Pokémon 30th Anniversary UPC at Smyths and Sports Direct on 6 November: queue guide

At a glance

30th Anniversary UPC release date: Friday 6 November 2026

The 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection comes out in the UK on Friday 6 November 2026, in two versions: Day and Night. Smyths and Sports Direct are both getting it on launch day.

Reports say Smyths will ask you to pick one of the two versions, but that isn’t confirmed yet.

More on the box itself on our 30th Celebration UPC release page and the 30th Celebration set guide.

How long will the Smyths and Sports Direct queues be?

Expect 18 to 24 hours. Queues for big launches at Smyths and Sports Direct get big, so bring a camping chair and a warm blanket.

Both usually open at 9am, and some stores at 8am, so to be near the front you’re looking at getting there on Thursday 5 November, from the morning onwards.

Most stores hand out numbered tickets before the doors open, in queue order. Keep yours safe.

Stay alert: know when the UPC queues start

Join our free Discord and turn on 🏪 In-Store Alerts. The UPC gets a reminder in #in-store-launches a week before, the evening before and on launch morning, plus live queue reports from members on the day. Online pre-orders and restocks go in #all-alerts, and Smyths and Sports Direct each have their own channel and 🔔 role. It takes a minute to join.

Aim to be in the first six

Some stores only get one case of UPCs, and a case holds six. If that’s your store, only the first six people in the queue get one, so aim to be at least sixth.

Bigger Smyths stores are reported to be getting a lot more (one report says 100 or more of each version), but nothing is confirmed and it changes from store to store.

Why some UPCs never make it to the queue

Some stock gets “back-doored”: bought by staff before it reaches the shop floor. Smyths has stricter rules than most: we understand its staff are allowed one item each. At Sports Direct, collectors tell us staff purchases aren’t limited in the same way, so fewer may reach the queue there.

What to bring for an 18–24 hour queue

• A camping chair
• A warm blanket or sleeping bag: it’s November, and nights get cold
• Warm layers, a hat and something waterproof
• Food, water and a flask of something hot
• A power bank, so your phone lasts and you don’t miss an alert
• Your bank card, plus a backup way to pay
• A friend, so you can take turns for breaks

Some Smyths stores have opened up so the queue can use their toilets, but don’t count on it.

New to queuing? Read our Smyths Pokémon queue guide for opening times, tickets and what to bring.

What’s confirmed and what isn’t

Confirmed: the 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection comes out in the UK on Friday 6 November 2026. Pokémon hasn’t published a UK RRP for it yet.

Not confirmed by the shops: which stores get it, how many each gets, buying limits and queue rules. The queue advice here comes from what we’ve seen at past big launches.

For UK collectors

25 UK card shops we read list 30th Celebration products.

A 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box has a usual UK RRP of £49.99, so prices well above that usually come from resellers.

Also coming from 30th Celebration: 30th Celebration Battle Decks (30 October), 30th Celebration Ultra-Premium Collection (6 November), 30th Celebration Ditto Premium Collection (6 November).

Reported by Galar Alerts. Images: Pokémon.