All 30 Illustration Rares, Special Illustration Rares, and Futuristic Rares in 30th Celebration
30th Celebration splits its chase cards across several different mechanics, and this post covers just one slice of that: the mainline Illustration Rares and Special Illustration Rares, the full art singles built around a single Pokémon rather than the set's dedicated Pikachu subset or its Classic Collection reprints.
This post does not cover 30th Celebration's promo cards, which will get their own separate rundown. Two Futuristic Rare prints, Mewtwo ex and Mew ex, were also part of this reveal. They're covered below too, just called out separately since Futuristic Rare isn't the same tier as Special Illustration Rare.
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Illustration Rares
1. Alolan Exeggutor (129/128), Illus. Ayumi Odashima
A wall of palm canopy fills almost the entire card, 18 separate Exeggutors heads create an enormous amount of shade against a sunny blue sky backdrop. Its Ability, Scale Up, gives it 250 extra HP once it's carrying six or more Energy, and the sheer amount of tree crammed into this illustration makes that bulk feel earned before you even read the text box.
2. Moltres (130/128), Illus. mashu
Moltres trails fire across a pastel rainbow sky, wings mid flap and sparkles scattered everywhere. mashu illustrated all three legendary birds in this set, and this one leans hardest into warmth, orange and red bleeding into the softer background colors the other two use more sparingly which of course makes sense given it's the fire type of the trio.
3. Lapras (131/128), Illus. Amelicart
Lapras drifts through calm tropical water with a Psyduck riding along on it's flipper, palm trees and cliffs in the distance. It's a quiet, easygoing scene for a Pokémon whose card text is built around ferrying Supporters into your hand, Ferry Across doing double duty as both attack name and the literal picture on the card.
4. Articuno (132/128), Illus. mashu
Articuno's wings scatter snowflakes and rainbow light across the card, the same pastel palette mashu used for Moltres and Zapdos but pushed toward blue and white here. All three birds share an Ability that lets them feed each other Energy once the full trio is in play, a small mechanical nod to how these three have always been printed as a set.
5. Zapdos (133/128), Illus. mashu
Zapdos crackles against a storm colored sky, its Ability again tied to having Moltres and Articuno both in play. Getting one illustrator across all three birds gives the trio a matched look you don't always get when legendary sets get split up between artists, and Zapdos closes that run out here at 133/128.
6. Toxtricity (134/128), Illus. Kazumasa Yasukuni
Toxtricity strikes a rockstar pose against a neon city skyline, pink and yellow lightning bolts cutting through the frame. The whole card reads like a concert poster, which tracks for a Pokémon whose entire design is built around amps and stage presence.
7. Morpeko (135/128), Illus. Yoshimi Miyoshi
Morpeko darts through a busy little town street lined with fruit stands and delivery trucks, a soft blue ring of motion swirling around it. Its attack, Select a Snack, has it digging through the top of your deck for something to eat, and the produce crates piled up in the foreground and background make that flavor text feel almost literal.
8. Drifloon (136/128), Illus. Whisker
Drifloon floats over a pastel amusement park, roller coasters and striped tents in the background and other balloons drifting alongside it. This is one of the quieter, flatter illustrations in the whole lineup, closer to a storybook page than the busier art around it, and that restraint suits a Pokémon known for luring people away on a whim.
9. Chandelure (137/128), Illus. Yashiro Nanaco
Chandelure hangs in a dim, lantern lit room full of empty chairs, its flame casting long shadows across the furniture. Eerie Glow burns and confuses in one shot, and the whole card commits to the mood, purples and dying oranges everywhere you look.
10. Lycanroc (138/128), Illus. Raita Kazama
Midnight Lycanroc cuts across a shattered, glass like background, all sharp angles and cold blue light. Counter rewards it for taking a hit the turn before, and the jagged art gives that retaliation a visual edge before the attack text ever comes into it.
11. Alolan Meowth (139/128), Illus. Okubo
Alolan Meowth slinks along a moonlit stairwell in a blue toned apartment building, sparkles trailing behind it. This is the first of three Meowth forms Okubo illustrated for this set, all sharing the same building, just at different times of day and with different residents.
