Pokémon turns 30 in 2026, and Comic Con Africa is getting in on the celebration. What I like about the Pokémon offering this year is that it is not being reduced to one anniversary panel and then forgotten. There is a dedicated Main Stage celebration, something specifically for trading-card collectors, Pokémon cosplay for younger fans and daily trivia over at KidsCon.
So whether your relationship with Pokémon began with the anime, the games, the Trading Card Game or you are now introducing a younger generation to Pikachu and friends, there is something to look out for across the convention.
If you are planning your full weekend, you can also head back to my Anime Fan’s Complete Guide to Comic Con Africa 2026 for the anime guests, workshops, Otaku Town, cosplay, Japanese culture and everything else I think anime fans should have on their radar.
Table of Contents
Pokémon is 30 years old
Yes. Thirty. The franchise that gave us Pikachu, Charizard, Team Rocket, Poké Balls, gym battles and the lifelong problem of deciding which starter to choose has officially reached its third decade.
That also means Pokémon now has several generations of fans.
Some of us met the franchise through the original games and anime. Others arrived through later regions, Pokémon GO, newer Nintendo titles or the Trading Card Game. There are also children attending Comic Con Africa in 2026 whose parents grew up with Pokémon themselves.
Pokémon is one of those fandoms where a ten-year-old and a thirty-something collector can be equally excited about seeing a Charizard.
The main Pokémon 30th anniversary celebration is on Friday
If Pokémon is one of your main reasons for attending Comic Con Africa, Friday, 25 September is the day I would circle.
The Pokémon 30th Celebration is currently scheduled for:
- Friday, 25 September 2026
- 12:30-13:00
- Main Stage
The session is led by Stefan Roets from Solarpop and looks back at the history of Pokémon and the Trading Card Game before turning things over to the fans with a Pokémon quiz and merchandise giveaways.
Thirty minutes is not a huge amount of time when you are trying to cover three decades of Pokémon, so I would expect this to feel more like a celebration of the franchise rather than an exhaustive history lesson.
You will be there with hundreds of other fans, many of whom will have completely different memories of Pokémon. Someone’s defining Pokémon moment may be choosing Charmander for the first time. Someone else’s may be watching Ash finally achieve something after years of following his journey. Another person may simply be there because they have spent an unreasonable amount of money trying to pull one particular card.
All valid.
P.S. I am giving away 6 Friday tickets to Comic Con Africa 2026. You can enter via my Friday Ticket Giveaway and see the full entry details there.
There is a Pokémon quiz on the Main Stage too
Part of Friday’s anniversary celebration includes a Pokémon quiz, with official merchandise giveaways attached to the session. Which raises the obvious question: How deep is your Pokémon knowledge?
Knowing that Pikachu is an Electric type probably is not going to impress anyone. This is where all of those years spent remembering evolutions, regions, starters, characters, types and suspiciously specific Pokédex facts may finally become useful.
I would definitely expect the quiz aspect to make the anniversary panel more fun than simply sitting and listening to people reminisce about the franchise.
Pokémon has always had a strong interactive side to its fandom, so making fans part of the anniversary celebration feels appropriate.
KidsCon has its own daily Pokémon quiz
Friday’s Main Stage event is not the only chance to put your Pokémon knowledge to the test. The KidsCon Stage also has a short Pokémon quiz scheduled daily from 13:50 to 14:00.
It is a quick-fire trivia session aimed at younger convention-goers, with prizes up for grabs. Ten minutes may not sound like much, but it is a nice little addition for families who are already spending time in KidsCon.
It also means children do not need to attend specifically on Friday to get a bit of the Pokémon anniversary experience. And judging by some of the children I have met who are into Pokémon, I would not underestimate their knowledge.
They may know considerably more than the adults.
Krispy Kreme full Pokémon doughnut range
I love that the Pokémon anniversary will have doughnuts. It is turning into a full 30th birthday bash in my humble opinion. Krispy Kreme is bringing its full range of limited-edition Pokémon-themed doughnuts to the con. This range includes:
- Pikachu
- Jigglypuff
- Charmander
- Poké Ball
- Squirtle
- Bulbasaur
This also includes the Pokémon-themed doughnut box. Since Comic Con Africa is extremely busy, there is a good chance they will sell out before I can get my dozen, so I am extremely happy that we can pre-order, as I know my Pokémon fan nephews will also appreciate it, since I have pre-ordered a box for us to share.
Pokémon cosplay at KidsCon
KidsCon also gets its own Pokémon Cosplay Competition, presented by Solarpop. The current programme schedules it daily from 12:00 to 12:30 on the KidsCon Stage, giving younger Pokémon fans a dedicated space to dress up and show off their Pokémon-inspired costumes.
I really like this part of the con because Pokémon cosplay can go in so many directions.
- You can cosplay a Trainer.
