Completing the full First Partner Illustration Collection trilogy means tracking down all nine individual regional collections across three separate series: Kanto, Sinnoh, and Alola from Series 1; Johto, Unova, and Galar from Series 2; and Hoenn, Kalos, and Paldea from Series 3, released August 7, 2026.
Because each region sold as its own individual $14.99 collection rather than a single bundled product, completing the set is a real project, not a single purchase.
Here's a practical checklist for tracking down and organizing the whole nine-region set.
Approaching the master set as a long-term project, rather than something to rush, also makes it easier to take advantage of price dips on individual regions as they happen over time.
Series 3 is still close enough to its release to be findable near MSRP at some retailers, making it the logical starting point for anyone beginning the master set today. Checking retail stock before turning to secondary listings saves real money on this tier.
Series 2 has settled into a fairly accessible secondary market range, making it a reasonable second target once Series 3 is secured.
Series 1, and Kanto specifically, commands a genuine premium driven by its gold Charizard-style chase card. Completing the set means budgeting more for this tier than for the other two series combined.
Sinnoh and Alola from Series 1 are considerably more affordable than Kanto, so don't assume the whole series carries the same premium as its headline region.
With nine separate collections and 27 total Illustration Rare promos across the full trilogy, keeping an accurate running checklist prevents accidental duplicate purchases. A simple spreadsheet or notes app works, but the goal is tracking region, series, and specific promos pulled.
This matters more than it sounds like it should — nine visually similar collections are easy to lose track of without a system.
A nine-region collection needs real organizational capacity from the start. EVORETRO's Ultimate Card Curator Set gives the growing master set room to expand as more regions come in.
Each individual Illustration Rare pull also deserves its own protection. EVORETRO's Magnetic One Touch Card Holder 25-Pack handles multiple pulls across the whole trilogy at once.
Given Series 1's premium pricing, completing the full nine-region trilogy in one purchase isn't realistic for most collectors. Spreading the project across several months, prioritizing the more affordable tiers first, is a more sustainable approach.
Treating this as an ongoing collecting project rather than a single purchase also keeps the hobby side of it enjoyable rather than turning into a rushed spending spree.
Keeping a running total of what's actually been spent on the master set project, not just which regions have been acquired, helps avoid an unpleasant surprise once Kanto and the rest of Series 1 enter the picture. A simple running spreadsheet total works well here.
Setting a soft overall budget ceiling before starting, even a rough one, keeps the project from quietly becoming more expensive than originally intended.
Some collectors pursuing the master set keep every collection sealed for maximum long-term value, while others open everything to actually display and enjoy the individual promos. Both are valid approaches, and the choice affects how you should budget and store the growing collection.
A hybrid approach, opening one copy per region while keeping any duplicates sealed, lets you enjoy the cards without giving up potential sealed value entirely.
Tracking progress against a written checklist, rather than relying on memory, is the simplest way to avoid accidentally buying a duplicate promo you already own.
A simple spreadsheet or even a printed list works fine for this purpose, and it pays off the moment a ninth region is finally within reach.
Nine, three per series across Series 1, 2, and 3.
Series 1, largely due to Kanto's gold Charizard-style chase card.
Series 2 (Johto, Unova, Galar), which settled into a more accessible secondary market range.
For most budgets, no — pacing the project out over several months is more sustainable.
Whether you're just starting or already several regions in, an organized checklist and real protection make the master set project manageable. Pick up EVORETRO's Ultimate Card Curator Set to keep the whole trilogy organized.
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