Three years, a run of main sets and Concept Packs, and card types that exist in this exact form — EX with M-EX overlays and BREAK — only in this era. The Japanese XY period is the last stretch of the modern TCG built entirely without GX, V, or VSTAR on the card, and it’s also the last era where the 1st Edition stamp existed at all.
This guide works as a map of the whole period: when it started and ended, what each mechanic actually does, how the Concept Pack (CP) side-sets fit alongside the numbered main sets, and how the era closes out through a 2017 high-class pack that’s still built on the XY card template. Along the way we point to our set-by-set guides for the individual expansions, and to our current graded PSA 10 singles from the period — all shipped from Tokyo.
The XY era ran December 2013 through September 2016. Our current XY-era PSA 10 lineup is headlined by a Hex Maniac [XY-BEST 181/171], currently listed at ¥845,177 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) and a Flareon EX RR 1ED [CP3 007/032], currently listed at ¥804,388 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order). Both are single listed copies — when one sells, it’s gone until we source another.
JPY prices below are our current listed prices for graded PSA 10 singles.
When the XY Era Ran
Japan’s XY era opened with XY1, “Collection X / Collection Y,” released December 13, 2013. It closed with Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary (CP6), released September 16, 2016 — CP6, the sixth and final subset of the XY BREAK block and the last XY-series release in Japan (its English counterpart, Evolutions, is documented as the twelfth and final XY expansion). That gives the era just under three years, spanning a run of main-numbered expansions plus the Concept Pack side-releases that ran alongside them.
It’s worth being precise about the boundary: CP6 ends the XY series, but a handful of XY-template products — most notably the high-class pack covered later in this guide — released after Sun & Moon had already begun. We flag that distinction where it matters rather than blurring the two eras together.
EX, Mega Evolution, and BREAK
Three mechanics define the XY era, and each arrived at a specific, dated point in the run rather than all at once.
Pokemon-EX carried over from the preceding BW era; what XY1 (December 13, 2013) added was its Mega Evolution variant, M Pokemon-EX, alongside the new Fairy type. An M Pokemon-EX doesn’t require a mega stone card to evolve — instead, the game rule attached to it is that your turn ends immediately once you mega evolve, a built-in trade-off for the stat and attack boost.
Gengar EX, from XY4 “Phantom Gate” (September 13, 2014), sits at the RR (Double Rare) slot rather than a secret-rare position — not every EX card in this era is a chase-level pull. Mewtwo EX, by contrast, is printed as a UR (Ultra Rare) in the secret-number range of XY8 “Blue Shock” (the “Blue Impact” half of the split XY8 release, September 26, 2015), and the higher print slot shows directly in the price gap between the two.
Pokemon BREAK arrived later, and only once: introduced in XY8 (Blue Shock / Red Flash; English: BREAKthrough) (the same September 26, 2015 release as the Mewtwo EX above), it’s a card type that lays horizontally over an existing Pokemon to add HP and new attacks without a full evolution. XY9 “BREAKpoint” (December 11, 2015) continued using BREAK rather than introducing a second new mechanic. EX/M-EX and BREAK are the two structural ideas that carry the era — our EX and Mega EX cards guide goes deeper on the EX side, and our XY8 Blue Impact best-cards guide covers the set where BREAK debuted.
The 1st Edition Stamp’s Final Years
The XY era is the closing chapter of the Japanese 1st Edition (1ED) stamp. The stamp had been running since 2001, and its production continued straight through the XY main sets and their Concept Packs, ending with Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary (CP6) — the same set that closes the XY series itself. That means every main XY expansion and every XY-period Concept Pack potentially carries a 1ED variant, and the stamp was retired before Sun & Moon launched that December (December 9, 2016).
Winona, the Secret Rare Trainer card from XY6 “Emerald Break” (March 14, 2015), is one example we currently list with a confirmed 1ED print. It sits in the same secret-number band (079+) as the set’s headline M Rayquaza EX SR (086/078). For the full mechanics of the stamp — how to recognize it, how it compares to the English WOTC version, and the complete price ladder across our stock — see our dedicated Japanese 1st Edition cards guide. One of the clearest late-era 1ED examples is Pokekyun Collection (CP3), released January 29, 2016, just months before the stamp retired — we cover that set card by card in our Pokekyun Collection (CP3) guide.
