Every English Pokémon TCG set in order, 1999 to 2026

The English Pokémon Trading Card Game has 130 expansions in this list, from Base Set in January 1999 to 30th Celebration in September 2026, across 14 eras, named after the card data's series. The tables below give every one in release order, with its set code (the abbreviation pokemon-tcg-data records), the month it came out and how many cards it holds.

Release dates and card counts are the ones the pokemon-tcg-data project, the data behind pokemontcg.io, records for each set, and the site's catalog is built on it. Each set name links to its page on this site, which lists every card with its TCGplayer market price.

What this list counts

It lists expansions, the smaller special sets included: Kalos Starter Set, Dragon Vault, Generations, Hidden Fates, Celebrations and 151 are all here. It leaves out:

• promo groups (Black Star Promos and similar), POP Series and McDonald's Collections;
• trainer kits and energy sets;
• subsets that share a parent set's code: the Trainer Gallery of four Sword & Shield sets, Crown Zenith's Galarian Gallery, the Shiny Vaults of Hidden Fates and Shining Fates, the Classic Collections of Celebrations and 30th Celebration, and the Radiant Collections of Legendary Treasures and Generations;
• small sets the card data files under "Other": Southern Islands, Pokémon Rumble, Best of Game and the Pokémon Futsal Collection;
• TCGplayer-only groups such as Base Set (Shadowless), Jumbo Cards, World Championship Decks and Prize Pack cards.

Legendary Collection (2002) is the one "Other" set in the list, under Base, because it is a 110-card set.

Card counts. Most sets number their cards up to a printed total, the "/165" on 151's cards, and then print more cards above it. Where the two differ, the table gives both: 151 has 165 numbered cards and 207 in all. The gap is widest in Scarlet & Violet-era sets: Paldean Fates numbers 91 cards and holds 245, where Base Set numbers 102 and holds 102.

The eras at a glance

The pace has picked up: two to five expansions a year through 2018, then six in each of 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2024 and seven in 2025.

Every set, era by era

Base

Gym

Neo

E-Card

EX

Diamond & Pearl

Platinum

HeartGold & SoulSilver

Black & White

XY

Sun & Moon

Sword & Shield

Scarlet & Violet

Mega Evolution

Largest and smallest

By total cards, the largest expansions are Ascended Heroes (295), Fusion Strike (284), Paldea Evolved (279) and Cosmic Eclipse (272). The smallest are Detective Pikachu (18), Dragon Vault (21), Celebrations (25) and Double Crisis (34). Celebrations' 25 count only its main set: its 25-card Classic Collection is a separate subset.

The dearest card of each era

Prices in this guide are TCGplayer market values as of October 16, 2026. Each era's dearest card here is the dearest among the sets in this list; promo groups, subsets and TCGplayer-only groups such as Base Set (Shadowless) are not counted. It is also the dearest with a firm market, one where TCGplayer had a listing within 1.5 times the market price; a higher price with no listing near it is passed over. Each card is priced at the printing the site's one price rule picks.

Four of these rest on one listing price: for the Skyridge Charizard, the Holon Phantoms Mewtwo ★, the Rising Rivals Snorlax LV.X and the Dragons Exalted Rayquaza, TCGplayer's lowest and highest listing were the same, so each may be one copy or several at one price. The Mewtwo ★'s market price of $9,200 sits well above that one listing price of $4,750.

How we got these numbers

The data pack was built from the site's catalog on October 16, 2026. Set names, codes, release dates and card counts come from pokemon-tcg-data as the catalog stores them; the list keeps every English set in one of the 14 era series (Base to Mega Evolution) that is not a promo group, a trainer kit, an energy set or a subset, plus Legendary Collection, which the data files under "Other". Card prices are TCGplayer market prices under the site's one price rule, with each printing's lowest and highest TCGplayer listing. The methodology page explains where prices come from, and the sets page lists every set the site holds, promo groups and subsets included.

What changes and what stays

Dated figures: the dearest card of each era, its market price and its lowest listing are as of October 16, 2026. Each card's page shows its price day by day, and each set page its cards' prices.

Lasting facts: the order of the sets, their release months, codes and card counts, and the era each belongs to. A new expansion adds a row to the Mega Evolution table or starts a new era; the sets already released keep their place. The Delta Reign guide covers a set not yet in this list.

Bottom line

From Base Set in January 1999 to 30th Celebration in September 2026, the English Pokémon TCG has 130 expansions across 14 eras, from 18 cards (Detective Pikachu) to 295 (Ascended Heroes), and the pace rose from two to five a year to seven in 2025. Each set name above links to a page with every card and its TCGplayer price.