Tag Archives: Pokémon TCG

From Mega to ex★ — What’s Changing in the TCG

Mega Lucario Z ex card revealed at Pokémon World Championships 2026 closing ceremony — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

The Mega Evolution block that kicked off in early 2025 with the Ascended Heroes set has been building toward this pivot. The ex★ series doesn’t bin Mega cards entirely — the Mega Evolution era will run its course through upcoming sets including Delta Reign (November, English) and the special crossover MEGA x MEGA Parade — but the ex★ branding signals the next design chapter.

The first Pokémon confirmed for the ex★ era are the Johto Legendary Beasts: Raikou, Suicune, and Entei. They appeared only as a teaser silhouette during the Worlds ceremony, with The Pokémon Company noting more details will follow. Separately, card reveals from Aura Seeker show two additional ex cards set for the bridging Mega era before ex★ launches properly.

Mega Lucario Z ex — A New Kind of Lucario

Mega Lucario Z ex card — 330 HP, Aura Seeker Ability, Dancing Fist attack — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

Headlining Aura Seeker is Mega Lucario Z ex (card number 057/078), the first Z-form Mega Evolution to appear in the physical TCG. It made its in-game debut in the Pokémon Legends: Z-A – Mega Dimension DLC last year, and the card translates that power well:

Type: Metal — Stage 1 (evolves from Riolu)
HP: 330
Ability — Aura Seeker: Once per turn while in the Active Spot, search your deck for a Supporter card, reveal it, and put it into your hand. Then shuffle your deck.
Attack — Dancing Fist (120+): If the opponent’s Active Pokémon is a Pokémon ex, this attack does 120 extra damage.
Mega Evolution ex rule: Opponent takes 3 Prize cards when Knocked Out.

The Supporter-search Ability is the real headline. Reliable Supporter access every turn while Mega Lucario Z ex sits active can create exceptionally consistent setups — and the 240 effective damage against ex Pokémon at two Energy has the competitive community already paying close attention ahead of the November release.

Sigilyph ex and the Aura Seeker Set

Sigilyph ex card from Aura Seeker set (Japanese) — 031/078 M7 — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

The second ex card confirmed for Aura Seeker is Sigilyph ex (031/078), and its Ability is a direct foil to Mega evolution decks: Mega Protector prevents all damage to Sigilyph ex from opponent’s Mega Evolution Pokémon ex attacks. Its Power Cyclone attack deals 140 and moves an Energy to a Benched Pokémon, enabling flexible retreats. In a format currently defined by big Mega attackers, Sigilyph ex could carve out a genuine niche as a tech pick.

The full set clocks in at 78 cards (set code M7 in Japan). Booster packs and box products have not yet been detailed for the international release.

Release Timeline: Japan in November, English in 2027

Aura Seeker hits Japanese shelves on 27 November 2026, the same date as reported by Wargamer and backed up by trademark filings earlier this year. The English-language edition is expected in January 2027, though an official confirmation date is still pending from The Pokémon Company International.

Before Aura Seeker arrives, the English calendar still has two stops: 30th Celebration (16 September, worldwide simultaneous launch) and Mega Evolution: Delta Reign (6 November, headlined by Mega Rayquaza ex). It is a packed final quarter for collectors.

What Singapore TCG Fans Should Know

Singapore has a thriving Pokémon TCG scene, with local League events, regional qualifiers, and dedicated import shops keeping the community well-supplied. For players here:

Japanese import: Aura Seeker packs from Japan will reach SG import stores in late November or early December. Expect standard import pricing; exact SGD figures will vary by retailer.
English release: Likely January 2027 via major game and hobby retailers. No Singapore-specific launch date has been confirmed.
Competitive relevance: The ex★ era is expected to roll out properly in spring 2027, with early ex★ cards likely legal in the format from that point. The Asia-Pacific competitive season that leads to Pokémon Worlds 2027 in Singapore next August will play out largely under the current Mega era rules, so Aura Seeker cards — including Mega Lucario Z ex — should be legal for competitive play well before the home-soil championship arrives.

The Legendary Beasts teaser and the ex★ branding suggest The Pokémon Company has a full series arc planned. Watch the official Pokémon website and Nintendo Insider for the next wave of card reveals as the November release approaches.

News

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration — Sugimori’s Pikachu Is Card #01/30

August 15, 2026 Nova Solaris

Sugimori’s Pikachu Card — Card #01/30

Ken Sugimori Pikachu card 01/30 from Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

The card is numbered 017/103 in the full set and 01/30 in the Pikachu promo subset. Sugimori’s Pikachu has 70 HP, one attack (Electric Shock, 20 damage with a coin flip for paralysis), and a design that sits comfortably between the rounded “chubbychu” of the original Base Set and today’s slimmer look — a deliberate echo of the classic Jungle expansion Pikachu, also illustrated by Sugimori. The sparkle foil treatment and large 30th Anniversary watermark on the card back complete the celebratory feel.

