Pokémon Sleeves - 25th Anniversary Collection (64 pcs, Japanese)

64 official Japanese Pokémon sleeves in the 25th Anniversary Collection design, from the Deck Shield line by the Pokémon Center in Japan.

Specifications

• Count: 64 sleeves
• Design: 25th Anniversary Pokémon logo
• Origin: Pokémon Center Japan, 25th Anniversary Collection (2021)
• Officially licensed Japanese product

Why 64 and not 65

Western sleeve packs contain 65, Japanese ones 64 — a difference that comes purely from convention in the two markets. A deck holds 60 cards either way, so you'll have a few spares regardless. Do keep in mind that Japanese sleeves are sized for Japanese cards, which are a fraction smaller than Western ones.

Twenty-five years of Pokémon

Pokémon Red and Green were released in Japan on February 27, 1996. In 2021, that was twenty-five years ago, and the whole year was dedicated to the anniversary: a separate Japanese collector set with reprints of classics, plus matching accessories like these sleeves. Everything in that line carries the anniversary logo, which is exactly what collectors look for.

What sleeves are for

Sleeves protect your cards from fingerprints, moisture, and damaged edges, and let a deck shuffle more smoothly. At tournaments they're effectively mandatory: every card back in your deck must look identical, so no one can tell which card you're holding from the back.

The rest of the anniversary line

Here are four other items from the same line:

• the First Design Premium Matte sleeves
• the sleeves with Flying Pikachu and Surfing Pikachu
• the deck box with Flying and Surfing Pikachu
• the playmat with the same design

Other Japanese designs in the shop include Crayon Mimikyu and Cynthia and Garchomp.