachu hanging off a tree branch in dense jungle greenery. Hidayat's Bouffalant ex had that same tucked into nature feel, and it's carried over well here.
20. Pikachu (036/103), Illus. Akira Komayama
Pikachu leaping through a dreamy, pastel colored sky full of floating geometric shapes. Komayama is one of the most prolific illustrators in this entire subset, freelancing since 2009 and contributing to the TCG since 2010, with well over two hundred cards to their name at this point, including the alternate art Galarian Zapdos V from Chilling Reign and the Blastoise & Piplup TAG TEAM GX alternate art from Cosmic Eclipse. That same stylized, slightly surreal quality shows up again in this Pikachu.
21. Pikachu (037/103), Illus. OOYAMA
Pikachu asleep on a tropical beach at sunset, palm trees swaying overhead. It's the most relaxed card in the entire subset, and the Ability on it, which puts Pikachu to sleep in exchange for drawing back up to six cards, matches the art beat for beat, a genuine case of the gameplay text and the illustration telling the exact same joke.
22. Pikachu (038/103), Illus. akagi
Multiple ghostly afterimages of Pikachu blur across the frame, all speed and motion, like a long exposure photograph of him running. akagi's Greninja ex however is a huge burst of colors. The starter sits in a laid back pose while what looks like actual paint splatters of orange and yellow burst outward.
23. Pikachu (039/103), Illus. Naoyo Kimura
Pikachu standing among white, snowball shaped flowers under a night sky, quiet and a little wistful. Kimura is the same illustrator behind Pikachu With Grey Felt Hat, the Pokémon x Van Gogh Museum collaboration card built as a nod to Van Gogh's own self portraits, a piece that turned heads well outside the TCG community when it released. Kimura has been illustrating for the TCG since 2001 and has well over two hundred cards to her name, and this Pikachu has that same quiet, almost reverent mood her Van Gogh piece carried.
24. Pikachu (040/103), Illus. svlt
Pikachu resting against a rock next to pink flowers, calm and unbothered. A simple, clean scene that lets the color palette do the work rather than leaning on a big dramatic pose.
25. Pikachu (041/103), Illus. Atsuko Nishida
The card the whole set was building toward. Atsuko Nishida designed Pikachu at Game Freak back in the original generation, working alongside Ken Sugimori, who finalized the design that opens this very list. She's also the artist behind the Pikachu Illustrator card, the single most expensive Pokémon card ever sold at auction. Getting her to draw a brand new Pikachu specifically for the character's 30th anniversary is the kind of thing that doesn't happen by accident, and it should be the single most talked about card in the entire subset once packs are open. The art itself is unfussy on purpose, Pikachu bounding through a flower meadow, simple and joyful, exactly the kind of art you'd expect from the person who invented him in the first place.
26. Pikachu (042/103), Illus. Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Pikachu nuzzled up in a dense mosaic of fruit, built from thousands of tiny colored dots that look almost like stained glass up close. Oshiyama illustrated the widely loved Charizard VSTAR SWSH262 promo, one of the more requested pulls of its era, and outside the TCG he's had an entire second career as an anime director, most recently helming the acclaimed 2024 film Look Back, with earlier animation credits on The Wind Rises and Devilman Crybaby. Collectors who already track his TCG work, which is intentionally rare, should expect this one to move fast.
27. Pikachu (043/103), Illus. Nurikabe
A confident, close up portrait, Pikachu smirking with a sparkling background behind him, more attitude than any other card in the lineup. Its attack deals bonus damage specifically against ex Pokémon, a small mechanical wink that fits the card's cocky expression perfectly.
28. Pikachu (044/103), Illus. Shimaris Yukichi
Pikachu is stuffing his face, surrounded by berries in a sunlit meadow. It's an unexpectedly silly entry this late in the set, real tears rather than the usual exaggerated cartoon crying, and it stands out for it in a lineup that otherwise leans upbeat.
