Squirtle Squad
The Pokémon Company just handed Squirtle-line collectors an unexpected talking point, and it comes wrapped in an absence rather than a reveal. When the 30th Celebration set drops on September 16, 2026, its headline 30-card Classic Collection will faithfully reprint some of the most iconic cards in the game's history. Base Set will be represented by exactly two cards: Pikachu and Charizard. The 1999 Blastoise, one of the most recognizable Water-type cards ever printed, is not on the list.
For anyone who collects Squirtle, Wartortle, or Blastoise cards, that omission changes the math on a card that was already climbing. Here is the full picture of what the 30th Celebration set actually is, what it reprints from Base Set, and why Blastoise's absence keeps the spotlight firmly on original copies.
What the 30th Celebration Set Actually Is
The 30th Celebration marks three decades of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, and The Pokémon Company is treating it as a milestone. According to [Bulbapedia's set page](https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/30th_Celebration_(TCG)), the set launches worldwide on September 16, 2026, and it carries a distinction no prior Pokémon TCG product has held: it is the first-ever simultaneous global release. Every region gets the cards on the same day, instead of the usual staggered rollout that leaves some markets waiting weeks or months.
The centerpiece is the Classic Collection, a 30-card subset of faithful reprints drawn from across the game's history. Each Classic Collection card carries a special "30" Pikachu foil stamp marking the anniversary. These reprints are collector items rather than tournament tools. They are not tournament-legal, so nobody is building a competitive deck around them. The appeal is purely nostalgic and aesthetic, which is exactly the point for a 30th-anniversary product.
If the format sounds familiar, it should. The Pokémon Company ran a similar Classic Collection inside the 2021 Celebrations set for the game's 25th anniversary, and that earlier collection did include a Base Set Blastoise reprint. That precedent is a big part of why the 2026 snub stands out.
What Base Set Actually Gets Reprinted
Here is where the details matter, and where hedging is honest. The now near-complete list confirms that Base Set appears in the Classic Collection through only two cards: Pikachu and Charizard. Blastoise is not among them.
A caution before anyone treats this as gospel. Only a small number of Classic Collection cards are officially confirmed by The Pokémon Company at the time of writing: the Base Set Charizard, plus Pikachu and Zekrom-GX. The remaining roughly 28 cards come from a reveal animation that collectors and outlets have frame-analyzed rather than from a formal card-by-card checklist. That makes the full list near-final and semi-official rather than locked. The reveal animation is detailed enough that the community treats it as reliable, and multiple databases have logged the contents, but the responsible framing is that the list could still shift at the margins before launch. You can track the evolving checklist on [Serebii's 30th Celebration card list](https://www.serebii.net/card/30thcelebration/), which updates as official confirmations roll in.
With that caveat stated plainly, the signal is consistent across sources: Base Set's representation in the Classic Collection runs through Charizard and Pikachu, and Blastoise is absent. For a set celebrating three decades of the game, the original starter trio is split, and the Water-type member is the one left out.
Why Blastoise's Absence Is the Story
Consider what this means in context. In 2021, Blastoise earned a Classic Collection reprint. In 2026, for a bigger anniversary with a larger 30-card collection and a first-ever global release, Blastoise gets nothing while its Base Set siblings Charizard and Pikachu both return. The card that arguably defines the Water-type starter's vintage legacy is sitting out the party.
That absence has a direct consequence for collectors. When The Pokémon Company reprints a vintage card, it can soften demand for original copies because a cheaper, cleaner, officially-stamped alternative suddenly exists. That is roughly what a reprint does to the "reprint versus original" conversation: it gives budget-minded collectors an off-ramp. For Blastoise, there is no off-ramp this time. There is no 30th Celebration Blastoise to buy instead. The original stays the only option on the table.
This lands during a window when vintage Kanto cards are already appreciating. Anniversary years tend to pull attention and money back toward the classics, and a 30th-anniversary set actively markets the nostalgia. When a set reminds the entire collecting world how much they love Base Set art, but declines to reprint Blastoise, it channels that renewed enthusiasm straight toward original 1999 copies and the 2021 Celebrations reprint. Scarcity plus renewed attention is a familiar recipe.
A note on numbers, kept deliberately vague on purpose. Vintage Blastoise values move constantly and depend heavily on grade, edition, and condition, so any specific dollar figure you see quoted is better treated as older context than current pricing. The point here is not a price prediction. The point is structural: demand has nowhere to go except originals, because the official reprint simply does not exist.
