Shopping Guide
HELP / FAQs
By onemall 
Last updated: 2026-10-26.
TL;DR
The Japanese Pokémon TCG release calendar for 2026 runs through the MEGA series: Munikis Zero (M3, Jan 23), Ninja Spinner (M4, Mar 13), Abyss Eye (M5, May 22), Storm Emeralda (M6, Jul 31), 30th CELEBRATION (M6a, Sep 16), the Special Deck Set MEGA (Nov 13) and Hadou Seeker (M7) on November 27, 2026. Packs moved from ¥180 to ¥200 with M5.
- Next release: Hadou Seeker (M7), November 27, ¥200 a pack, Mega Lucario Z ex.
- Price change: ¥180 → ¥200 a pack from Abyss Eye (M5).
- 30th CELEBRATION: boxes list at ¥7,200 but asked ¥29,000+ on Rakuten on 2026-10-26.
- Overseas buyers: Pokémon Center lotteries need Japanese identity checks and a Japanese address; buy open stock or resale instead.
As of October 2026, Japanese sets still arrive months before their English versions, which is the whole reason collectors watch the Japanese calendar. This guide lists each 2026 Japanese Pokémon card release with dates and list prices, the featured cards, live box prices, what changed with lotteries and My Number identity checks, and the cheap — and cheapest — ways to buy new Japanese sets from abroad.
Japanese Pokémon TCG Release Dates 2026
Dates and pack prices below come from the Japanese product pages at pokemon-card.com and the 30th-anniversary site; all prices include tax.
| Japan release date | Product | Set code | List price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 23, 2026 | Munikis Zero (ムニキスゼロ) | M3 | ¥180 · 5 cards | [1] |
| Mar 13, 2026 | Ninja Spinner (ニンジャスピナー) | M4 | ¥180 · 5 cards | [2] |
| May 22, 2026 | Abyss Eye (アビスアイ) | M5 | ¥200 · 5 cards | [3] |
| Jul 31, 2026 | Storm Emeralda (ストームエメラルダ) | M6 | ¥200 · 5 cards | [4] |
| Jul 31, 2026 | MEGA Starter Set ex (Eevee ex / Zorua & Zoroark ex / Sprigatito & Meowscarada ex) | — | ¥1,800 each | [5] |
| Sep 16, 2026 | 30th CELEBRATION | M6a | ¥360 · 6 holo cards; box ¥7,200 | [6] |
| Oct 16, 2026 | 30th CELEBRATION Card Sets (9 starter trios) | — | ¥1,200 each | [6] |
| Nov 13, 2026 | Special Deck Set MEGA: Mega Feraligatr, Mega Dragonite, Mega Gengar | — | ¥5,500 | [7] |
| Nov 27, 2026 | Hadou Seeker (ハドウシーカー) | M7 | ¥200 · 5 cards | [8] |
Pack price rise: Munikis Zero and Ninja Spinner sold at ¥180 a pack; from Abyss Eye (M5) on, expansion packs are ¥200.[1][3] Pokémon Center Online lists the ¥200 expansion boxes at 30 packs for ¥6,000. The 30th CELEBRATION is a special case: ¥360 for 6 cards, all holo, with a ¥7,200 box.[6]
What Each 2026 Japanese Set Features
| Set | Headline cards |
|---|---|
| Munikis Zero (M3) | Mega Gallade ex special card set (¥1,980, 8 packs) |
| Ninja Spinner (M4) | Mega Greninja ex, Mega Floette ex |
| Abyss Eye (M5) | Mega Darkrai ex |
| Storm Emeralda (M6) | Mega Rayquaza ex |
| 30th CELEBRATION (M6a) | 30 classic cards reprinted in a special finish; a Pikachu (one of 30) and a YOSHIROTTEM energy in each pack |
| Hadou Seeker (M7) | Mega Lucario Z ex, Mega Absol Z ex, Mega Garchomp Z ex |
Storm Emeralda (M6) is the Japanese counterpart of Mega Rayquaza ex sets abroad — see our Storm Emeralda booster box guide. The English Mega Evolution—Delta Reign expansion, also built around Mega Rayquaza ex, arrives on November 6, 2026[9] — more than three months after the Japanese set. That lag is typical, and it is why Japanese boxes sell to English-speaking collectors at all.
