Release Guide
First Partner Series 3
Updated August 6, 2026 · Releases August 7, 2026
Pokémon TCG: First Partner Illustration Collection—Series 3 lands August 7, 2026 at $14.99. It closes out the trilogy with the starters of Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea, and it is the kind of cheap, wide-distribution product that is easy to get at retail on day one and annoying to complete afterwards — each box gives you three of the nine promos.
It is also part of the 30th anniversary line-up, which matters less for this box than for what follows it — the anniversary set proper lands in September and will not be a $14.99 shelf product.
Confirmed
- Release date
- August 7, 2026
- MSRP
- $14.99 — listed at Best Buy
- Regions
- Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea starters
- Promos
- 9 illustration-rare-style cards; each box holds 3
- Tie-in
- Part of Pokémon's 30th anniversary line-up
Release date and contents from Pokémon's own product gallery, which does not publish a price. Best Buy's product page lists $14.99 ahead of the street date, matching trade reporting and distributor presales.
What's in the box
- 1 Pokémon TCG pack containing 3 of 9 promo cards
- 2 Pokémon TCG booster packs
- 1 sticker sheet
Nine promo cards exist across the three regions and each box holds three, so one box cannot complete the set. That is the whole economics of this product: the packs are ordinary, the promos are the draw, and completing them sealed costs more than buying the three you actually want as singles.
Where it drops, and what's actually known
Only the August 7 street date is confirmed. Everything below is restock-community expectation — useful for planning, but no retailer has published a time.
Best Buy
Product page is already live at $14.99 ahead of the August 7 street date — the only retailer with a public listing at MSRP so far, and expected to have the widest first-day availability.
Target & Walmart (in store)
Select stores may put stock out ahead of the street date, reported as early as August 4. Store-by-store, not a coordinated drop.
Target (online)
Loaded on the back end with no scheduled time. Target's online restocks land overnight — see the live window below rather than a fixed hour.
Walmart (online)
Expected to be part of a midweek online drop. Walmart runs a virtual queue that does not exist until items go live.
Barnes & Noble
Collection boxes expected to stock from August 7 onward.
Early in-store stocking is the one that catches people out.
A street date is when a product is allowed to be sold, not when every store puts it out. Some Targets and Walmarts shelve First Partner boxes days early and they are gone before the official launch, which is why the people who get these at $14.99 are the ones watching store-level reports rather than waiting for August 7.
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Is Target dropping today?
Target's online restocks are unannounced and overnight. This updates with the clock.
Is Target dropping Pokémon today?
Checking today’s drop window…
Target's online restocks land overnight, ~1–3am ET — heaviest Thursday and Friday nights per alert-community tracking, with Tuesdays picking up lately. In-store resets run Sunday and Monday mornings before opening.
Is Walmart dropping today?
Is Walmart dropping Pokémon today?
Checking today’s drop window…
Walmart's online Pokémon drop is Wednesday night at ~9pm ET, run through a virtual queue. The queue does not exist until the items go live — you cannot join early, so everyone starts at 9pm and position goes to whoever arrives first. Be logged in with payment saved and watching alerts beforehand. In-store pallets are worked Wed/Thu mornings.
Get alerted when First Partner Series 3 goes live
Free email alerts for the August 7 launch and the online restock windows at Target and Walmart — including the early in-store reports that beat the street date.
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Buy First Partner Series 3
Presale listings are already up ahead of the August 7 release. At a $14.99 MSRP the secondary market only makes sense for specific promos you are missing — check sold comps before paying a premium on a product this widely distributed.
First Partner Series 3 on eBay
Presale boxes and single promos from Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea
Affiliate links — we earn a small commission on eBay purchases at no cost to you.
Affiliate links — we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
Earlier series
Series 3 completes the set. If you are chasing the full run, the earlier collections cover the other six regions and trade as singles well below sealed box prices.
FAQ
When does First Partner Series 3 come out?
Pokémon TCG: First Partner Illustration Collection—Series 3 releases August 7, 2026, per Pokémon's own product gallery. Best Buy is expected to have the widest nationwide availability on the street date, and select Target and Walmart stores have been reported putting stock out a few days early — early in-store stocking is store-by-store rather than a coordinated national drop.
How much does First Partner Series 3 cost?
It costs $14.99. Pokémon's own product page does not list a price, but Best Buy's product page is live at $14.99 ahead of the street date, which matches the figure in trade reporting and what Series 1 and Series 2 sold for at retail. Anything meaningfully above that on release week is a reseller markup on a product with wide distribution.
What is in First Partner Illustration Collection Series 3?
Each box contains 1 Pokémon TCG pack containing 3 of 9 promo cards, 2 Pokémon TCG booster packs, 1 sticker sheet. The promo pack holds 3 of 9 illustration-rare-style cards featuring first partner Pokémon from the Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea regions, so a single box cannot complete the set.
Which Pokémon are in First Partner Series 3?
Series 3 covers the starters of Hoenn, Kalos and Paldea — completing the trilogy that began with Series 1 (Kanto, Sinnoh, Alola) and Series 2 (Johto, Unova, Galar). Nine promo cards exist in total across the three regions.
Is First Partner Series 3 worth buying at retail?
At $14.99 for three packs plus a promo pack, it is priced like a blister rather than a collector box, and First Partner collections have historically had wide print runs. The value case is the promos, not the packs — and because each box gives you 3 of 9, completing the set means either multiple boxes or buying singles. Buying the specific promos you want as singles is usually cheaper than chasing them sealed.
Where can I buy First Partner Series 3?
Best Buy on the August 7 street date, with Target, Walmart, and Barnes & Noble carrying it as well. Target and Walmart online stock moves in unannounced restock windows rather than at a published time, which is what the live drop windows on this page track.
August 7 is the street date, not the only date
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Sources
- Release date and contents: pokemon.com product gallery
- Reported MSRP and reveal: ICv2 and PokéBeach
- Retail price: Best Buy's live product listing at $14.99, checked August 6, 2026.
- Retailer rollout expectations: restock-community reporting, not a published retailer schedule.