Disclaimer: This post is for entertainment only and is not financial advice. See full legal disclaimers here.
The Lead: Pokémon Celebratory Fanfare Promo Reveal
Pokémon revealed the 2026 celebratory fanfare promo, making it the sixth version of the annual promotional card awarded to competitive players who earn enough Championship Points during the season. The artwork traditionally features Pikachu alongside other Pokémon that were important in that year’s competitive scene.
The series began in 2021 and for most of its history the Japanese versions have been the ones collectors and investors chased. In 2025, Pokémon expanded outside of Asia through the Ace Trainer rewards program. 2026 is only the second year Pokémon distributed an English version of the card.
Looking at the pop reports, PSA 10 populations on the Celebratory Fanfare promos are remarkably small, even compared with difficult to pull Special Illustration Rares.
The PSA 10 pop count for each year is approximately:
2021: 884
2022: 2,241
2023: 685
2024: 994
What I like about these promos is that they aren’t a card Pokémon can endlessly reprint or push into the market through booster packs or additional product releases. To receive one, you actually had to qualify as a competitive player. That restriction has led to an unusually small population of PSA 10s, yet they can be surprisingly affordable when/if you can find them on the secondary market.
Quick Hits
First Partner Series 3 Launches
I’ve written about the First Partner series in previous posts. The final nine promos released on August 7 at an MSRP of $14.99. Along with the release came videos on social media of people fighting over them at Target and other retailers.
Brief commercial break: if fighting over $15 boxes at Target so you can make a few dollars per box after platform fees isn’t your idea of investing, become a paid subscriber. It’s much easier to make money than this.
On a per box basis, Series 3 is cheaper than the previous series. Looks like you can pick them up for between $25-$35 on the secondary market. My guess is the PSA pause is a major reason. There simply isn’t as much demand when you can’t get the cards graded. With “Value” tiers paused, there’s less incentive for investors and collectors to buy boxes specifically to grade the promos. I’m not sure when I’ll be a buyer here. I need more clarity around PSA Value-tier pricing and turnaround times before buying a bunch of cards that would just sit around waiting to be graded.
Pokémon Continues to Reveal The 30th Celebration Set
We got our first look at the Day & Night Pikachu Special Illustration Rare pair. These will be available in 30th Celebration booster packs and ETB’s beginning September 16th. We don’t know the pull rates yet, but regardless of the difficulty, this pair will be extremely popular with collectors.
30th Celebration booster packs also contain a special group of 30 different Pikachu cards, each illustration done by a different artist. One will come in every booster pack, and each features a fireworks foil layer printed across the card. So far, 19 of the 30 cards from the Japanese set and 4 of the cards from the English set have been revealed.
Because one of the 30 inserts is guaranteed in every booster pack, the total raw population could reach tens of millions of cards. That volume, combined with the pause in PSA grading makes me hesitant to accumulate too aggressively. I’m going to let the market dictate when and how to invest in these. Individually, they may not become especially valuable, but a complete PSA 10 set could command a meaningful premium.
Storm Emeralda Card Watch
There is now some early price data on Storm Emeralda and as expected, the set is dominated by Rayquaza. Collector interest in this expansion is massively concentrated in the Rayquaza Gold and the Special Art Rare.
The Top Cards By Price:
Mega Rayquaza Gold: $1,127.45
Mega Rayquaza ex Special Art Rare: $632.48
Raikou ex Special Art Rare: $75.00
Mega Rayquaza ex Super Rare: $50.00
Zinnia’s Trust Special Art Rare: $35.75
The two top Rayquaza cards are in a completely different universe compared to the rest of the set. The Gold is 15x the price of Raikou (who is a popular character), while the Special Art Rare is more than 8x.
The English versions of the cards are rumored to be released in the Delta Reign expansion when it releases in November. I expect we’ll see a similar concentration of value, with the Rayquaza chase cards commanding a premium over everything else in the set.
Coming Soon
Planning for the complete 30th Celebration buying guide - Every product, cost-per-pack comparisons and which promos may justify paying up for.
Market Timing For Buying Graded Cards - With grading paused, I’ll explain my framework for buying already graded cards (hint: it’s not the first copies to hit the market).
A Mega Evolution set and buying review - The top cards, price charts and whether we are at reasonable entry points.