Fans of Pokemon will know that Japan’s release schedule for the Trading Card Game (or TCG) sets is very different to what we see in the West (their card backs are different too, with a gold coloured border and a very different Pokeball design on the back of Japanese cards). It’s also the case that Japanese sets are where new cards are revealed and printed before being translated into English, so if you do keep up with what’s emerging in Japan as sets are released, you’ll get a very good idea of what to expect from upcoming English language sets!
Sets are released more frequently in Japan too, with a more accelerated schedule and, often, smaller sets of cards. When they make their way out of Japan, English language sets tend to be made up of cards from more than one set, and sometimes cards are omitted, only to be included in different sets further down the line.
Given that we do know what the next sets are for the Pokemon TCG in Japan, let’s take a look at what’s on the way, when they’re due to arrive and what we know about each one. Without any further ado, let’s check out all upcoming Japanese Pokemon TCG sets!
Paradise Dragona – September 13th, 2024
The next release for the Pokemon TCG in Japan is Paradise Dragona, which is arriving on the 13th of September, 2024. It’s notable for featuring numerous Dragon type Pokemon, including a new Pokemon Tera ex card in the form of Alolan Exeggutor ex; it’s not the first Dragon type Pokemon to also be a Tera ex, but it is the first Alolan Tera card.
Dragon type Pokemon do tend to be included in most Pokemon sets, but they’re often not especially prevalent, mostly because they’re a little more difficult to use effectively than other Pokemon types. That’s because their attacks will tend to require more than one Energy type, making them a bit more susceptible to the luck of card draw, but of course this can be mitigated with Trainer cards, or certain Pokemon abilities, that allow you to search your deck for Energy.
There’s also due to be new Ace Spec cards, many of which are really shaking up the meta for the Pokemon TCG at the moment. One example, Rich Energy, can be seen above. Rich Energy allows you to draw 4 cards when it’s attached to one of your Pokemon, which is a pretty amazing card effect; of course, it then continues to provide 1 Colorless Energy while attached to a Pokemon that remains in play too.
Paradise Dragona cards can be identified by the sv7a set code, in the black box in the bottom left of each card, and there’s due to be 66 cards in the base set; note that this doesn’t take account of Secret Rare cards. Secret Rare cards are rarer, alternate art variants of cards in each Base Set, and their numbers go beyond the printed number on a card, so for example the first Secret Rare in Paradise Dragona will have the card number 67/66. We don’t yet know how many Secret Rares will be included in this set, but will of course make sure to update this article with further details as they emerge.
Check out our Paradise Dragona card list for more insight as to what you’ll find in this set.
Supercharged Breaker – October 18th, 2024
Following the release of Paradise Dragona will be the Supercharged Breaker set, which launches on October 8th, 2024. Arriving just one month after the prior set, this definitely confirms just how accelerated the pace is for the release of Japanese Pokemon TCG cards!
Not much is known about this set yet; however, what we do know is that the set’s mascot will be a Terastalized Pikachu (see the above image!), and there’ll be a focus on Electric type Pokemon. Cards from this set are likely to make up the majority of the English language set, Surging Sparks, which is releasing in Novermber 2024.
Once more, we’ll be updating the details on this set as soon as we hear more about it.
Terastal Festival – December 6th, 2024
With so little information on Supercharged Breaker at present, it stands to reason that a set even further out from release, Terastal Festival, also has limited details available right now.
Yet we do know that this set, which releases on December 6th, 2024, will feature Eevee and its evolutions; from the image we’ve seen (thanks Pokebeach!), and the details that have emerged regarding the accessories that will launch alongside this set (all featuring Eevee), we can also make a very educated guess that we’re going to see Tera Pokemon ex versions of Eevee’s various forms too!
That alone is enough to whet our appetite for this set, though we’ll have to wait until 2025 for these cards to make their way out of Japan into English language sets. Of course, once the Japanese cards are revealed, we’ll make sure to showcase them on Card Gamer.
Battle Partners – 24th January, 2025
Beyond the fact that Battle Partners will see the return of Pokemon owned by specific trainers, with an example being ‘Misty’s Psyduck’, shown above, little is yet known about the first Pokemon TCG set scheduled for release in Japan.
Though we have seen Trainers alongside their Pokemon represented in card art, it’s been a very long time since we had them referenced within the card names themselves, so this could be an exciting, returning feature, especially if contemporary twists are added, similar to the way that Ace Spec cards have returned and have been modernised in the Scarlet and Violet era.
The Glory of Team Rocket – February, 2025
It’s also been a long time since Team Rocket, the antagonists in early Pokemon games and the long-running villains in the original Pokemon animated series, have made their presence truly felt in the Pokemon TCG.
The set scheduled for a February 2025 release in Japan all but confirms that they’re coming back in a big way, however, and it seems that we might even see the return of Pokemon belonging to Team Rocket, such as the Team Rocket’s Meowth card shown above.
With the ‘owned’ Pokemon that we’re expecting to see making a comeback in Battle Partners, having Team Rocket-owned Pokemon arriving, just a month later in Japan, would not only be a massive hit of nostalgia for old school Pokemon fans, but it’d make an awful lot of sense to have these two classic, long dormant Pokemon types returning together.
We’ll keep on adding to this list as further details are revealed for Japanese sets, and you can be sure that we’ll also add card lists for each set as and when card images are shown too. Watch this space!
