Search “XY-20th 011/072” and you’ll land on a listing for an M Charizard EX card described as part of Pokemon’s 20th Anniversary lineup. Search “CP6 20th Anniversary” and you’ll land on a completely different set — Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary, released seven months later. They share a name, a mascot, and a marketing moment. They are not the same product, and mixing them up is one of the easiest mistakes to make when shopping this corner of 2016 Japanese Pokemon cards.
This guide covers CP6 — Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary — in full: its release date, card count, 1st Edition history, and what makes it the closing chapter of the XY BREAK era. It also untangles CP6 from the separate 20th Anniversary Starter Pack, using our own inventory as the working example, because we carry a card from each set and the numbering on the back tells you exactly which one you’re looking at.
CP6 (Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary) released September 16, 2016, with 087 main-numbered cards. The separate 20th Anniversary Starter Pack released seven months earlier, February 27, 2016, with 72 cards. Our stock spans both: a CP6 M Venusaur EX SR, 1st Edition [089/087], PSA 10, currently listed at ¥91,464 (~$561), and a Starter Pack M Charizard EX [011/072], PSA 10, currently listed at ¥142,408 (~$874). The denominator — /087 versus /072 — tells them apart at a glance.
Prices reflect our current Tokyo-sourced listings as of August 2026, converted at approximately ¥163/USD.
What Is CP6 (Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary)?
CP6 is the Japanese set officially catalogued as Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary, released in Japan on September 16, 2016. It carries a main numbering of 001/087 through 087/087, with secret rares carrying the set’s highest confirmed card number to 103.
Within the XY BREAK era — the run of Japanese “Concept Pack” (CP) mini-sets that ran alongside the mainline XY expansions — CP6 is the sixth and final entry, and it closes out the Japanese XY series as a whole.
The 20th Anniversary Concept: Reworking the Originals
CP6 leans directly on the Pokemon TCG’s 1996 origins. The card lineup reworks the franchise’s original headline Pokemon — Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, Mewtwo among them — with new illustrations and current-era (XY period) rules, several of them recast as Mega Evolution cards. Card by card, the set reads as a 20th-anniversary tribute to the original roster, brought forward into the Mega era rather than simply reprinted.
That framing comes from looking at what CP6 actually contains, not from a marketing tagline we’re quoting — we haven’t tracked down an official statement from The Pokemon Company describing the set that way, so treat it as an observation about the card list rather than a confirmed design brief.
CP6 Card Highlights
The Charizard line in CP6 is a good illustration of how the set layers rarities. There’s a standard Charizard EX SR [090/087] without the Mega treatment, and a separate M Charizard EX SR [091/087] — both Secret Rares, both part of CP6, and both distinct from the Starter Pack card covered later in this guide.
Our M Venusaur EX SR, 1st Edition [089/087] is the CP6 anchor in our current lineup, graded PSA 10. It’s the card to reference if you want to see exactly what a genuine CP6 secret rare looks like — Mega Evolution artwork, Secret Rare status within the /087 numbering, and a 1st Edition stamp from CP6’s initial print run.
CP6 and the End of the 1st Edition Era
CP6’s initial print run carried a 1st Edition (1ED) stamp, and it’s the last Japanese set to do so — Japanese 1ED stamps had run since 2001, and CP6’s September 2016 release closed that fifteen-year window before the Sun & Moon era began. Individual CP6 secret rares, including Charizard-line cards like 090/087 and 091/087, are documented in the market specifically with “:1ED” tags distinguishing them from the later Unlimited print run.
We cover the full Japanese 1ED story — timeline, how to spot the stamp, and how it compares to the English WOTC version — in our Japanese 1st Edition cards guide. Our CP6 M Venusaur EX SR anchor above carries that same 1ED stamp.
CP6 vs. the 20th Anniversary Starter Pack: Two Different Products
Here’s the mix-up. A separate Japanese product, the 20th Anniversary Starter Pack, released on February 27, 2016 — about seven months before CP6, and roughly a month after another concept pack, Pokékyun Collection (CP3). It has its own 72-card numbering (001/072–072/072), and it has no official Pokemon Company set code at all: reference sources list it simply as “Japanese: —”. The retailer shorthand “XY-20th” that you’ll see attached to its cards — including ours — is a naming convention used by resale platforms like SNKRDUNK, not an official designation from Pokemon.