12. Scraggy (140/128), Illus. Gossan
Five Scraggy sneak through a neon lit alley, one of them mid mischief in the foreground while the others peek out from the shadows. Nitpick forces a full hand reshuffle, and having Scraggy after Scraggy sneaking through the same frame matches that disruptive streak well.
13. Galarian Meowth (141/128), Illus. Okubo
Galarian Meowth perches on rooftop scaffolding at dusk, an umbrella shading it in the early twilight. This is the second Meowth in Okubo's building trilogy, and giving the more standoffish Galarian form the coldest, most weathered scene of the three is a nice bit of character read.
14. Gholdengo (142/128), Illus. toriyufu
Gholdengo poses in front of a spinning disco ball made of gold coins in a shower of more gold coins, the whole card lit like a dance floor. Its Ability, Celebration, only works if you're holding exactly 30 cards in hand, a direct wink at the number this entire set is named for.
15. Kommo-o (143/128), Illus. Gemi
This card could be one of the sleeper hits of the entire set. Kommo-o is shown perching on a rooftop shrouded in the city lights roaring and showing its dominant nature. Gemi captures the pseudo-Legendary Pokémon in a way one would expect from such a powerhouse.
16. Meowth (144/128), Illus. Okubo
The plain Meowth closes out Okubo's trilogy, dozing on a laundry lined balcony in the same blue apartment block as its Alolan and Galarian cousins. Three regional Meowth, three times of day, one building, and Pay Day showing up on all three cards ties the set together even mechanically.
17. Hisuian Zorua (145/128), Illus. 0313
Hisuian Zorua leaps across a windswept ridge, a full moon glowing behind it and faint spectral shapes curling through the clouds. The card's whole palette sits somewhere between lavender and ice blue, giving this Zorua a colder, more otherworldly read than its Unovan counterpart usually gets.
18. Maushold (146/128), Illus. osare
Maushold's card is packed edge to edge with mice, dozens of them scattered across a rainbow confetti pattern behind the main family in the foreground. It's the busiest illustration in the entire lineup, and that clutter fits a Pokémon whose whole gimmick is showing up in a group instead of alone.
Special Illustration Rares
19. Fuecoco ex (147/128), Illus. Atsushi Furusawa
Fuecoco bursts down a parade route lined with balloons, banners, and confetti, a Vivillon and a napping Snorlax visible in the crowd behind it. Cheerful Flame scales with Prize cards taken, and the sheer festival energy packed into the background makes this one of the liveliest cards in the whole set.
20. Greninja ex (148/128), Illus. Gidora
Greninja slices through a neon lit crowd, silhouettes of other Pokémon caught mid cheer in the background lighting. At 300 HP it's the toughest Pokémon in this lineup by a wide margin, and the blur of motion around it makes Aqua Edge's 160 damage feel like it's already landed before you finish reading the card.
21. Pikachu ex (149/128), Illus. kantaro
Pikachu leads a full blown parade of Pokémon across the card, Eeveelutions, Slowpoke, Cosmog, and more all crowded into one massive celebration scene. It's the busiest of the two Pikachu ex prints in this reveal, built to look like the whole Pokédex showed up for the party.
22. Pikachu ex (150/128), Illus. kantaro
kantaro's second Pikachu ex takes the same parade idea into a fireworks lit night instead, Eevee, Umbreon, and Gengar among the new faces joining in. Getting the set's mascot two separate Special Illustration Rares from the same illustrator, in the same reveal, is a rare bit of double treatment even by anniversary set standards.
23. Mewtwo ex (151/128), Illus. okyCG Works
Leave it to a Legendary Pokémon to scream aura. The artwork on this card looks like something that should be hanging up in a shrine or a museum, not simply printed on cardboard. The use of every shade of pink and purple imaginable with Mewtwo looking like a mad king makes this potentially the top three coldest Mewtwo cards ever.
24. Mew ex (152/128), Illus. Kuroimori
If ever there was an intentional inverse of a Pokemon's card art, this would be it. Where Mewtwo looks mad, Mew is relaxed. Where Mewtwo's background is sharp and purple, Mew is soft and natural. This card is destined to be one of the top chases in the set.