Upcoming Japanese Pokémon card releases (November 2026)
- Special Deck Set MEGA (November 13, 2026, ¥5,500): three ready-to-play 60-card decks — Mega Feraligatr, Mega Dragonite and Mega Gengar — with deck cases, coins, a damage-counter sheet, a playmat and a card box.[7]
- Hadou Seeker, M7 (November 27, 2026, ¥200 a pack, 5 cards): led by Mega Lucario Z ex, Mega Absol Z ex and Mega Garchomp Z ex.[8]
Nothing after M7 had been announced on the Japanese product pages as of 2026-10-26. Rumored early-2027 high-class packs are not on the calendar until they appear there.
Live Japanese Booster Box Prices
| Product | Mercari asks | Rakuten shop prices |
|---|---|---|
| Munikis Zero (M3) box | ¥7,999 – ¥9,500 | from ¥11,960 |
| Ninja Spinner (M4) box | from ¥8,500 (no shrink) | from ¥12,759 |
| Abyss Eye (M5) box | from ¥6,300 | from ¥10,160 |
| Storm Emeralda (M6) box | from ¥7,199 (no shrink) | from ¥11,000 |
| 30th CELEBRATION box (list ¥7,200) | few listings | ¥29,000 – ¥32,980 |
| 30th CELEBRATION Card Set (list ¥1,200) | — | ¥2,090 – ¥4,400 |
| Special Deck Set MEGA (list ¥5,500, pre-order) | — | ¥13,980 – ¥14,720 |
| Hadou Seeker (M7) box (pre-order) | — | ¥21,200 – ¥22,800 |
Asking prices from listings found through OneMall search on 2026-10-26. Read them with three caveats. The lowest Mercari boxes are often シュリンクなし or ペリなし (no shrink wrap or no tear strip), which is why they undercut shops. Rakuten prices are shrink-wrapped stock from stores. And the 30th CELEBRATION box is the outlier: list ¥7,200, asking ¥29,000–¥32,980 — about four times list. Our release-day price report tracked how it got there.
Cheap vs cheapest: which set to buy?
If you want the cheapest sealed MEGA box, the older ¥180 and ¥200 sets (Abyss Eye, Munikis Zero) currently ask the least on Mercari. If you want the best value for chase cards, newer sets cost more but carry the cards people are hunting. For the most valuable singles across all sets, see Japanese Pokémon card values.
Lotteries, My Number Checks and What Overseas Buyers Can Buy
Japan’s high-demand Pokémon card products are sold by lottery. For the 30th-anniversary line, The Pokémon Company used My Number Card identity verification: verified entrants get most of the winning slots, though verification does not mean you will win.[10] Pokémon Center Online lotteries also deliver only inside Japan, and the Storm Emeralda box re-lottery in October 2026 used the same verified / unverified split, with boxes shipping from late November.
For overseas buyers this means:
- Lottery, identity-verified and purchase-limited sales cannot be bought through a proxy — not through OneMall, not through LinkBuy.
- Regular in-stock Pokémon Center Online items can be bought with LinkBuy; see our Pokémon Center Online guide.
- Everything else comes from open stock and resale: Rakuten shops, Amazon Japan sellers, Mercari, Yahoo Auctions and Suruga-ya.
The 30th CELEBRATION lottery story is told in full in our 30th CELEBRATION guide.
How to Buy New Japanese Pokémon Sets From Abroad
- Step 1 — Find the set in Japanese: ハドウシーカー BOX, スペシャルデッキセットMEGA, ストームエメラルダ BOX シュリンク付き, アビスアイ BOX.
- Step 2 — Pick shrink-wrapped stock: シュリンク付き and ペリペリあり; avoid boxes sold without shrink if you want sealed product.
- Step 3 — Order: pay the item price plus ¥300 per item on Mercari, Rakuten and Amazon Japan (from ¥200 on Yahoo Auctions).
- Step 4 — Let it arrive: pre-orders ship from the shop on release day; your items are stored free at our Tokyo warehouse.
- Step 5 — Inspect: unboxing photos (¥500 / ¥700) or a wrong/missing-item check (¥200) let you see the shrink and corners first.
- Step 6 — Consolidate and ship: combine November releases into one parcel; the first six orders consolidate free, ¥100 per order after that.
Sealed-box words to read on Japanese listings: テープ付き (tape still on — One Piece boxes are sealed with Bandai tape), シュリンク付き (shrink-wrapped — Pokémon boxes), ペリペリあり (the tear strip on Pokémon boxes is intact), 未開封 (unopened), 予約 (pre-order) and 発売日前日発送 (ships the day before release). Listings marked テープなし, シュリンクなし or ペリなし are cheaper for a reason: nobody can show the box was never opened. Loose “24 packs, same pull rate” (封入率一致) bundles are not sealed boxes either.
