At the beginning of every year, The Pokémon Company sends a product schedule to its retailers in Japan that sell Pokémon OCG cards. The 2023 one went out on Tuesday, Jan. 24, revealing all of this year’s sets, and there’s a lot for fans to look forward to.
The community already knew about some thanks to trademark registrations and leaks, but the schedule reveals more details, as well as others that remained secret until now. It also confirms when these sets will be released and in what order, courtesy of information from PokéBeach.
Triple Beat
Triple Beat is the first set of the year (after Crown Zenith, which was released on Jan. 20). It is the first Scarlet and Violet subset and is expected to be a “strengthening expansion pack,” meaning it will be a smaller set like Battle Region, Dark Phantasma, and Pokémon Go.
It will be available in retailers from March 10.
Snow Hazard and Clay Burst
The Snow Hazard and Clay Burst set will come next. It will release on April 14 and is expected to feature Legendary Pokémon from Generation IX including Chien-Pao ex and Ting-Lu ex, but that hasn’t been confirmed. Gym Leader Iono will also feature in Clay Burst as a Full Art and Special Illustration Rare.
Iono Gym Set
Speaking of Iono, she’ll also get her very own gym set on April 14 too. The package includes a Snow Hazard booster box, a Clay Burst booster box, some card sleeves, a deck box, and a storage box.
Snow Burst and Clay Hazard ex Special Set
In addition to the standard Snow Hazard and Clay Burst sets, an ex Special Set for them will be released a month later on May 19. It is expected to include new Pokémon ex promos and packs.
Pokemon Card 151
Next on the product schedule is the Pokemon Card 151 set, which will release on June 16. As the name suggests, it will feature the first 151 Pokémon from Generation I, including Kadabra, who hasn’t appeared on cards since 2002 due to a legal dispute between The Pokémon Company and an illusionist named Uri Geller, who sued them due to the alleged likeness between the Kadabra character and himself.
ex Starter Decks
The ex Starter Decks come next. They’ll release on July 7 and include eight sets that focus on different Pokémon types, including Clefable ex (Psychic), Decidueye ex (Grass), Greninja ex (Water), Houndoom ex (Darkness), Koraidon ex (Fighting), Melmetal ex (Metal), Miraidon ex (Lightning), and Victini ex (Fire).
Raging Surf
The Raging Surf set hasn’t been confirmed yet, but a trademark has been lodged and based on the schedule, it’s expected to release in July or August, though it could come later.
