Pokémon Card Sets in Order

English Pokémon card sets run in series, and within each series they come out roughly every two to three months. The current series is Mega Evolution, which began with the Mega Evolution set on 26 September 2025; before it came Scarlet & Violet (2023 to 2025), Sword & Shield (2020 to 2023) and Sun & Moon (2017 to 2019). The tables below list every English set from Sun & Moon onwards in release order, with the date The Pokémon Company gives for each one.

Choose the language and scope of the list

This list covers English-language sets only. The dates are English release dates taken from The Pokémon Company's own press release schedule. Modern English sets launch at participating shops around the world on the same day, though the company notes that the launch date for some individual products can vary by country.

Japanese sets are a separate product line. They are released in Japan under their own names, on their own dates and with their own card lists, so mixing them into one timeline makes both harder to read. Japanese sets have their own section of the shop at Japanese Pokémon cards.

The tables start with Sun & Moon in February 2017 because that is as far back as we have checked exact dates against an official source. The game itself is older. The Pokémon Company dates Base Set to 1999 and Gym Challenge to 2000, and the EX series began in 2003. For the early years, see when Pokémon cards came out.

Pokémon sets by series and release date

Each table runs oldest first. Special sets are marked, and each set sits in the series it was released alongside. The checklist column links to our card list for that set where one exists.

Sun & Moon series (2017 to 2019)

Sword & Shield series (2020 to 2023)

Scarlet & Violet series (2023 to 2025)

Mega Evolution series (from 2025)

Black Bolt and White Flare were released together as a pair on the same day. The Pokémon Company lists 30th Celebration under the Mega Evolution heading on its own expansions page, so we do the same.

Main expansions, special sets and promos

A main expansion is a full set sold in every standard format. For a modern set like Mega Evolution, The Pokémon Company sells a booster display of 36 packs, an Elite Trainer Box with nine packs (eleven in the Pokémon Center edition), a booster bundle of six packs and single sleeved packs. Most sets in the tables are main expansions.

A special set is smaller and is not sold in a booster display. The Pokémon Company's own page for 151 says that to open packs from special expansions you need products such as the Elite Trainer Box and the Ultra-Premium Collection. The tables mark the special sets we have confirmed: Hidden Fates, Shining Fates, Celebrations, Crown Zenith, 151, Paldean Fates, Prismatic Evolutions, Black Bolt, White Flare and Ascended Heroes. Other smaller sets, such as Shining Legends, Dragon Majesty, Detective Pikachu, Champion's Path, Pokémon GO and Shrouded Fable, are not marked yet because we have not confirmed their formats against an official source. If you want to know which sealed formats exist for any set, see Pokémon product formats.

30th Celebration is its own case. Every card in it is foil, every pack holds one of 30 different Pikachu rare cards, and it introduced a new rarity called Futuristic rare, drawn by the Japanese artist YOSHIROTTEN. We have not marked it as a special set because we have not seen an official statement on whether a booster display exists for it.

Promo cards are kept out of the tables on purpose. They come one or two at a time inside other products: the Mega Evolution Elite Trainer Box includes a full-art foil promo of Alakazam or Riolu, and the 30th Celebration Tin includes a promo of Sylveon ex or Greninja ex. Promos for a series turn up across many products over many months, so they have no single release date to sort by.

Find the checklist for a set

The checklist column in each table links to our card list for that set. A card list sets out every card in the set by number. Where the column says "Not yet", we have not written that set's list.

We also keep card lists for some Japanese sets, starting with Shiny Treasure ex. These are kept apart from the English lists because Japanese sets have their own names and card lists.

If you want the total number of cards across all sets rather than one set at a time, read how many Pokémon cards there are.

Shop a set or plan a collection

Every set we cover has its own page in Pokémon cards by set. That directory is the place to start if you already know which set you want.

If you are aiming to own every version of every card in a set, read what a Pokémon master set is before you start. A master set is a bigger target than the main checklist, and it helps to know the full size of the job before you open the first pack.

How the list is maintained

We checked every date on this page on 17 October 2026 against The Pokémon Company's press release schedule for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and checked the two most recent sets against The Pokémon Company's UK press announcements. The tables are complete for English sets from Sun & Moon (February 2017) to Delta Reign. Sets released before 2017 are not yet in the tables.

Release dates are when sets reach shops. Players often see cards earlier: for Delta Reign, prerelease tournaments at participating independent shops begin on 24 October 2026, and the set arrives in the Pokémon TCG Live app on 5 November 2026, the day before the shop release.

We will add each new English set when The Pokémon Company announces its date, and move it from the release calendar into these tables once it is out. If you spot a wrong date or a missing set, tell us through the contact page and we will check it against the official source and correct it.

For sets that have been announced but are not yet in shops, the Pokémon TCG release calendar is the page to keep an eye on.