OneMall buys from Japanese marketplaces such as Mercari, Yahoo Auctions, Rakuten, Amazon Japan and Suruga-ya, and from other Japanese online stores through LinkBuy (any Japanese shop URL). Items that need a lottery entry, an invitation, a purchase limit tied to an account, Japanese identity verification or a merchant account cannot be purchased. International shipping is charged on the greater of actual weight and volumetric weight (length × width × height ÷ 5,000) of the box the warehouse uses.
Timing (estimated average): once a seller ships, items reach our Tokyo warehouse in about 3–5 business days, and parcels leave 1–3 business days after you pay for international shipping. Pre-orders ship from the Japanese shop on or just before the release date, so plan around that date rather than the day you order.
Service fees are ¥300 per item on most marketplaces; from ¥200 per item on Yahoo Auctions and LinkBuy. The first six orders consolidate free; each additional order costs ¥100. Storage is free for 90 days after arrival (30 days after consolidation). Payment is by Visa, Mastercard or PayPal, settled in USD.
US buyers: since August 29, 2025, US-bound parcels of any value go through customs and pay applicable duties, taxes and fees — the $800 de minimis exemption no longer applies. OneMall currently ships to the United States by ECMS, DHL and Japan Post EMS (DDP — declared value up to USD 2,500, duties prepaid with the shipping fee); the live quote at checkout shows which lines accept your parcel.
Start with our main guide to buying Japanese Pokémon cards for grading, singles and condition terms.
Japanese Words for Pokémon Card Shopping
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 拡張パック | kakuchō pakku | expansion pack |
| スペシャルデッキセット | supesharu dekki setto | special deck set |
| スターターセット | sutātā setto | starter set |
| シュリンク付き | shurinku-tsuki | shrink-wrapped |
| ペリペリ | peri-peri | tear strip on the box |
| 抽選販売 | chūsen hanbai | lottery sale |
| 本人認証 | honnin ninshō | identity verification |
| 予約 | yoyaku | pre-order |
| 発売日 | hatsubai-bi | release date |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the next Japanese Pokémon card set?
Hadou Seeker (M7), releasing November 27, 2026 at ¥200 a pack, led by Mega Lucario Z ex. The Special Deck Set MEGA comes first on November 13.
When do Japanese Pokémon sets release compared with English?
Usually months earlier. Storm Emeralda (M6) came out in Japan on July 31, 2026; the English Delta Reign set with the same Mega Rayquaza ex focus arrives November 6, 2026.
How much is a Japanese Pokémon booster box?
At list, ¥6,000 for 30 packs of a ¥200 expansion. On 2026-10-26, Mercari boxes of older MEGA sets asked from about ¥6,300 and Rakuten shops from about ¥10,000.
How many cards are in a Japanese Pokémon pack?
5 cards in a regular MEGA expansion pack; the 30th CELEBRATION pack has 6 holo cards.
Can I enter Pokémon Center lotteries from overseas?
No. They need a Japanese address, and recent lotteries favor My Number–verified accounts. Proxies cannot enter them either; buy open stock or resale.
What is the cheapest way to buy Japanese Pokémon boxes?
In our 2026-10-26 search, older MEGA sets on Mercari were the cheapest boxes; check for shrink wrap, then ship several boxes together to spread the shipping cost.
References
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Munikis Zero (M3). https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/m3/
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Ninja Spinner (M4). https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/m4/
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Abyss Eye (M5). https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/m5/
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Storm Emeralda (M6). https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/m6/
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), MEGA Starter Set ex. https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/me/
- Pokémon Card Game 30th anniversary site, product list. https://www.30th.pokemon-card.com/product/
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Special Deck Set MEGA. https://www.pokemon-card.com/products/mega/mg.html
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), Hadou Seeker (M7). https://www.pokemon-card.com/ex/m7/
- Pokémon.com, Mega Evolution—Delta Reign expansion. https://www.pokemon.com/us/news/the-pokemon-tcg-mega-evolution-delta-reign-expansion-arrives-november-6-2026
- Pokémon Card Game (Japan), My Number Card identity verification for 30th-anniversary products. https://www.pokemon-card.com/info/005510.html