A card lying on its side in a stack of upright ones is not a printing error — BREAK Pokemon cards are the sideways Pokemon cards of the XY era, placed over the top of the Pokemon they evolve from, and for about two years in the middle of the 2010s that was the newest evolution mechanic in the Japanese TCG.
BREAK stopped being a regular mechanic after 2016, apart from the Greninja BREAK reprint (157/103) in the 2026 M6a 30th CELEBRATION Classic Collection. That makes it a mostly closed chapter of card history — a fixed run of sets and cards with no regular release schedule to track. This guide explains how BREAK evolution actually works, lists the Japanese sets that included it, and covers where two BREAK-era PSA 10 cards fit in — because neither of them is technically a BREAK card, and that distinction matters if you’re buying by name alone.
Pokemon BREAK cards appeared in seven original Japanese sets between September 2015 and June 2016, in CP6 in September 2016, and in a 2017 reprint compilation, with one more reprint in 2026. They’re identified by a sideways card layout placed over the pre-evolution Pokemon. Two PSA 10 cards from BREAK-era packaging are not BREAK cards themselves. PSA 10 M Sharpedo EX (THE BEST OF XY 071/171) is sold out at the time of this update — sourcing requests go through Quick Order. PSA 10 M Gengar EX, CP4 049/131 “EX×M×BREAK,” is offered as a PSA 10 back order (sourced to order) at ¥75,060 (~$487).
- CP6 “20th Anniversary” (September 16, 2016) carries four BREAK cards, and Greninja BREAK was reprinted as 157/103 in the 2026 M6a 30th CELEBRATION Classic Collection.
- PSA 10 M Sharpedo EX is sold out at the time of this update; M Gengar EX and the five cards in the value table are PSA 10 back orders (sourced to order) with their current prices.
- The 20th Anniversary Japanese Pokemon Booster Pack [CP6] is listed at ¥120,000 (~$779).
- Full card list: Pokemon card list hub.
Prices are listed prices as of October 19, 2026, converted at ¥154/USD, approximate.
What Are BREAK Pokemon Cards? Sideways Pokemon Cards Explained
Pokemon BREAK is an evolution mechanic: a BREAK card is placed sideways, directly over the top of the pre-evolution Pokemon card it evolved from. The Pokemon underneath keeps contributing — a BREAK evolution inherits the attacks, abilities, weakness, resistance, and retreat cost of the card it’s placed on, and the BREAK card itself adds new attacks, abilities, or extra HP on top of that. Visually, the artwork is a gold-toned rendering of the Pokemon with a square holo pattern running through it, and the rules box sits in the upper right corner.
The result is a two-card unit that plays like one upgraded Pokemon — you don’t lose what the pre-evolution card could already do, you just add to it. That’s a different structure from a straight evolution stage, and it’s also different from mechanics like EX or Mega Evolution, where the new card’s own attacks and abilities are what you play with rather than inheriting the previous stage’s.
If a card in your binder is turned sideways and sitting over another Pokemon card, that’s the BREAK layout working as intended — it isn’t meant to stand alone in a normal upright slot.
That layering also means a BREAK card is only half the picture in a binder or deck list. Because it’s placed over the pre-evolution rather than replacing it, the two cards function as a pair — the pre-evolution stays in play underneath, contributing everything it already did, while the BREAK card sits on top adding its own attacks or HP.
When BREAK Cards Were Released in Japan
BREAK evolution debuted in Japan on September 26, 2015, in a pair of same-day expansion packs: XY BREAK Expansion Pack “Blue Shock” (XY8b) and “Red Flash” (XY8r). From there, Japanese expansions carried the “XY BREAK” branding through mid-2016, CP6 followed in September 2016, and the mechanic was gathered into a compilation pack the following year.