Sugimori’s credit on the card matters because, since the Scarlet & Violet era, he has been listed as a supervisor on the TCG rather than a card artist. His return to drawing the card himself — for the set’s first Pikachu — is the kind of detail that long-time collectors notice. The set’s artwork across its 30 Pikachu cards has been covered at PokéBeach.

Atsuko Nishida Draws Card #25/30

Sugimori is not the only legend in the 30-card Pikachu subset. Atsuko Nishida — the Game Freak designer who created Pikachu’s original character design — illustrates card #25/30. Having both the artist who painted Pikachu’s Base Set portrait and the designer who gave Pikachu its look in the same expansion is as close as the TCG gets to a tribute to the character’s origins.

The September 16 Global Launch — What It Means for Singapore Collectors

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration Pikachu ex Day and Night cards — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

As we noted in our coverage of the Japan lottery, the 30th Celebration expansion breaks a 30-year tradition: it launches simultaneously worldwide on 16 September 2026. For Singapore collectors who have always waited weeks or imported from Japan, getting the same cards on the same day as every other market is genuinely historic.

Every booster pack in the expansion contains at least one foil Pikachu rare from the 30-card subset — and every card in the 30th Celebration set is foil, with no standard non-foil commons or uncommons in the base print run. The Futuristic rare slots feature Mew ex and Mewtwo ex in eye-catching holographic finishes, shown in the official trailer above. Singapore fans can also connect to the TCG community through events like local TCG gatherings and conventions.

Game News, News

Pokémon TCG 30th Celebration: Japan Lottery Opens Monday

August 9, 2026 Nova Solaris

What Japan’s Lottery Covers and When It Opens

Four MEGA series products are going on sale exclusively through a Japan-region lottery on Pokémon Center Online:

MEGA Expansion Pack “30th CELEBRATION” BOX — ¥7,200 (approx. S$68). This is the flagship booster box: multiple packs of the six-cards-per-pack Japanese expansion, all foil.
MEGA “30th CELEBRATION Premium Deck Set Espeon & Umbreon” — ¥6,200 (approx. S$59). A ready-to-play deck set anchored by Espeon and Umbreon.
MEGA “30th CELEBRATION FUTURISTIC BOX” — ¥27,500 (approx. S$261). The premium collector’s box featuring the set’s new Futuristic rare cards — Mewtwo ex, Mew ex, Greninja ex, and others in a never-before-seen card rarity tier.

Lottery applications for these three products open Monday 10 August at 12:00 JST and close Friday 14 August at 16:59 JST. A fourth product — the MEGA “30th CELEBRATION Card Set” (nine card types, ¥10,800 / approx. S$103) — has its own separate lottery from 28 to 31 August.

Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration Futuristic rare cards including Mewtwo ex and Jirachi ex — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

The New Anti-Scalper Measure: My Number Card Verification

For this lottery, Pokémon Center Online Japan is splitting applicants into two tiers: Players Club: Identity Verified and Players Club: Unverified. According to Dengeki Online (Japanese), “the majority of winning allocations are designated for the identity-verified tier,” making prior verification with Japan’s national ID card system — the My Number Card (マイナンバーカード) — a meaningful advantage.

This is a direct response to the scalping problem that has plagued high-demand Pokémon TCG releases in Japan over the past few years. By requiring government-issued ID to unlock the better lottery odds, The Pokémon Company Japan is also de facto locking out overseas resellers who do not hold a Japanese national ID. Singapore-based resellers who have historically obtained Japanese product through proxy services will find this lottery particularly difficult to access through the usual channels.

What Singapore Collectors Should Do

Pokemon TCG 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box — Image courtesy of The Pokémon Company

If you do not have a Japanese Pokémon Center account with My Number Card verification, you cannot enter this lottery directly. The good news is you do not need to. The 16 September 2026 simultaneous worldwide release — the first time the Pokémon TCG has ever launched a set on the same day globally — means Singapore fans will have access to the international English-language products on exactly the same day as Japan. Pre-orders for the English-language 30th Celebration range are already open via major international retailers and local games shops.

The English Elite Trainer Box contains nine booster packs and a full-art promo Nidorina card. The Pokémon Center edition has eleven packs and two full-art promos. Each pack contains five fully foil cards — there are no non-holo commons in this set — plus one of the 30 Pikachu rare variants drawn by a different illustrator. Collecting all 30 will be the collector challenge of the year.

Watch the Official 30th Celebration Trailer

[Official] Pokémon TCG – 30th Anniversary Global Synced Release — via Pokémon Asia ENG on YouTube

Singapore pre-orders are expected at major game retailers and electronics chains that carry Pokémon TCG products. The September 16 date is confirmed; local SGD pricing has not been officially announced at time of writing. Check the Pokémon section for updates as they land.