There’s never been a better time to be a Pokemon fan. Throughout the year, the Pokemon Company has done a lot to make the 25th anniversary feel special. From virtual Post Malone concerts to Pokemon Evolutions to Oreos and P25 merch, Pokemon’s major milestone has gotten a lot of recognition. As the festivities come to an end, TPCi has finally released a Pokemon card expansion to celebrate the anniversary. Appropriately named Celebrations, this mini-set features a collection of reprints of the most famous and beloved cards from throughout Pokemon TCG history. More than any other event this year, Pokemon Celebrations feels like a love letter to the history of Pokemon and its enduring legacy. It’s everything I could have wanted from an anniversary set, and it’s been my favorite thing to come out of P25 by a mile.

Pokemon Celebrations is a 50-card mini-set that, like most special collections, contains two separate sets. The first 25 are all brand new cards that exclusively feature legendary Pokemon and recreations of famous Pikachu cards, while the last 25 are all true, one to one reprints of some of the most famous cards from throughout the TCG’s history. Some of these will be instantly recognizable to even the most casual Pokemon card collector, like Birthday Pikachu, Shining Magikarp, and Base Set Charizard. Other Classic Collection cards will be totally unfamiliar to fans unless they’re plugged into competitive Pokemon TCG. Cards like Lvl. 43 Claydol and Donphan Prime may seem like strange cards to include in such a limited set, but TCG players have fond memories of these cards that were once staples in the competitive meta. These inclusions make it clear that TPCi is acknowledging dedicated collectors and players with Celebrations. Pulling cards like Team Magma’s Groudon and Umbreon Star brought a tear to my eye, and I can’t imagine a better way to celebrate Pokemon cards.

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While Celebrations packs only contain four cards each, it's worth mentioning that every single card in the set is holographic. The last card is reserved for ultra rares like the new Flying Pikachu VMAX, Full Art Professor’s Research, or Shiny Mew, while the third card is where you’ll potentially find a card from the Classic Collection. This means that it's fairly common to find two holo legendaries, a classic card like Rayquaza-EX, and a Full Art Trainer all in a single pack. Four card packs seem light, especially for a premium price, but these packs are double stuffed with quality, not quantity.

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If you manage to find Pokemon Celebrations product, you’ll actually have a much better shot at completing the set than most expansions. Not only is it relatively small with only 50 cards, but the pull rates seem to be fantastic. I opened about 40 packs and found all of the Celebrations Collection and the vast majority of the Classic Collection, including Base Set Charizard, Umbreon Star, and Mewtwo-EX. Looking at the price guides online, there doesn’t seem to be any outrageously overpriced cards here. Even the Base Set Charizard is sitting at a pretty reasonable $139 on TCGPlayer, and I only expect it to go down as more packs get opened. A lot of profit-driven collectors have been complaining about Celebrations for not having any true chase cards, but this is how Pokemon TCG ought to be. This kind of accessibility drives the market down and gets more cards into the hands of collectors. I love how reasonable it is to complete this collection.

Perhaps my favorite thing about Celebrations is its approach to promos. Practically every box, tin, and package comes with a promo card that reimagines newer Pokemon in a type of card that existed prior to their introduction. Cards like Dark Sylveon, Dragapult Prime, Lvl. X Garchomp, and Greninja Star could never have existed before, but with these promos we get to see what those might have looked like. It’s a cool way to reimagine new Pokemon while celebrating the history of Pokemon TCG’s mechanics. Each box also comes with an insert that explains the history of the card type for newer players too. I just wish the Player’s Guide had done the same thing for the Classic Collection, so new fans could better understand the history behind the cards in the Classic Set.

The Pokemon Company could have cashed in on the P25 buzz with a flashy set that had terrible pull rates, but Celebrations is a sincere and thoughtful collection that truly honors the Pokemon TCG and its history. It does a wonderful job of appealing to old and new fans alike with a large selection of holographic legendaries, reprints, and Pikachus galore. This expansion feels like the true P25 celebration more than any music video or merchandise released throughout 2021, and it's a wonderful reminder of how great it is to be a Pokemon fan.

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