| Set | Japanese Name / Release | BREAK Cards Included |
|---|---|---|
| XY8b | Blue Shock — Sep 26, 2015 | Zoroark BREAK 037/059, Florges BREAK 043/059 |
| XY8r | Red Flash — Sep 26, 2015 | Chesnaught BREAK 006/059, Marowak BREAK 036/059 |
| XY9 | Rage of the Broken Heavens — Dec 11, 2015 | Greninja BREAK 030/080, Trevenant BREAK 047/080, Raticate BREAK 066/080 |
| XY10 | Awakening Psychic King — Mar 18, 2016 | Delphox BREAK 012/078, Omastar BREAK 017/078, Bronzong BREAK 049/078, Lugia BREAK 059/078 |
| XY11b | Heat Burst Fighter — Jun 17, 2016 | Pyroar BREAK 010/054, Clawitzer BREAK 020/054, Xerneas BREAK 042/054 |
| XY11r | Cruel Traitor — Jun 17, 2016 | Yanmega BREAK 008/054, Yveltal BREAK 034/054, Hydreigon BREAK 043/054 |
| CP4 | Premium Champion Pack “EX×M×BREAK” — Apr 16, 2016 | Chesnaught BREAK 015/131, Wobbuffet BREAK 055/131 |
| CP6 | 20th Anniversary Expansion Pack — Sep 16, 2016 | Ninetales BREAK 016/087, Starmie BREAK 030/087, Nidoking BREAK 044/087, Machamp BREAK 058/087 |
| THE BEST OF XY | High Class Pack — Apr 21, 2017 (reprint compilation) | Greninja BREAK 028/171, Trevenant BREAK 055/171, Carbink BREAK 067/171, Zoroark BREAK 075/171, Bronzong BREAK 083/171, Xerneas BREAK 097/171 |
| M6a | 30th CELEBRATION Classic Collection — Sep 16, 2026 (reprint) | Greninja BREAK 157/103 |
Add it up and the original run comes to nineteen BREAK printings across the seven sets, released in roughly nine months between the September 2015 launch and the June 2016 XY11 pair. CP6 adds four more in September 2016. THE BEST OF XY then carries six BREAK cards — five reprints from the sets above (Greninja, Trevenant, Zoroark, Bronzong, Xerneas) plus Carbink BREAK, which also appears in the XYG deck (008/019) — alongside Mega Evolution EX cards from the same window. Deck and promo BREAK cards exist as well, so the tables here cover the booster sets rather than every printing.
One clarification worth making: CP5, the “Mythical & Legendary Dream Shine Collection” released July 16, 2016, is sometimes assumed to carry BREAK cards because it sits chronologically inside this window. It doesn’t — CP5 does not carry BREAK cards in the official database. If you’re hunting a specific BREAK card, checking the set list above against the exact expansion code is more reliable than checking release dates alone.
For a closer look at the packs themselves, we cover THE BEST OF XY in our THE BEST OF XY high class pack guide and CP4 in our CP4 Premium Champion Pack guide.
Notable BREAK Cards to Know
Three BREAK cards come up often enough in the era’s card pool that they’re worth knowing by name and effect:
Greninja BREAK (XY9, 170 HP, Water) carries the ability Giant Water Shuriken: discard a Water Energy from your hand to place six damage counters on one of your opponent’s Pokemon — a direct, energy-efficient damage source that doesn’t require an attack.
Zoroark BREAK (XY8b, 140 HP, Darkness) has a single-energy attack, Foul Play, which reproduces whatever attack your opponent’s Active Pokemon currently has and uses it as Zoroark BREAK’s own — turning the opponent’s strongest attack into a liability.
Lugia BREAK (XY10, 150 HP, Colorless) hits for 150 damage with Flash of Destruction for four Colorless Energy and a two-Energy discard cost — a heavy, resource-intensive finisher.
Greninja BREAK is also the BREAK card that came back: it was reprinted as card 157/103 (5ban Graphics) in the M6a 30th CELEBRATION Classic Collection on September 16, 2026. Classic Collection reprints are not usable in current Standard play, so that card is a collector’s reprint rather than a return of the mechanic.
Two Cards People Assume Are BREAK — But Aren’t
The BREAK era overlapped with another new mechanic, Mega Evolution EX, and the two show up in the same packs often enough to get confused. CP4’s own pack name — “EX×M×BREAK” — puts both mechanics side by side on the box art, which is exactly where the mix-up starts.
The PSA 10 M Sharpedo EX (sold out at the time of this update; Quick Order takes sourcing requests) comes from THE BEST OF XY 071/171 — the same 2017 high class pack that carries six BREAK cards, as shown in the table above. But card 071/171 itself is a Mega Evolution EX card, not a BREAK card: it doesn’t use the sideways layout, and it doesn’t sit on top of a pre-evolution card. It’s a Sharpedo Mega Evolution printed in the same collector’s set that happens to also carry BREAK reprints.
The PSA 10 M Gengar EX is offered as a PSA 10 back order (sourced to order), currently listed at ¥75,060, and it is the same situation one step closer to the source. CP4 049/131 comes out of the pack literally named “EX×M×BREAK,” and M Gengar EX is the “M” — Mega Evolution — half of that name, not the BREAK half. CP4’s actual BREAK cards are Chesnaught BREAK (015/131) and Wobbuffet BREAK (055/131), listed in the release table above.
Both cards are BREAK-era Japanese cards — they’re just filed under Mega Evolution EX rather than BREAK evolution. If you’re specifically after Mega Evolution EX cards from this window rather than BREAK cards, our XY-era EX and Mega EX cards guide covers that mechanic on its own.
A card coming from a BREAK-branded set or a pack with “BREAK” in its name doesn’t make that specific card a BREAK card. Check the card itself for the sideways layout and rules box — that’s the only reliable identifier.