25. Sylveon ex (153/128), Illus. You Iribi
Sylveon floats through a garden absolutely overrun with roses and ribbon, its own feelers curling into the flowers around it. Colorful Harmony scales with how many Basic Energy types you've attached across your whole board, and the variety of pink, blue, and gold blooming around Sylveon mirrors that "the more types, the better" idea nicely.
26. Gengar ex (154/128), Illus. CHORISO
Another one destined to be a top chase, there's never a shortage of love for the original Kanto ghost. CHORISO perfectly captures Gengar's menacing nature with his hand in front of his mouth stifling laughter while he prances through a field surrounded by haunted house looking architecture.
27. Jirachi ex (155/128), Illus. Akira Egawa
Jirachi twists through a starfield that looks more like a wish granted mid motion than a fixed scene, streaks of gold and blue trailing off its ribbons. Wish Granter tops your hand off to seven cards, and the whole card already feels like it's mid wish before you get to the attack.
28. Salamence ex (156/128), Illus. Ryota Murayama
Salamence banks over a town square full of hot air balloons and street festival tents, its wings catching the same red and gold as the balloons below. At 330 HP it's the single tankiest Pokémon across this entire reveal, and Booming Call putting up to three Dragon type Pokémon onto your Bench for free makes it a genuine board builder, not just a big number.
29. Mewtwo ex (157/128), Illus. Yoshirotten
Mewtwo ex is one of two Futuristic Rare prints in this reveal rather than a Special Illustration Rare, and it looks the part immediately: a glossy, holographic ring of color and energy symbols wrap around Mewtwo instead of a painted background, more chrome than canvas. Photon Bullets spreads 50 damage across every ex Pokémon your opponent has in play, which is exactly the kind of splashy, high concept attack this new rarity seems built for.
30. Mew ex (158/128), Illus. Yoshirotten
Mew ex shares Yoshirotten's holographic treatment with Mewtwo ex, the same iridescent ring effect with the energy symbols in a softer, pastel colorway. Memory Helix lets Mew borrow any attack from your Bench, and pairing the game's two most flexible Psychic types with the same brand new rarity, from the same artist, feels like a matched set rather than a coincidence.
Why 30th Celebration Has Collectors Excited
The legendary birds trio, Toxtricity, and Gholdengo's "Celebration" Ability all fold the number 30 directly into their art or their text, giving the anniversary theme more than just a stamp in the corner
Okubo's three part Meowth trilogy, one building across three regional forms and three times of day, is the kind of connected illustration work collectors specifically chase complete sets to piece together
Pikachu getting two full Special Illustration Rares from the same illustrator in one reveal is more attention than most Pokémon see across an entire set's run
Futuristic Rare landing on exactly Mewtwo ex and Mew ex, rather than being spread across the whole set, makes those two prints worth tracking as their own chase tier, not just a footnote on the SIR list
With 4 slots still unrevealed, this lineup isn't done growing, and the eventual full 30 should round out a set that's already covering Kanto through Paldea in one lineup
For the set's other chase mechanics, see our breakdown of all 30 Pikachu cards in the dedicated illustration subset and all 30 Classic Collection reprints spanning Base Set through Paldea Evolved. For everything else revealed so far, our 30th Celebration release calendar tracks the full rollout.
Final Thoughts
Twenty six cards in, and 30th Celebration's Illustration Rare and Special Illustration Rare lineup is already one of the most varied the TCG has put out in a while, legendary birds sharing one illustrator, three Meowth forms sharing one building, and a brand new rarity tier introduced on exactly two Pokémon. The last four slots, one Illustration Rare and three Special Illustration Rares, are still worth watching for. This set came by its name honestly, and it isn't finished revealing itself yet. Keep an eye on Rare Candy's Instapacks for 30th Celebration when the set drops on September 16.
FAQ
Is Futuristic Rare the same as Special Illustration Rare?
No. Futuristic Rare is a brand new rarity this set introduced, appearing on select Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, and Pikachu ex cards with a vivid, holographic look instead of a painted background. Mewtwo ex (157/128) and Mew ex (158/128) are Futuristic Rare, not Special Illustration Rare, even though they're numbered directly after the SIR run.
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. Our release calendar has the full breakdown of what's dropping and when.
Where can I get 30th Celebration when it releases?
Rare Candy will have 30th Celebration product available at release on September 16, 2026.
