Chinese Pokemon 25th Anniversary Products are here!

Find out what the product release schedule is, and how it differs from English and Japanese!

Fun fact: Chinese Pokemon is manufactured in the same factory as the Japanese cards. All Chinese products say "Made in Japan". Chinese Pokemon follows the Japanese set lists, and release dates. The Chinese market currently is the smallest, so print run is the smallest too, and is typically one print wave. Product ordered from distributors typically dry out in 3-9 months. Really popular sets like Eevee heroes have already gone out of print with no restocks available from distributors. Consequently prices have doubled for that set.

Traditional Chinese Pokemon started in 2019, and so the market is still young and has lots of opportunity to grow. The distributors want to encourage this growth and draw in new crowds and players, as evident with the in-store competition promos given to stores, and the free promo cards given out during this 25th anniversary promo hype. These are all very positive signs for Pokemon growth in Asia.

Recently Taiwan and Hong Kong received the competition Rainbow Charizard V as prizes for in-store events. This is good news for collectors as more copies can get into your hands. The English side however have yet to have these exclusive promos.

The biggest difference between Chinese and Japanese/English 25th Anniversary release is that the reprint vintage cards are placed in various products. These include premium collection boxes, blister packs or in-store competition promos. This makes it a very accessible set for collectors.

Here's a very cool illustration paying homage to the history of Pokemon cards here. Note that a lot of these promos are a first time ever print in Chinese. And since the Chinese market is small, the print run is also "small" -that is, its only catered to the Taiwan and Hong Kong market. Should the international crowd jump in onto these products, the supply relatively becomes tiny.

The 25th Anniversary products are released over 3 months, on:

Oct 20th (Official launch) - All 3 Blister Promo packs, S8aF 25th Anniversary Booster box and packs, Premium Gold Pikachu Collection Box, Venusuar and Gardevoir Premium Collection Box

Nov 11th: Charizard & Umbreon Premium Collection Box

Dec 17th: Blastoise and Rayquaza Premium Collection Box

Between October and January, in-store competitions will be giving out the following promo cards. It only requires entry into the competition, however the competitions are limited.

You can find all these products in the menu above! Competition promos can be bought to order, just send us a message.

A very detailed breakdown, history and outlook for Chinese pokemon will follow in the next article.