Concept Packs: The XY Side-Sets
Alongside the main-numbered XY sets, Japan released a run of smaller Concept Pack (CP) products — compact, themed releases rather than full-size expansions, each tied to a specific idea: a movie tie-in, a legendary-Pokemon spotlight, or an anniversary retrospective. Six of them fall inside the XY era:
| Code | Name | Japan Release |
|---|---|---|
| CP1 | Double Crisis | 2015-01-30 |
| CP2 | Legendary Shine Collection | 2015-07-18 |
| CP3 | Pokekyun Collection | 2016-01-29 |
| CP4 | Premium Champion Pack: EX×M×BREAK | 2016-04-16 |
| CP5 | Mythical & Legendary Dream Shine Collection | 2016-07-16 |
| CP6 | Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary | 2016-09-16 |
CP2, “Legendary Shine Collection,” is a 27-card, fully-holo set of 4-card packs (instead of the usual 5) tied to the 2015 Hoopa movie. CP5, “Mythical & Legendary Dream Shine Collection,” follows the same all-holo format for a 2016 movie tied to Volcanion and Magearna, running to 38 cards once its two secret slots are counted. And CP6 closes the era by reprinting the original 1996 Base Set roster — Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, Mewtwo, and the rest — as new XY-rules cards with fresh artwork — plus brand-new Mega Evolution secret rares like M Venusaur EX and M Charizard EX.
For a full walk-through of every Concept Pack and how they fit together, see our Japanese Concept Packs (CP) guide. Set-by-set detail on the three we cover most closely is in our CP2 Legendary Shine Collection guide, our CP4 Premium Champion Pack guide, our CP5 Mythical & Legendary Collection guide, and our CP6 20th Anniversary guide.
Where the Era Lands: The Best of XY
The XY series proper ends at CP6 in September 2016, but the era’s card template got one more outing after Sun & Moon had already launched: the high-class pack THE BEST OF XY, released April 21, 2017, with 188 cards. It’s built around EX, M Pokemon-EX, and BREAK reprints plus new Full Art Supporters — every pack guarantees one EX/M-EX/BREAK card and one reverse holo, and packs run 15 cards deep instead of the standard 5. It’s a Sun & Moon-period product by release date, but it keeps the XY card frame throughout, which is why we treat it as the era’s closing statement rather than a separate topic.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
Two Full Art Supporters from the set’s secret-rare run anchor our current stock. Hex Maniac (181/171) is our highest-priced listed single from the XY main sets, concept packs, and The Best of XY covered in this guide, and Karen (183/171), another Full Art Supporter from the same secret-rare block, is currently listed at ¥220,420 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order). Both are single listed copies — graded PSA 10, no duplicates waiting behind them. For the complete 188-card breakdown and the rest of the set’s chase cards, see our The Best of XY high-class pack guide.
Six Sets Worth Knowing
If you’re getting oriented in the XY era for the first time, these six releases — spanning the opening set to the closing one — give a reasonable cross-section of the run:
| Code | Name | Japan Release | Notable For |
|---|---|---|---|
| XY1 | Collection X / Collection Y | 2013-12-13 | Series launch — introduces EX, M-EX, Fairy type |
| XY4 | Phantom Gate | 2014-09-13 | Mega Gengar theme, Team Flare support cards |
| XY6 | Emerald Break | 2015-03-14 | Mega Rayquaza / Mega Latios dragon-type focus |
| XY7 | Bandit Ring | 2015-06-20 | Mid-era set ahead of the BREAK mechanic’s debut |
| XY8 | Blue Shock / Red Flash (BREAKthrough) | 2015-09-26 | Introduces Pokemon BREAK; split into two JP releases |
| CP6 | Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary | 2016-09-16 | Sixth and final subset of the XY BREAK block; closes the 1ED era |
Phantom Gate and Emerald Break have dedicated best-cards guides on our blog: our XY4 Phantom Gate best cards guide and our XY6 Emerald Break best cards guide. If you’re tracking a specific Pokemon rather than a set, our Groudon cards guide follows one XY-era legendary — including its 2014 Primal Reversion pair from “Gaia Volcano” (XY5) — through every major Japanese printing.