If you are protecting the copies you already own, condition is everything on cards this old. Proper storage separates a card that holds its value from one that quietly degrades. [→ Shop Pokemon card sleeves on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pokemon+card+sleeves+blastoise&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) to keep raw copies protected before you decide whether to grade. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Original Base Set vs Celebrations Blastoise
With no 30th Celebration reprint coming, the two realistic targets for Squirtle-line collectors are the original 1999 Base Set Blastoise and the 2021 Celebrations Classic Collection Blastoise. Each fills a different role.
The 1999 Base Set Blastoise is the true vintage piece. It carries the original Kanto-era artwork, the Base Set design language, and the historical weight of being one of the game's foundational cards. This is the card the anniversary is implicitly celebrating even without reprinting it. Shadowless and first-edition variants command the most attention, and condition dictates everything at this age.
The 2021 Celebrations Blastoise is the modern reprint that already exists. It offers the classic look with contemporary print quality and the 25th-anniversary stamp, which makes it a more accessible way to own the iconic artwork without chasing a pristine 1999 copy. Ironically, this 2021 reprint may gain a little extra relevance precisely because The Pokémon Company chose not to make a 2026 successor. It is now the newest official Blastoise reprint in the classic style, and it may stay that way for a long time.
If you want to understand where Blastoise sits across the broader card landscape beyond just these two, our [Mega Blastoise card collection guide](/blog/mega-blastoise-card-collection-guide-every-mega-evolution-card-from-xy-to-present) walks through how the character has been printed across sets. And if your collecting interest runs deeper into the character rather than the cardboard, the [Blastoise Mega Evolution mechanics explainer](/blog/blastoise-mega-evolution-mechanics-explained) covers why this particular Pokémon carries so much weight with fans in the first place.
How to Play the 30th Celebration Window
For collectors deciding what to actually do, the absence of a Blastoise reprint suggests a few clear moves.
Focus on condition and protection first. Whether you own a 1999 original or a 2021 Celebrations copy, the smartest immediate step is to protect what you have. Anniversary attention raises interest in the whole Base Set lineup, and a card in poor condition benefits far less from a rising tide than a well-preserved one. A rigid display case turns a valuable card into something you can actually enjoy showing off without handling it. [→ Shop Pokemon graded card display case on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pokemon+graded+card+display+case&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) if you plan to slab and display key pieces.
Do not chase phantom reprints. Because the Classic Collection list is near-final rather than fully official, someone will inevitably float rumors that a Blastoise reprint might sneak in. Treat those as rumors until The Pokémon Company confirms otherwise. Every reliable signal from the reveal animation points to Charizard and Pikachu as the only Base Set entries.
Consider the set for its own merits, separately. The 30th Celebration is a genuinely notable product on its own terms, global simultaneous release and all. Plenty of collectors will want the Classic Collection regardless of what it skips, and opening the anniversary product is its own experience. [→ Shop Pokemon 30th Celebration booster on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=pokemon+30th+celebration+booster&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) if you want to chase the "30" stamped reprints that did make the cut.
Round out the collection beyond cards. For fans who love Blastoise the character more than Blastoise the investment, the anniversary is a fine excuse to expand the shelf. A [→ Shop Blastoise plush on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=blastoise+plush&tag=squirtlesquad0d-20) sits happily next to a slabbed card, and it does not lose value if a grading company sneezes.
The Bottom Line for Squirtle-Line Collectors
The 30th Celebration is shaping up to be a landmark set: three decades of history, a first-ever worldwide simultaneous launch, and a 30-card Classic Collection stamped with anniversary foil. But for Squirtle-line collectors specifically, the headline is what is missing. Base Set Blastoise did not make the cut, even though Charizard and Pikachu did, and even though Blastoise earned a reprint in the 2021 Celebrations Classic Collection.
That absence quietly resolves the usual collector dilemma. There is no reprint-versus-original debate for Blastoise this cycle, because there is no official 2026 reprint. The original 1999 Base Set card, and the 2021 Celebrations version, remain the only ways to own the classic Blastoise, right as a 30th-anniversary spotlight pulls the whole hobby back toward vintage Kanto. Keep the list you see flagged as near-final until The Pokémon Company says otherwise, protect the copies you have, and enjoy an anniversary that, for once, made the Water-type starter more interesting by leaving it out.