Best Buy Announces Official 'Pokémon' 30th Anniversary TCG Event With Freebies

Sep 24, 2026 - 19:20

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Best Buy Announces Official 'Pokémon' 30th Anniversary TCG Event With Freebies

Published Sep 24, 2026, 11:16 AM EDT

Patricia is the former editor-in-chief of Kotaku, where she spent a decade writing and editing. Prior to that, she served as the Culture Editor at Polygon, and as a reporter at The Verge. Hernandez specializes in Pokémon TCG, Nintendo, and offbeat internet culture stories.

Pokémon TCG fans will likely receive a Mewtwo promo card as well as other 30th Anniversary goodies

30th Anniversary Pokémon TCG Mew ex and Mewtwo ex Screenshots

Mark your calendars, trainers. Best Buy is keeping the Pokémon 30th Anniversary trading card game festivities going with a new "Trade and Play" event. Here's what you need to know.

When is Best Buy's Pokémon event?

Trade and Play day lands on Oct. 3, from noon to 2 p.m. local time at participating stores. You can check whether your local Best Buy store will host the 30th Anniversary event here.

What Pokémon goodies will Best Buy give out for Trade and Play?

The retailer says Pokémon fans will receive a trading kit, which they can use to exchange cards with others. While no specific details were shared beyond this, we can look at a recent Trade and Play event themed around Pokémon Worlds to get a sense of what to expect. About a month ago, Best Buy gave out a trading kit including a Chaos Rising pack, a Pikachu promo card, a Pokémon binder, and a sleeping Pikachu model.

Presumably, the October event will give out 30th Celebration packs or cards from Pokémon's latest set, Pitch Black. Because the event is the day after the 30th Anniversary Booster Bundles go on sale, it’s reasonable to expect booster packs from the celebratory set.

As for the promo card, it's possible we'll see the Mewtwo card that is supposed to hit retailers on October 2. It's also the same card that Target will give out during its unofficial Family Day event. It's worth noting that, at some stores, customers had to make a purchase to get the promo card for the Trade and Play event. Specifics will likely vary by store.

Is Best Buy's event only for kids?

Unlike Best Buy's previous Trade and Play event, this one does not specify that participants must be children.

Best Buy will hold a limited quantity of trading kits, and the freebies will be given out while supplies last. Previously, items such as the promo card and model kit ran out before the card packs did — so you may want to plan on arriving early.