EX FireRed & LeafGreen (2004): The Kanto Set Collectors Are Revisiting in 2026
By Dexhaul Team · October 2, 2026
The 30th Celebration set launched September 16 with Charizard, Blastoise, Gyarados, Snorlax, Mewtwo, and Mew as its centerpiece Pokémon. The same lineup anchored a set from August 2004.
EX FireRed & LeafGreen was released on August 30, 2004, timed to the North American launch of the FireRed and LeafGreen video game remakes (which arrived in the US nine days later, on September 9). It was the first major Pokémon TCG set built entirely around Kanto, and it introduced ex-rarity cards for several Pokémon that wouldn't see that treatment again for nearly two decades. With Kanto nostalgia at its highest point since those game remakes, here's how the set holds up for collectors in 2026.
The Set at a Glance
EX FireRed & LeafGreen contained 112 cards. The ex tier in this era served the same role that the modern ex rarity does now: the rarest, most powerful cards with full-bleed artwork and higher HP values. Unlike Scarlet & Violet ex cards numbered within a large set, the 2004 ex cards occupied specific positions within the set's final card numbers.
Four confirmed ultra-rare ex cards sit near the top of the numbering: Blastoise ex (104/112), Charizard ex (105/112), Electrode ex (107/112), and Gyarados ex (109/112). The set also includes an unusual case: Snorlax EX appearing at card #15, within the regular holo rare range, giving collectors two distinct price tiers within the ex group from the same set.
The Kanto focus is complete. Outside of the ex cards, the holo rares are drawn entirely from Pokémon introduced in Generation I: Exeggutor, Marowak, Tauros, and others that had never previously received dedicated EX-era holo treatment. This makes FRLG one of the purest Kanto TCG sets ever produced, which is exactly why renewed collector attention has followed the 30th Celebration release.
Gyarados ex and the Mid-Tier Ultra Rares
Gyarados ex (109/112) is the set's third-most-expensive ultra rare, currently available in-stock starting at $298–$340 in raw ungraded condition. For a 22-year-old card featuring Pokémon's most recognizable non-legendary, that floor is not driven by scarcity alone. Gyarados ex in the EX era was a high-attack card with a Heavy Ball mechanic that saw competitive play. The combination of in-game utility and the Gyarados collector premium has kept it from falling to the $100-and-under range that less popular ex cards occupy.
The spread on Gyarados ex across sellers is wide: the same raw card appears at $298 on one seller and $800 on another, with no grading difference. That range is a marker for a card where dealers have different ideas of what the floor is, which means patient buyers can still find it below the median.
Snorlax EX: The In-Set Anomaly
Snorlax EX at card #15 of 112 sits in an unusual position. In most EX-era sets, ex cards cluster near the top of the set's numbering, after the regular holos and rares. FRLG placed Snorlax EX alphabetically, within the standard rare slots. This does not change the card's pull rate: it is still an ex-rarity ultra rare, not a common holo. But it does mean casual searchers sometimes overlook it when building want lists from card number ranges alone.
Snorlax EX is currently available in raw condition around $94–$200. The $200 in-stock listing is the raw front-graded version from the same seller carrying Gyarados ex; the $94.99 is a reverse holo variant, not the standard holo. The standard holo Snorlax EX commands roughly half the price of Gyarados ex, which makes sense: Snorlax is beloved but was never the competitive threat that Gyarados ex was in Standard format at the time of release.
Charizard ex: A 40x Grading Spread
Charizard ex (105/112) is the set's headline card, and the raw-to-graded spread is the largest data point worth knowing before you buy. A raw ungraded copy currently starts at $65. A BGS 8-graded copy is in stock at $2,632, and a PSA 1 (the lowest PSA grade) appears at $717. That three-point range on a card from the same print run confirms what EX-era grading economics look like: condition variance on a 22-year-old card is extreme, and the grade multiplier is steep.
The $65 raw entry exists because plenty of played copies survive in lower condition from 2004. A raw card in good shape will show centering issues, corner wear, or surface scratches that prevent a high grade. The $2,632 ceiling exists because a BGS-graded near-perfect copy is genuinely scarce. Understanding that both prices are for the same card number in different states is the single most important context for a first-time FRLG buyer.
Blastoise ex and the Non-Charizard Tier
Blastoise ex (104/112) runs at $774 in raw condition on the US market, and 1,500 NOK (roughly $140) from a Norwegian seller with what appears to be a lower-condition copy. The spread here is partly condition and partly geography: EU-based sellers for vintage Pokémon singles routinely price below US sellers for the same card in comparable condition, because import demand from the US is not consistent enough to close the gap completely.
Blastoise ex is the only Kanto starter ex card in FRLG with a confirmed in-stock copy below $200, making it the most accessible entry point among the set's starter trio in raw condition. Venusaur did not receive an ex card in FRLG, which is its own notable fact: Charizard and Blastoise got ex treatment, Venusaur did not. The asymmetry tracks with the collector demand hierarchy that has held across every TCG era since 1998.
The 2026 Kanto Connection
Ten of the Pokémon that anchor the 2026 30th Celebration set are present in EX FireRed & LeafGreen as ex-rarity or holo-rare cards: Charizard, Blastoise, Gyarados, Snorlax, Tauros, Exeggutor, Marowak, Electrode, and others. The 30th Celebration's FUR and SIR chase cards for Mewtwo and Mew do not have direct FRLG equivalents, since neither Mewtwo nor Mew received an ex card in the 2004 set. That absence is worth noting: the two Pokémon most associated with Kanto nostalgia in 2026 are not represented in the 2004 Kanto revival set, which means the EX FireRed & LeafGreen set complements the 30th Celebration rather than duplicating it.
The collector who already holds 30th Celebration FUR and SIR cards will not find those Pokémon represented in FRLG. The collector who wants the full 22-year Kanto arc across both eras needs both sets to cover it. The 2004 set fills the Charizard, Blastoise, Gyarados, and Snorlax ex slots that the 2026 set leaves empty at the ultra-rare tier.
Kanto nostalgia drove both releases. The 2004 games brought back Kanto after the Johto interlude. The 2026 30th Celebration brought Kanto back after the Scarlet & Violet arc's focus on Paldea. In each case the TCG set followed the nostalgia wave with dedicated Kanto ultra rares. The 2004 set is the original proof that the formula works, and it still has accessible raw entry points at $65 for Charizard ex and $298 for Gyarados ex for collectors who want the version without the modern SIR numbering.
Browse current EX FireRed & LeafGreen listings from independent sellers at DexHaul's vintage Pokémon TCG search. DexHaul is independent and not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or any official Pokémon product.