The 30th Celebration Greninja ex Box arrives on September 16, 2026 with a foil promo card numbered MEP 099, the same artwork in oversize format, and 4 boosters from the expansion. Only one of those three really belongs to it: the oversize card. The promo comes back in a tin on December 4, and Greninja ex also sits in the boosters as card 021/128.
The September 16 Greninja ex Box, with its contents printed along the bottom. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
What is actually exclusive to the Greninja ex Box?
The oversize card, and nothing else. The bottom of the box spells it out in three icons: 1 promo card, 1 oversize card, 4 boosters. Boosters are everywhere, the MEP 099 promo reappears in December, and only this box carries the giant version. That is a short list, and it is worth knowing before paying an inflated preorder.
The official name is simply "Pokémon TCG: 30th Celebration Greninja ex Box". One discrepancy is worth flagging: the French product gallery on pokemon.com still says "Q3 2026" where the US page of the same site and every European shop I opened on August 18, 2026 give September 16. The two do not contradict each other, the French listing just stayed vague, but if you look for the date on the official site and cannot find it, that is why.
Where can you get the Greninja ex card without the box?
Three routes lead to the same card. The September 16 box, the boosters of the expansion where Greninja ex is numbered 021/128, and the Pokémon ex tin of December 4, which reprints exactly the MEP 099 promo. The US suggested price is identical for the box and the tin: $21.99.
| How to get Greninja ex | What you receive | Date | US suggested price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30th Celebration ex Box | MEP 099 promo, oversize card, 4 boosters | September 16, 2026 | $21.99 |
| Boosters from the expansion | Card 021/128, down to your pulls | September 16, 2026 | price of a booster |
| Pokémon ex tin | MEP 099 promo, 4 boosters | December 4, 2026 | $21.99 |
That December tin is the piece of information missing from almost every preorder page. Bulbapedia lists MEP 099 as distributed both in the September box and in the 30th Celebration Pokémon ex Tins of December 4, and distributor PHD Games confirms the date, the contents and the price. Missing September therefore does not cost you the card, only the giant version and about ten weeks of waiting.
The December 4 tin repeats the MEP 099 promo and 4 boosters, without the oversize card. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
The two December tins replay the day and night split: Sylveon ex on one side, Greninja ex on the other, with the promo card printed on the lid. Same contents, only the artwork changes. If the day side is what interests you, we broke down the Sylveon ex Box and its MEP 100 card in a separate article.
The Sylveon ex twin, same format, same contents. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
Are MEP 099 and card 021/128 the same card?
Same Pokémon, same rules text, same illustrator, yet two different objects to look at. Card 021/128 keeps the classic artwork window and the double rarity symbol of Pokémon ex cards. MEP 099 is printed borderless: the 5ban Graphics illustration runs edge to edge and the attack text sits on top of it.
The expansion version, numbered 021/128, with its artwork window. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
Both carry the Pikachu 30 medallion that identifies the whole wave. The tell that separates them sits in the bottom left corner: the promo shows the MEP EN marker and number 099 next to the black star of promotional cards, the other shows 021/128 and the expansion symbol. For a collector, that is two binder slots, not one.
The MEP 099 promo from the box: same artwork, printed borderless. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
How good is Greninja ex in play with 300 HP?
It is a Stage 2 Pokémon ex, Water type, 300 HP, Lightning weakness doubled, one Energy to retreat. It hits for 160 with two Water Energy, and its other attack, for a single Energy, scales at 30 damage per damage counter already sitting on the target.
That second attack is the interesting part, and it reads badly at a glance. It targets one of your opponent's Pokémon, the one you choose, bench included, and it ignores Weakness and Resistance on the bench. Against an untouched target it does nothing at all. Against a target already carrying 60 damage, that is six counters, it lands 180 for one Energy. It is a finisher and a sniping tool, not an opening move.
The price to pay is the evolution line. Greninja ex evolves from Frogadier, which comes from Froakie, and neither is in the box. You walk away with the end of a chain and nothing to reach it with. The French names of the two attacks have not been published as of this article: on the revealed artwork they read Stealthy Slash and Aqua Edge. On our side, the other three-stage Water starter is Blastoise, and the Blastoise crystal LED Poké Ball laser-etches it inside a block of K9 crystal, at 29.99 euros.
