Two Prize cards instead of one. That single rule change, introduced years before the XY block even started, is the reason Pokemon-EX exists at all — and everything the XY era built on top of it, including Mega Evolution, inherited that same trade-off.
This guide walks through what a Pokemon-EX actually is, what changes when “M” gets added to the name, and how that plays out across the specific Japanese XY-era singles we currently carry — from a Phantom Gate Gengar EX through to a Genshi Groudon EX that isn’t technically a Mega Evolution card at all, despite looking like one. We ship graded Japanese singles out of Tokyo, so the pricing below reflects our own current listings rather than a third-party index.
Pokemon-EX give up two Prize cards on knockout instead of one; M (Mega Evolution) Pokemon-EX add a single-attack, turn-ending transformation on top of that. Our current XY-era lineup includes a PSA 10 Genshi Groudon EX SR [XY5 074/070], currently listed at ¥278,100 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) and a PSA 10 Gengar EX RR [XY4 033/088], currently listed at ¥228,889.
Mechanics details are sourced from Bulbapedia, cited throughout. Card numbers and rarities are cross-checked against limitlesstcg.com’s card database. Pricing reflects our own listings as of August 2026, converted at ¥163/USD.
What Is a Pokemon-EX? The Two-Prize Trade-off
Pokemon-EX debuted in the Next Destinies expansion, part of the Black & White block that preceded the XY era. The mechanic’s defining rule is simple and has stayed consistent ever since: when a Pokemon-EX is knocked out, the opponent takes two Prize cards instead of the usual one.
That’s the whole trade-off in one sentence — bigger HP and stronger attacks in exchange for handing your opponent a faster path to their six Prizes if the card goes down. Every card in this guide, Mega Evolution or not, is built on top of that same rule. Understanding it first is what makes the “M” cards below make sense.
What Is an M / Mega Pokemon-EX?
M Pokemon-EX arrived with the XY expansion itself — released in Japan on December 13, 2013 (126 cards) and in English on February 5, 2014 (146 cards) — bringing the Mega Evolution concept from the X & Y video games into the card game.
Three rules define the mechanic:
- Turn-ending transformation. The moment a Pokemon becomes a Mega Evolution Pokemon, that player’s turn ends immediately — unless the matching Spirit Link tool card is already attached, in which case play continues normally.
- One attack. An M Pokemon-EX carries a single attack, with the attack’s name displayed inside the card’s illustration rather than a standard text box. The card name itself carries the “MEGA” stage marker and a stylized “Mega” prefix.
- Basic-EX evolution line. M Pokemon-EX evolve from the Basic-stage version of the matching Pokemon-EX — not from a Stage 1 or Stage 2 form.
One note on terminology: Pokemon released a separate “Mega Evolution” expansion in September 2025 built around Mega Evolution Pokemon ex with a three-Prize knockout — a newer, different mechanic from the one-Prize-jump M Pokemon-EX covered in this guide. Every card below is from the original 2013–2016 XY-era mechanic.
Our XY-Era EX & Mega EX Ladder (In Stock)
Six graded XY-era EX and Mega EX singles across five Japanese sets, ranked by current price:
| Card | Set | Rarity | Price (¥) | Price (approx.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genshi Groudon EX SR [XY5 074/070] (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | Gaia Volcano | SR | ¥278,100 | ~$1,706 |
| Gengar EX RR [XY4 033/088] | Phantom Gate | RR | ¥228,889 | ~$1,404 |
| Charizard-EX 1ED [XY2 055/080] | Wild Blaze | RR | ¥142,490 | ~$874 |
| M Gardevoir EX SR 1ED [XY11-1 057/054] | Cruel Traitor | SR | ¥100,940 | ~$619 |
| M Gengar EX [CP4 049/131] (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) | Premium Champion Pack | Reverse Mirror Holo | ¥71,585 | ~$439 |
| M Steelix EX SR 1ED [XY11-2 057/054] | Explosive Fighter | SR | ¥49,440 | ~$303 |
Two things stand out. First, the single most expensive card on the list — Genshi Groudon EX — isn’t a Mega Evolution card at all; it runs on a related but separate mechanic covered further down. Second, three of the six are 1st Edition copies, which puts this ladder squarely inside Japan’s 1ED printing window as well as its Mega Evolution one. Each set gets its own section below.
