The Pokémon Trading Card Game’s 30th Celebration set came out in September 2026, and the first wave of openings gave people a pretty clear read right away: the chase cards got cheap, fast. A few days after launch, prices were already sliding, mostly because the pull rates looked a lot better than what collectors had gotten used to in recent sets.
From those early openings, Special Illustration Rare (SIR) cards appeared to be landing at something close to 1 in 20 packs. Recent sets were more like 1 in 80. That gap hit singles hard. Future Rare Mew and Future Rare Mewtwo had been floated as potential $3,000 cards. Before release, Mew listings were showing up in the $850 to $1,400 range. Then, within days, sellers were asking closer to $120, and even at $100 to $150, completed sales looked sluggish. The top end wasn’t much higher. Special Illustration Rare Mew ex was only around $177, Gengar ex SIR sat near $130, and by that point the 10th most expensive card in the set had already fallen below $40.
If you’re a collector and not trying to flip everything, 30th Celebration looks like a good set to buy into. Cheaper singles make binder completion a lot easier than people expected. Scalpers, though, and the more speculative buyers, got hit from the other direction as the value of their inventory dropped in a hurry.
Sealed product is where things still get messy. The Pokémon Center Elite Trainer Box had a retail price of $59.99, got flipped for as much as $490 before cooling off to around $290, and some Target locations reportedly tried to keep release-day sales from turning into a circus with organized lines and possible virtual ticket systems.
And this set doesn’t exist in a vacuum. 30th Celebration lines up with the broader Pokémon TCG correction that’s been going on since 2025, with modern singles and sealed product down roughly 20% to 50% as print runs got bigger and speculation lost steam. Vintage has held up better. Singles are also easier to find right now than sealed retail stock.
Author: Emmanuel Bosque
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"en-US": "Emmanuel Bosque covers video games at Softonic: releases, the updates that quietly turn a game into a different one, and an industry that rarely announces its moves in advance. He writes for the person who is going to play, not the person who is going to argue: what you can play today, on which platform, and whether it is worth the download. He is part of Softonic's editorial team and works daily with AI tools in content production.",
"es-ES": "Emmanuel Bosque cubre videojuegos en Softonic: lanzamientos, actualizaciones que convierten un juego en otro sin decirlo y los movimientos de una industria que casi nunca avisa. Escribe pensando en quien va a jugar, no en quien va a discutir: qué se puede jugar hoy, en qué plataforma y si de verdad merece la descarga. Forma parte del equipo editorial de Softonic y trabaja a diario con herramientas de IA en la producción de contenido.",
"fr-FR": "Emmanuel Bosque couvre les jeux vidéo chez Softonic : sorties, mises à jour qui transforment discrètement un jeu en un autre, et une industrie qui prévient rarement à l'avance. Il écrit pour celui qui va jouer, pas pour celui qui va débattre : ce qui est jouable aujourd'hui, sur quelle plateforme, et si le téléchargement en vaut la peine. Il fait partie de l'équipe éditoriale de Softonic et travaille au quotidien avec des outils d'IA dans la production de contenu.",
"it-IT": "Emmanuel Bosque si occupa di videogiochi su Softonic: uscite, aggiornamenti che trasformano un gioco in un altro senza dirlo e un'industria che quasi mai avvisa in anticipo. Scrive per chi ha intenzione di giocare, non per chi ha intenzione di discutere: cosa si può giocare oggi, su quale piattaforma e se vale davvero il download. Fa parte del team editoriale di Softonic e lavora ogni giorno con strumenti di IA nella produzione dei contenuti.",
"nl-NL": "Emmanuel Bosque schrijft bij Softonic over videogames: releases, updates die een spel stilletjes in een ander spel veranderen, en een industrie die haar stappen zelden vooraf aankondigt. Hij schrijft voor wie gaat spelen, niet voor wie gaat discussiëren: wat je vandaag kunt spelen, op welk platform en of de download het waard is. Hij maakt deel uit van de redactie van Softonic en werkt dagelijks met AI-tools in de contentproductie.",
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