Why Greninja for the night side?
Because in 2020, players put it first. In the Pokémon of the Year vote run by Google and The Pokémon Company in February 2020, across the 896 Pokémon that existed at the time, Greninja finished on top with 140,559 ballots, ahead of Lucario (102,259) and Mimikyu (99,077). Sylveon came sixth, with 66,029.
That is not a marketing detail. The night side carries the most voted Pokémon in the history of that poll, and the day side a Pokémon that gathered less than half its ballots. Pikachu, for the record, finished nineteenth with 48,060 votes, which did not stop The Pokémon Company from handing it the 30 illustrations of the expansion.
Six of the top ten from that vote have their Poké Ball on our shelves. Charizard, fourth with 93,968 votes, exists as the Charizard LED Poké Ball on a wooden stand, and Garchomp, seventh with 61,877 votes, as the Garchomp LED Poké Ball on a wooden stand, both at 29.99 euros. Greninja itself is not in the catalogue and I am not going to pretend otherwise: the range covers 29 Pokémon, and the winner of that vote is not one of them.
How much does the Greninja ex Box cost, and should you preorder?
The US suggested price is $21.99, which appears in the PHD Games distributor catalogue as a six-box lot at $131.94. In Europe, as of August 18, 2026, specialist retailers are opening preorders with no price at all: DestockTCG and Play-in both display "price to come".
My benchmark for not overpaying is the December tin. It holds the same promo and the same 4 boosters, at the same suggested price, and it is coming. Any September preorder clearly above that level is priced on fear of missing out, not on scarcity. This anniversary wave is produced for mass retail, and pokemon.com presents the expansion as "the first to have a simultaneous global release", which is the opposite of a limited run.
For anyone who only wants the boosters, the 6-pack bundle lands October 2. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
If the boosters are what you are after rather than the card, the bundle of 6 on October 2 works out cheaper per pack than any box. Each booster holds 5 foil cards, one holographic Basic Energy and a code card, plus a guaranteed Pikachu drawn from 30 illustrations by 30 different artists. Those Pikachu carry their own numbering: the one by sowsow, for instance, is 06/30 and occupies slot 028/128 in the expansion.
The sowsow Pikachu, sixth of the thirty, in slot 028/128. © 2026 Pokémon/Nintendo/Creatures/GAME FREAK.
To place this box among the rest of the anniversary releases, prices and dates included, we keep the full list of Pokémon 30th anniversary products up to date. And if you would rather have something that lights a shelf than a card to sleeve, our collection of light-up Poké Balls covers 29 Pokémon etched inside crystal.
Frequently asked questions about the Greninja ex Box
Does the Greninja ex Box release on the same day everywhere?
Yes, September 16, 2026. 30th Celebration is the first Pokémon TCG expansion released simultaneously in every region, Japan included, instead of the usual gap of several months. One caveat: the French product gallery on pokemon.com still says only "Q3 2026" on the box listing.
Is the oversize Greninja ex card tournament legal?
No. Its size rules it out of a deck, since every card in a deck must share the same format. It is a display piece, meant for a frame or a shelf. The playable version is the MEP 099 promo included in the same box, at standard size.
Do you need other cards to play Greninja ex?
Yes, and the box does not supply them. Greninja ex is a Stage 2: it evolves from Frogadier, which itself evolves from Froakie. You need at least those two cards, plus Water Energy, before those 300 HP ever hit the table.
What separates the September 16 box from the December 4 tin?
The oversize card and the date. Both hold the foil MEP 099 promo and 4 30th Celebration boosters at the same $21.99 US suggested price. The September box adds the oversize version of the card, which the December tin does not have.
Is the European price of the Greninja ex Box known?
Not yet. As of August 18, 2026, French and European specialist shops open preorders showing "price to come". The only published figure is the $21.99 US suggested price, which usually lands somewhere between 25 and 30 euros once converted into the European range.
Is Greninja really that popular?
It won the 2020 Pokémon of the Year vote with 140,559 ballots, the highest score in that poll, ahead of Lucario and Mimikyu. The vote covered the 896 Pokémon known at the time and was run by Google with The Pokémon Company. That is why it headlines this wave.
