Pokemon Trading Card Game Is Reprinting One Of Its Rarest Cards Later This Year

People of a certain age will remember the first Pokemon Trading Card Game craze when the game first launched 30 years ago, with players cracking pack after pack in the hopes of finding the elusive Charizard card everyone wanted. Today, The Pokemon Company International has announced 30th Celebration, a new expansion celebrating the anniversary milestone, which will recreate the hunt for Base Set's Charizard--along with other cards from the game's history--this September. 

30th Celebration will include multiple reprinted cards from throughout the game's history, with Charizard (Base Set) and Pikachu and Zekrom-GX (Sun and Moon - Tag Team) the first two historical cards revealed. Those cards will not be legal in the standard Pokemon TCG competition format, but they will be considered legal cards for any format that allows for them. 

The new expansion will also feature new card designs for fan-favorite Pokemon, with new cards for Zorua, Lapras, and Eeveelutions Espeon, Umbreon, and Sylveon all revealed with the announcement. Pikachu's new card will be unique, however, as the card will see 30 different versions included in packs, each with different art from artists across Pokemon's history. 

The Pokemon Company has also announced that every card in the 30th Celebration set will be foil, including the basic Energy cards. Finally, the set will also introduce a new rarity, Futuristic Rare, with Mew and Mewtwo representing the first cards in this new tier.

Pokemon Trading Card Game 30th Celebration will launch September 16 in local game stores and big box retailers. It will be the first set in Pokemon's history to launch simultaneously around the world.