Crystal Lugia Is Back in 30th Celebration, and Something Is Off
The Classic Collection Keeps Delivering
The newest wave of 30th Celebration reveals came with a genuine oddity attached. Crystal Lugia, Dark Tyranitar, and Magikarp have all been shown from the set's Classic Collection, and the English Crystal Lugia does not actually match the card it is supposed to be reprinting. Line it up next to the original and the differences start jumping out.
A Recreation, Not a Straight Reprint
On the original Aquapolis printing, the "Crystal Type" text sat further to the right. On the new English version it has been centered. The e-Reader logo is gone entirely, and there are other spacing and font changes scattered across the card. Taken together, it looks like TPCi recreated the card from scratch rather than printing from the original file. For a reprint line built entirely on nostalgia, that is a fascinating choice, and it gives the anniversary version a fingerprint all its own.
Dark Tyranitar Crashes the Party
The second reveal is Dark Tyranitar from EX Team Rocket Returns, dropping a Team Rocket era card into a lineup that already spans Aquapolis and Paldea Evolved. The design fits the moment too: Tyranitar's whole look may draw from the kaiju genre, and there are few better monsters to stomp into an anniversary set.
Magikarp Represents the Modern Era
Rounding out the trio is the Magikarp from Paldea Evolved, an Illustration Rare from the Scarlet and Violet era. Its inclusion shows just how wide this lineup stretches, with the reported 30 card Classic Collection reaching from the earliest days of the game all the way to 2023.
Two Brand New Cards: Gimmighoul and Ditto
The reveals also included two new cards. Gimmighoul is a Basic Psychic type with 60 HP and an attack called Strolls So Much: flip a coin, and on heads you search your deck for any card and put it into your hand. Perfectly on flavor for a Pokémon whose entire life revolves around hunting down treasure, one coin at a time. Ditto is a Basic Colorless type with 70 HP, and its attack is Surprisingly Transform: which on a heads lets you swap it for a Pokémon from your deck while keeping every attached card, damage counter, and effect in place, then shuffles Ditto back in. A blob that becomes something else entirely and vanishes. That is the whole species in one attack.
The Full Breakdown
Here is where the Classic Collection reveals stand right now:
- Crystal Lugia (originally Aquapolis), Dark Tyranitar (originally EX Team Rocket Returns) and Magikarp (originally Paldea Evolved) are the newest confirmed cards.
- They join the previously revealed Base Set Charizard and Pikachu & Zekrom-GX.
- All 30 were likely teased through an animation on Japan's official anniversary website back in June, though the remaining entries are not individually confirmed.
- Each reprint carries a Pikachu stamp and a special foil treatment.
30th Celebration products begin releasing worldwide on September 16. Twelve days out, and the reveals are only getting better.