Because both products share “20th Anniversary” in their name and both released in the same year, they get conflated constantly. The numbering on the card is the reliable tell:
| CP6 — Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary | 20th Anniversary Starter Pack | |
|---|---|---|
| Japan release date | September 16, 2016 | February 27, 2016 |
| Official set code | CP6 | None (informal “20th”; retail nickname “XY-20th”) |
| Card numbering | 001/087–087/087, secret rares to 103 | 001/072–072/072 |
| Series position | 6th and final XY BREAK Concept Pack, closes the XY series | Standalone starter product, released after Pokékyun Collection (CP3) |
| 1st Edition stamp | Yes — the final Japanese set to carry it | Not covered by CP6’s 1ED print run (separate product) |
The Starter Pack has its own identity beyond being “not CP6.” Bulbapedia notes it followed on from Pokékyun Collection roughly a month earlier, and it’s the Japanese product its English counterpart Generations draws on — a detail that helps explain why English-speaking collectors sometimes reach for the “20th” label when searching for it. Each pack guaranteed one of two Mega Evolution EX pulls: M Venusaur EX or M Charizard EX, alongside a rulebook, damage/status counters, and a coin, all wrapped in a nostalgia theme built around the franchise’s earliest Pokemon designs.
Our Starter Pack Anchor: M Charizard EX 011/072
This is the card at the center of the naming confusion — listed by some retailers as “[XY-20th 011/072],” it’s a Mega Evolution card, 220 HP, “Evolves from Charizard-EX,” illustrated by 5ban Graphics. It belongs to the Starter Pack’s 72-card numbering, not CP6’s 87-card numbering, and it released seven months before CP6 existed.
Our copy is graded PSA 10 and currently listed at ¥142,408 (~$874). It’s a single graded slab with its own cert number — once it sells, that exact copy is gone.
For the broader Concept Pack landscape this card sits alongside — including CP3 and CP5 — see our Japanese Concept Packs (CP) guide and our CP5 Mythical & Legendary Collection guide.
Where to Buy CP6 and Starter Pack Cards
We source and ship both eras out of Tokyo. If you’re after the CP6 side, start with our CP6 M Venusaur EX SR, 1st Edition [089/087], PSA 10. If it’s the Starter Pack Charizard you’re after, our M Charizard EX [011/072], PSA 10 is the direct link.
To browse the wider graded catalog rather than a single card, our PSA 10 collection covers every graded single we currently have listed. For mixed orders across singles and sealed product in one cart, use Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is CP6 in Pokemon cards?
CP6 is Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary, a Japanese Concept Pack released September 16, 2016. It’s the sixth and final entry in the XY BREAK era’s Concept Pack line, with main numbering running 001/087 through 087/087.
Is CP6 the same as the 20th Anniversary Starter Pack?
No. They are separate products. CP6 (Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary) released September 16, 2016 with 087 main-numbered cards and an official CP6 set code. The 20th Anniversary Starter Pack released February 27, 2016 — seven months earlier — with 72 cards and no official Pokemon set code. The numbering denominator (/087 vs /072) tells them apart at a glance.
Is “XY-20th” an official Pokemon set code?
No. “XY-20th” is a retailer naming convention (used by platforms like SNKRDUNK) for cards from the 20th Anniversary Starter Pack. Reference databases list that product without an official Pokemon Company set code.
Was CP6 a 1st Edition set?
Yes. CP6’s initial print run carried a 1st Edition stamp, and it’s the final Japanese set to do so — closing a run that started in 2001, before the Sun & Moon era began.
Where can I buy graded CP6 or 20th Anniversary Starter Pack cards?
We list graded PSA 10 singles from both sets, shipped from Tokyo — see the CP6 M Venusaur EX SR and Starter Pack M Charizard EX listed above, or browse our full PSA 10 collection.
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