Our XY-Era PSA 10 Price Ladder
Every graded single below is a currently listed PSA 10 from a set inside the XY era, sorted from lowest to highest:
| Card | Set / Number | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Black Kyurem R 1ED | CP2 020/027 | ¥47,380 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Dialga | CP2 017/027 | ¥65,920 |
| M Gengar EX | CP4 049/131 | ¥71,585 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Winona SR 1ED | XY6 088/078 | ¥80,110 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Celebi 1ED | CP5 002/036 | ¥90,640 |
| M Venusaur EX SR 1ED | CP6 089/087 | ¥91,464 |
| Zekrom | CP2 009/027 | ¥92,700 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| M Charizard EX RR 1ED | XY2 055/080 | ¥142,490 |
| Karen | XY-BEST 183/171 | ¥220,420 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Gengar EX RR | XY4 033/088 | ¥228,889 |
| Mewtwo EX UR | XY8 065/059 | ¥342,990 |
| Flareon EX RR 1ED | CP3 007/032 | ¥804,388 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
| Hex Maniac | XY-BEST 181/171 | ¥845,177 (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) |
That’s a ladder running from the XY era and its Best of XY closer, from just under ¥50,000 to ¥845,177 — the low end mostly Concept Pack legendaries, the high end anchored by the Best of XY Full Art Supporters and one of the era’s Concept Pack 1ED chase cards, Flareon EX. Every one of these is a single listed copy; once it sells, it’s out of our listings until we source another.
View Product → (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order)
Where to Buy XY-Era Cards from Japan
We ship graded Japanese singles out of Tokyo with tracked delivery worldwide. For the cards and guides covered in this hub:
- PSA 10 Hex Maniac [XY-BEST 181/171] (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — currently listed at ¥845,177 (a single listed copy)
- PSA 10 Flareon EX RR 1ED [CP3 007/032] (update: currently sold out — restock requests via Quick Order) — currently listed at ¥804,388 (a single listed copy)
- PSA 10 Mewtwo EX UR [XY8 065/059] — currently listed at ¥342,990 (a single listed copy)
- PSA 10 Gengar EX RR [XY4 033/088] — currently listed at ¥228,889 (a single listed copy)
- Browse the full graded lineup on our PSA 10 collection or the visual PSA 10 card list
- Browse current sealed Japanese boosters across all eras on our booster box collection
Looking for a specific XY-era set or single not listed here, or want to build a mixed order across our full catalog? Our Quick Order page is the fastest way to request it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What years does the XY era cover in Japan?
December 13, 2013 through September 16, 2016 — from XY1 “Collection X / Collection Y” through Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary (CP6), the sixth and final subset of the XY BREAK block and the last XY-series release in Japan (its English counterpart, Evolutions, is documented as the twelfth and final XY expansion).
What’s the difference between Pokemon-EX and M Pokemon-EX?
Pokemon-EX carried over from the preceding BW era; what XY1 (December 13, 2013) added was its Mega Evolution variant, M Pokemon-EX, alongside the new Fairy type. M Pokemon-EX doesn’t require a mega stone card, but the game rule is that your turn ends immediately after you mega evolve, in exchange for a boosted attack and HP.
When was Pokemon BREAK introduced, and is it still used?
BREAK debuted in XY8 (September 26, 2015), continued in XY9, and appears in later era products like CP4 and The Best of XY. No later era brought the mechanic back.
Do XY-era cards carry the Japanese 1st Edition stamp?
Many do. The 1ED stamp ran from 2001 through Expansion Pack 20th Anniversary (CP6), released September 16, 2016 — the same set that closes the XY series, so 1ED coverage spans essentially the entire era. It stops before Sun & Moon launched that December (December 9, 2016).
Is The Best of XY part of the XY era?
By release date, no — it came out April 21, 2017, after Sun & Moon had launched. But it’s built entirely on the XY card template, with EX, M Pokemon-EX, and BREAK reprints plus new Full Art Supporters, which is why we treat it as the era’s closing high-class pack.
Where can I buy XY-era Japanese Pokemon cards?
We currently stock a run of graded PSA 10 XY-era singles — from Concept Pack legendaries around ¥47,000 up to Best of XY Full Art Supporters near ¥845,000 — all shipped from Tokyo with tracked delivery. Use our Quick Order page for anything not listed directly.
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