Gengar EX to M Gengar EX: One Line, Two Sets
Gengar EX 033/088 is Phantom Gate’s (XY4, September 13, 2014) headline single — a Double Rare (RR), 170 HP, Colorless-cost with a Psychic-type attack line. Its English structural counterpart, Gengar EX from Phantom Forces, sits in that set’s secret-rare band as an Ultra Rare instead — a reminder that rarity labels for the same card can shift between the Japanese and English printings of a set.
Two years later, Premium Champion Pack (CP4, April 16, 2016) reprinted the evolved form as M Gengar EX 049/131, evolving from Gengar-EX, with M Gengar-EX from Phantom Forces #35 as its English structural counterpart. CP4 cards don’t carry a separate printed rarity mark — the whole 131-card set shares one reverse mirror holofoil finish instead.
View Card → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
For the full Phantom Gate breakdown, including its secret-rare number range, see our XY4 Phantom Gate guide. For CP4’s full 131-card structure and pack format, see our Premium Champion Pack (CP4) guide.
Reading the Card Number: Charizard-EX and Wild Blaze (XY2)
XY-era EX and Mega EX cards from the same set can look almost identical at a glance, and the difference usually comes down to the printed number in the corner rather than the artwork. Wild Blaze (XY2) is a clean example: card 055/080 checks out against the primary card database as a Double Rare Charizard-EX — the regular, non-Mega version. Commercial listings for a Mega-prefixed “M Charizard EX” 1st Edition from the same set instead reference a different number, 089/080, which we have not been able to independently verify against the same database.
We currently list a graded PSA 10 1st Edition copy at 055/080:
Charizard-EX 1ED [XY2 055/080], PSA 10, currently listed at ¥142,490 — a graded, one-of-one copy shipped from Tokyo.
If you’re specifically chasing the Mega-prefixed Charizard line across every printing rather than this one set, our Mega Charizard cards value guide tracks pricing across the full set of printings and is the better starting point for confirming which number belongs to which card before you order.
XY11’s Split Release: M Gardevoir and M Steelix
“XY11” wasn’t a single Japanese set. It split into two separate releases — Cruel Traitor, built around the M Gardevoir line, and Explosive Fighter (also referenced as Fever-Burst Fighter), built around M Steelix. Both share the /054 number pattern that shows up in our stock listings, which is the split’s fingerprint.
| Card | Set | Double Rare (RR) | Secret Rare (SR) |
|---|---|---|---|
| M Gardevoir EX | Cruel Traitor | 039/054 | 057/054 — our stock |
| M Steelix EX | Explosive Fighter | 033/054, 1ED confirmed | 057/054 — our stock |
Both of our copies are the rarer Secret Rare printing at 057/054, both 1st Edition:
- M Gardevoir EX SR 1ED [XY11-1 057/054], PSA 10, currently listed at ¥100,940
- M Steelix EX SR 1ED [XY11-2 057/054], PSA 10, currently listed at ¥49,440
Both cards evolve from their respective Basic-stage Pokemon-EX, consistent with the M Pokemon-EX rule covered earlier. For the wider Mega Gardevoir picture across other printings, see our Mega Gardevoir cards value guide.
Beyond Mega: Genshi Groudon EX and Primal Reversion
Genshi Groudon EX — the highest-priced card in our current XY-era ladder — is not a Mega Evolution card, even though it sits in the same era and reads like a natural sibling to the M-prefixed cards above it. It runs on Primal Reversion (Genshi Kaiki), the transformation tied to the “Red Orb” story mechanic from Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire. In the TCG it’s implemented as a Pokemon-EX derivative with its own extended mechanic, separate from the “M” Mega Evolution line covered in the rest of this guide.