Pokemon BREAK Cards Value (PSA 10 and Raw, Oct 2026)
BREAK prices come in two different pictures. The PSA 10 cards tied to BREAK-branded packaging mostly land in the same category as M Sharpedo EX and M Gengar EX above — BREAK-era pulls that aren’t BREAK cards themselves — and they are offered as PSA 10 back orders, sourced to order. The actual BREAK cards that turn up on the raw secondary market, like Zoroark BREAK, price very differently.
| Card | Source Pack | PSA 10 Back Order (Sourced to Order), Currently Listed At |
|---|---|---|
| PSA 10 Pikachu (Wearing Mega Charizard X’s Poncho) PROMO, XY-P 207/XY-P | BREAK Special Box | ¥3,629,654 (~$23,569) |
| PSA 10 Gengar EX, CP4 048/131 | Premium Champion Pack “EX×M×BREAK” | ¥83,929 (~$545) |
| PSA 10 Rayquaza EX, CP4 096/131 | Premium Champion Pack “EX×M×BREAK” | ¥68,040 (~$442) |
| PSA 10 Raichu, SNP 003/010 | Evolution Pack “Raichu BREAK” | ¥37,799 (~$245) |
| PSA 10 Giratina EX, CP4 091/131 | Premium Champion Pack “EX×M×BREAK” | ¥36,719 (~$238) |
None of the five cards above use the sideways BREAK layout described earlier in this guide — they’re Mega Evolution EX, EX, or standard-evolution Pokemon printed inside BREAK-branded boxes and packs, the same pattern covered above with M Sharpedo EX and M Gengar EX. For an actual BREAK card’s price, Zoroark BREAK is the clearest reference point: on SNKRDUNK, the lowest asking price for the THE BEST OF XY reprint (075/171) was ¥8,600 on September 15, 2026 (any condition); there is no current figure in this update.
Collecting BREAK-Era Cards Today
Because the BREAK run is a seven-set window from 2015–2016 plus CP6, one 2017 reprint pack and a single 2026 Greninja BREAK reprint, it’s a manageable set to collect against — there’s no regular release schedule to keep up with, and THE BEST OF XY conveniently gathers six BREAK cards into a single pack alongside Mega Evolution EX cards like M Sharpedo EX.
The practical upshot for anyone building toward a full BREAK set: start from the release table above rather than a set’s cover art or name. A pack titled around BREAK, EX, or Mega doesn’t tell you which mechanic a specific numbered card uses — only the card itself, checked against its number, does that reliably. That’s the same check worth running on M Sharpedo EX and M Gengar EX above before assuming either one is a BREAK pull.
CP6 is the pack to know if you want BREAK cards in booster form from late in the run: the release table lists four BREAK cards in it. The 20th Anniversary Japanese Pokemon Booster Pack [CP6] is currently listed at ¥120,000 (~$779).
For a broader look at the XY period this mechanic belongs to, our XY-era Japanese Pokemon guide covers the wider set lineup around BREAK’s release window. For individual BREAK-era singles and sealed product beyond what’s covered here, sourcing requests for a specific card go through Quick Order.
Where to Buy BREAK-Era Japanese Cards
We ship from Tokyo. From the BREAK era specifically, the PSA 10 M Sharpedo EX (THE BEST OF XY 071/171) is sold out at the time of this update, and sourcing requests go through Quick Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Pokemon BREAK card?
A BREAK card is a sideways-oriented evolution card placed over the top of the pre-evolution Pokemon it evolved from. It inherits that card’s attacks, abilities, weakness, resistance, and retreat cost, then adds new effects or HP on top — identified visually by a gold-toned CG rendering and a square holo pattern.
When were Pokemon BREAK cards released in Japan?
BREAK debuted on September 26, 2015, in the XY BREAK Expansion Packs “Blue Shock” (XY8b) and “Red Flash” (XY8r). Seven original Japanese sets carried BREAK cards through June 2016, CP6 added four more in September 2016, and a 2017 high class pack, THE BEST OF XY, carried six BREAK cards: five reprints from those sets plus Carbink BREAK, also found in the XYG deck. Greninja BREAK was reprinted again in the M6a 30th CELEBRATION Classic Collection on September 16, 2026.
Are M Sharpedo EX and M Gengar EX Pokemon BREAK cards?
No. Both are Mega Evolution EX cards that come from BREAK-branded packaging — M Sharpedo EX from THE BEST OF XY (071/171) and M Gengar EX from CP4’s “EX×M×BREAK” pack (049/131) — but neither uses the sideways BREAK layout or sits on top of a pre-evolution card.
Did every XY-era set from 2015–2016 include BREAK cards?
No. CP5, the “Mythical & Legendary Dream Shine Collection” released July 16, 2016, includes zero BREAK cards despite falling inside the BREAK era’s release window.
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