29. Pikachu (045/103), Illus. nagimiso
Pikachu bursting through a cosmic, galaxy toned background mid attack, all motion and light. nagimiso's Jolteon V had that same electric, larger than life staging, which tracks given Jolteon and Pikachu share an entire Pokédex category built around electricity.
30. Pikachu (046/103), Illus. Kazuki Minami
The set closes with the newest name on the list, and arguably its best story. Kazuki Minami won Pokémon's 2024 Illustration Contest, the same competition Yuu Nishida (entry 15 on this list) won years earlier, with a sleepy, low key Pikachu piece that later got an official promo release as Pikachu 242/SV-P. Since then Minami has moved fast, landing a Special Art Rare on Mega Rayquaza ex in Storm Emeralda, and now closing out 30th Celebration with this snarling, wide eyed Pikachu crackling with electricity, about as far from that original sleepy contest piece as an artist can get. Going from fan contest winner to closing out a flagship anniversary subset in under two years is not a common path, and it's worth watching where Minami goes next.
Why 30th Celebration Has Collectors Excited
A 30 card Pikachu subset with a guaranteed pull in every pack means every single booster has a reason to open it, regardless of what else lands
The illustrator lineup spans TCG veterans with hundreds of cards to their name (Ken Sugimori, Akira Komayama, Naoyo Kimura) alongside newer names still building their reputation (danciao, Kazuki Minami)
Atsuko Nishida's inclusion turns one card into a genuine piece of Pokémon history rather than just another Pikachu variant, and having her drawing alongside Sugimori, who finalized her original design, adds a layer most anniversary sets never manage
The art styles range wildly, from flat cartoon illustration to photographed crochet work to dense mosaic painting, making this one of the most visually varied subsets the TCG has ever run
Two separate illustrators in this lineup, Yuu Nishida and Kazuki Minami, are Illustration Grand Prix winners, which says something about how seriously Pokémon is treating this particular set
For more on how we got here, see our full rundown of the official 30th anniversary announcements.
Final Thoughts
Thirty Pikachu, thirty completely different takes on the same character, and not one of them feels like filler. That's a hard thing to pull off in a subset this size, and 30th Celebration came by its name honestly. What stands out most looking at the full lineup together isn't any single card, it's how clearly Pokémon set out to tell its own history through illustration alone, pairing the artist who designed Pikachu with the artist who finalized that design, then handing the rest of the lineup to everyone from three decade veterans to a 2024 contest winner. If you're looking to chase the full run, keep an eye on Rare Candy's Instapacks for 30th Celebration when the set drops on September 16 [TODO: confirm Instapacks slug before linking].
FAQ
When does 30th Celebration release?
30th Celebration releases worldwide on September 16, 2026, marking the first time a Pokémon TCG set has launched simultaneously across every region.
How many Pikachu cards are in 30th Celebration?
The set includes 30 uniquely illustrated Pikachu cards, numbered 01/30 through 30/30 (set numbers 017/103 through 046/103), with one guaranteed in every booster pack. There are however other Pikachu ex cards in the set.
Which 30th Celebration Pikachu card is the most significant?
Card 25/30 (041/103), illustrated by Atsuko Nishida, the original character designer of Pikachu at Game Freak and the artist behind the Pikachu Illustrator card, the most expensive Pokémon card ever sold.
What is the Classic Collection in 30th Celebration?
A separate 30 card subset of gold bordered reprints spanning Base Set through Paldea Evolved, each stamped with a "30" Pikachu mark. These are not the same cards as the Pikachu illustration subset, and they aren't legal for Standard play, they exist purely for collectors.
What is Futuristic Rare in 30th Celebration?
Futuristic Rare, or FUR, is a brand new rarity introduced in this set, appearing on select Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, and Pikachu ex cards with vivid coloring and 3D style graphical elements. It's a different mechanic from the 30 card Pikachu illustration subset covered in this post.
Where can I get 30th Celebration when it releases?
Rare Candy will have 30th Celebration product available at release on September 16, 2026.