- A Gym Leader.
- A member of Team Rocket.
- One of the human characters from the anime or games.
- Or somehow attempt to become the Pokémon itself.
And children tend to be especially good at taking the “somehow” part very seriously. It also gives younger cosplayers a much less intimidating place to participate than immediately stepping onto one of Comic Con Africa’s larger cosplay stages.
For families attending the convention, I would probably pair this with the Pokémon quiz later in the afternoon and turn it into a little Pokémon block within the KidsCon day.
Chasing Charizards is the one for Pokémon card collectors
The part of the Pokémon programme I think older collectors should pay particular attention to is Chasing Charizards: TCG Hype & Value.
It takes place on:
- Friday, 25 September
- 10:30-11:00
- Pop-Taku Stage
Collector Steven Ingram and Jared Osborn, co-owner of Gradeit, will look at the collecting side of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, including card grading, booster openings, authentication and how collectors determine value.
This is one of the more useful Pokémon sessions because card collecting has become a completely different beast from simply buying a booster pack because you like Pokémon.
- Condition matters.
- Authenticity matters.
- Grading matters.
- Which printing you own matters.
And then there is the complicated question of what something is actually worth versus what someone online is asking for it.
What does Pokémon card grading actually mean?
For newer collectors, grading is essentially the process of having a card professionally assessed for its condition and authenticity. Things such as the card’s centring, corners, edges and surface condition can affect the grade it receives.
That grade can then have a substantial impact on how collectors perceive its value. It is also an area where newcomers can very easily become overwhelmed.
You see a card listed online for a huge amount of money and suddenly start wondering whether the copy sitting in your childhood binder is going to fund your retirement.
Usually, things are a little more complicated than that.
That is why I think Chasing Charizards could be particularly useful if you have recently entered the collecting side of Pokémon or have cards at home and are not quite sure what you actually own. It’s not just about chasing expensive cards. Understanding authenticity and grading is also useful for protecting yourself as a buyer.
And yes, they are talking about Charizard for a reason
Charizard has become something of a symbol for the high-end side of Pokémon card collecting. Even people who do not actively collect Pokémon cards have probably seen headlines about particularly rare Charizard cards selling for eye-watering amounts.
But “Charizard” does not automatically mean “valuable”. Set, edition, condition, rarity and grading all matter. That is another reason I am glad the collector session includes authentication and understanding actual collectable value rather than simply focusing on hype.
Because if the last few years of collectables have taught us anything, it is that hype and value are not always the same thing.
Friday is basically Pokémon day
Looking at the programme as a whole, Friday is clearly the strongest day for Pokémon fans and collectors. You can start with Chasing Charizards at 10:30, spend some time elsewhere at the convention, and then head to the Main Stage at 12:30 for the Pokémon 30th Celebration.
If you are attending with children, there is also the KidsCon Pokémon cosplay session at 12:00 and the KidsCon quiz later in the afternoon. That does create one important scheduling issue for families.
The KidsCon cosplay session and Main Stage anniversary celebration sit relatively close together, so I would check the venue layout and the final programme before trying to squeeze both in.
Comic Con schedules are very good at making ten minutes look like an enormous amount of travel time.
Pokémon collectors should also leave time to shop
The scheduled events are only one part of the Pokémon experience at Comic Con Africa. The convention has a large shopping and collectables component, with licensed merchandise, figures, manga, posters, Funko Pops and other collectables available across the show floor. Comic Con Africa also specifically promotes Japanese retailers and collectables within its Otaku Town offering.
For Pokémon fans, I would therefore leave yourself some proper browsing time. Cards may be the obvious target for TCG collectors, but Pokémon is one of those franchises where merchandise can cover just about everything.
The trick will be not spending your entire budget before Friday’s collector session teaches you to think more carefully about what you are buying.
Thirty years and Pokémon is still everywhere
What makes Pokémon’s 30th anniversary interesting to me is not simply that the franchise has survived for three decades. It is that it is still so easy to find people entering it for the first time.
There are fans who remember the earliest days of the anime now standing next to children who discovered Pokémon through completely different games, cards and characters.
Comic Con Africa’s anniversary programme reflects that pretty well. There is something nostalgic on the Main Stage. Something practical for serious collectors. Something competitive for trivia fans. And something specifically designed for younger cosplayers.
It is not an enormous Pokémon convention hidden inside Comic Con Africa, but there is enough happening that Pokémon fans can deliberately build part of their day around the anniversary rather than simply hoping to stumble across Pikachu merchandise.
And I think 30 years deserves at least that.
For the rest of the anime and manga programme, head back to my Anime Fan’s Complete Guide to Comic Con Africa 2026.
Please note: Comic Con Africa’s programme, stage appearances and times are subject to change. Double-check the latest schedule on the Comic Con Africa app on the day before heading to a panel or activity.
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