Gaia Volcano (XY5) paired the two forms directly: a pre-transformation Groudon EX at 073/070 (SR, 180 HP) and the transformed Genshi Groudon EX at 074/070 (SR, 240 HP, Fighting-type). The English structural counterpart is Primal Groudon-EX, first from Primal Clash #86/160 and later reprinted in Ancient Origins #151/160 as a Rare Ultra. We currently carry the graded 074/070 SR copy shown above.
XY-Era EX Cards and the Japanese 1st Edition Window
Japan’s 1st Edition (1ED) stamp ran from 2001 through September 2016, when the run ended with Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary (CP6) — a much longer and later window than the short English WOTC 1st Edition era most collectors already know. The XY block (2013–2016) sits entirely inside that Japanese window, which is why 1ED copies turn up across Wild Blaze, Phantom Gate, Cruel Traitor, and Explosive Fighter alike — three of the six cards in our ladder above are 1st Edition copies for exactly that reason.
If you’re new to how the Japanese 1ED stamp works, what it looks like, and how it differs from the English version, our Japanese 1st Edition guide covers the full timeline. For the wider XY block these sets belong to, our XY-era Japanese Pokemon guide maps the mainline sets and concept packs together in one place.
Where to Buy XY-Era EX & Mega EX Cards from Japan
We ship graded Japanese singles out of Tokyo with tracked delivery worldwide. For the cards covered in this guide:
- Genshi Groudon EX SR [XY5 074/070] (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — currently listed at ¥278,100
- Gengar EX RR [XY4 033/088] — currently listed at ¥228,889
- Browse the full graded lineup on our PSA 10 collection
- Looking for a different XY-era single or a mixed order across sets? Our Quick Order page is the fastest way to request it
For set-by-set depth on any single card above, see our Phantom Gate guide and Premium Champion Pack (CP4) guide, or start from our XY-era hub to see how the whole block fits together.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Pokemon-EX, and what happens when one is knocked out?
Pokemon-EX debuted in the Next Destinies expansion, part of the Black & White block. When a Pokemon-EX is knocked out, the opponent takes two Prize cards instead of the usual one — the mechanic’s defining trade-off.
What is an M / Mega Pokemon-EX, and how is it different from a regular Pokemon-EX?
M Pokemon-EX arrived with the XY expansion (Japan, December 13, 2013). It carries a single attack, ends the player’s turn immediately upon transforming unless a Spirit Link tool is attached, and evolves only from the Basic-stage version of the matching Pokemon-EX.
What’s the difference between Gengar EX and M Gengar EX in your current stock?
Gengar EX [XY4 033/088] from Phantom Gate (2014) is a Double Rare, non-Mega Pokemon-EX. M Gengar EX [CP4 049/131] from Premium Champion Pack (2016) is the evolved Mega Evolution form of the same line, reprinted two years later.
Why does the card number matter for Wild Blaze’s Charizard-EX?
Card 055/080 from Wild Blaze (XY2) checks out as a regular Double Rare Charizard-EX against the primary card database, not the Mega-prefixed version. Commercial listings for a Mega-prefixed 1st Edition copy from the same set reference a different number, 089/080, which we have not independently verified.
Is Genshi Groudon EX a Mega Evolution card?
No. It runs on Primal Reversion, a related but separate XY-era mechanic tied to the “Red Orb” story device from Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire, not the “M” Mega Evolution line covered elsewhere in this guide.
Where can I buy XY-era EX and Mega EX cards from Japan?
We currently list six graded XY-era EX and Mega EX singles across five Japanese sets, shipped from Tokyo with tracked delivery. See our full PSA 10 collection or use Quick Order for a mixed cart.
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