Pokémon used the closing ceremony of the 2026 World Championships to tease what could be the beginning of the next major era of the Pokémon TCG.
The new series is called Pokémon ex★.
We know almost nothing else.
Pokémon has not explained how ex★ cards work, how difficult they will be to pull or when the first expansion will release. It did, however, reveal the first three Pokémon connected to the series: Raikou, Entei and Suicune.
That choice immediately makes this more interesting.
All three Legendary Beasts received Gold Star cards during the original EX era. Now Pokémon is introducing another series with a star in the name and using those same three Pokémon to introduce it.
That does not mean ex★ cards are the new Gold Stars.
But the comparison is impossible to ignore.
Why Gold Stars Still Matter
Original Gold Star cards occupy a very specific place in the Pokémon market.
They were released during an era when the hobby was much smaller than it is today, they were extremely difficult to pull, and many feature Pokémon that already have enormous collector demand.
That combination created some of the most valuable cards of the 2000s.
Rayquaza Gold Star is the obvious example, but the category goes much deeper than one card. Charizard, Umbreon, Espeon, Mew, the Legendary Beasts and several others have developed strong markets because collectors view Gold Stars as a distinct collecting category rather than simply another group of old Ultra Rares.
That distinction matters when looking at ex★.
Pokémon does not have to recreate the original cards for the new series to benefit from that history.
It only needs collectors to make the connection.
They already will.
Raikou, Entei and Suicune Were Not Random Choices
This is the part of the announcement I find most interesting.
Pokémon could have introduced ex★ with Pikachu, Charizard or any of the other characters it normally uses to launch a major product.
Instead, it chose the three Legendary Beasts.
Raikou Gold Star, Entei Gold Star and Suicune Gold Star were all released during the EX era. They are immediately recognizable to collectors familiar with that period of the hobby.
Now the same trio is being used to introduce ex★.
I would not call that confirmation that Pokémon intends to revive Gold Stars. The company has not said that.
But I also would not dismiss the connection as meaningless.
Pokémon understands its own history, especially during a year when the TCG is celebrating its 30th anniversary. We have already seen the company bring back classic cards, revisit Mega Evolution and build an entire anniversary expansion around different eras of the game.
Using the Legendary Beasts to introduce a star branded series fits that broader strategy extremely well.
The Rarity Will Decide Everything
The name can create excitement.
The supply will create the market.
Before I make any serious prediction about ex★ cards, I want to know how difficult they are to pull.
That is far more important than the star in the logo.
If Pokémon makes ex★ cards extremely difficult to find, gives them unique artwork and treats them as the highest collector rarity in their sets, then the Gold Star comparison becomes much more meaningful.
If they are relatively common Pokémon ex with different branding, the comparison ends quickly.
Modern Pokémon has also shown that a rare sounding name does not automatically mean a card will have low supply. Print volume today is completely different from the EX era.
Even an extremely difficult pull can eventually produce a large population if millions of packs are opened.
That is why I would separate nostalgia from scarcity.
The nostalgia is already there.
The scarcity has to be proven.
Modern Gold Stars Would Enter a Completely Different Market
This is also why I would be careful with anyone predicting that ex★ cards will become the next $5,000 Pokémon cards before we have even seen them.
Original Gold Stars were released into a completely different hobby.
There were fewer collectors, fewer sealed boxes being stored and far fewer people immediately sending chase cards to PSA.
Modern Pokémon operates at enormous scale.
When a major chase card releases today, collectors know what it is immediately. Cards are sleeved directly from packs, grading submissions begin almost immediately and sealed product is stored by the case.
That changes long term supply.
Pokémon can recreate the look of an old rarity.
It cannot recreate the market conditions that produced the original one.
That does not mean ex★ cannot become valuable. It means they will have to earn that value through actual collector demand rather than simply borrowing the Gold Star name.
Could ex★ Help Original Gold Stars?
There is another market effect worth watching.
The new series could actually increase attention on the original cards.
Pokémon has repeatedly shown how modern releases can send collectors backward through the hobby. A new Charizard can create interest in older Charizards. A new Umbreon can remind collectors why older Umbreon cards are desirable.
The same thing could happen here.
A collector introduced to Raikou ex★ may start looking at Raikou Gold Star.
Then Entei.
Then Suicune.
The original cards have something the new versions never will: they actually came from the Gold Star era.
That historical importance does not disappear because Pokémon creates a modern successor.
If anything, a successful ex★ series could make that history more relevant.
The Artwork May Matter More Than the Name
The next thing I want to see is the actual card design.
Modern Pokémon collecting is increasingly driven by artwork.
Rarity matters, but collectors have repeatedly shown that they will pay enormous premiums for one version of a Pokémon while ignoring another version with similar scarcity.
If ex★ cards receive a recognizable visual identity, that could help turn them into a real collecting category.
Gold Stars had that.
You could look at one and immediately understand what it was.
The star beside the Pokémon’s name, the shiny Pokémon and the artwork created an identity that collectors still recognize two decades later.
For ex★ to become something similar, Pokémon needs more than a logo.
The cards themselves need to feel special.
My Early Read on ex★
This is one of the most interesting Pokémon TCG announcements of 2026, but there is not enough information yet to call ex★ the next Gold Star.
What we have is a very deliberate setup.
A new star branded series.
Raikou.
Entei.
Suicune.
Three Pokémon with direct Gold Star history.
That is enough to get my attention.
Now Pokémon has to show us what the rarity actually means.
If ex★ becomes a difficult premium rarity with distinctive artwork and strong Pokémon selections, it could develop into one of the defining collector categories of the next TCG era.
If the cards are heavily printed or relatively easy to pull, the Gold Star comparison will mostly remain marketing and nostalgia.
Either way, I would not ignore the original Gold Stars while everyone is watching the new cards.
Sometimes the biggest market effect of a new Pokémon card is what it reminds collectors already exists.
