First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1: Why Chimchar MEP #041 Is the Sinnoh Promo Collectors Are Chasing
By Dexhaul Team · September 9, 2026
Chimchar MEP #041 lists for around $7–$8 raw on the secondary market. Its partner in the same product, Turtwig #040, sits under $7.
Same box. Same rarity tier. Meaningfully different prices.
That gap tells you something about how demand works in the First Partner Illustration Collection. Each Series 1 box contains three exclusive Mega Evolution Black Star Promo holofoils: Turtwig (#040), Chimchar (#041), and Piplup (#042). Chimchar is the card collectors are asking about first.
This guide breaks down the three promos, how their prices diverge at every condition tier, and which format actually makes sense for your collection.
What the First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 Contains
The First Partner Illustration Collection is a Mega Evolution series product. Series 1 focuses on Generation 4's Sinnoh region, packaging holofoil promos of all three Sinnoh starters alongside a set of Mega Evolution booster packs.
The three promos are ME Black Star Promos carrying the MEP designation. They are numbered sequentially: Turtwig is MEP #040, Chimchar is MEP #041, and Piplup is MEP #042.
None of these cards appear in any booster pack. They are exclusive to the First Partners product line and cannot be pulled from ME01 through ME06 boxes.
Sealed Series 1 boxes currently list at $69.99–$79.95 USD depending on the seller.
Turtwig MEP #040: The Quiet Underdog
Turtwig MEP #040 is the most affordable of the three promos. Raw near-mint copies list at $6.61–$7.00. Graded PSA 10 copies reach $89.99–$106, a 13–15x pop from raw price, which is one of the healthier raw-to-graded spreads in the MEP promo series.
Torterra has a dedicated collector base, but it is smaller and quieter than either Infernape's or Empoleon's. Turtwig's pricing reflects that directly. For budget-conscious Sinnoh starter collectors, Turtwig #040 is the easiest entry point in the trio.
Chimchar MEP #041: The Premium Card in the Box
Chimchar MEP #041 raw NM runs $7.47–$12.00, with most listings clustering around $7–$8. In PSA 10, the card reaches $128–$145, the highest ceiling in the Series 1 trio despite being the smallest-bodied starter.
The demand driver is character recognition, not game-play utility. Ash's Chimchar in the Diamond and Pearl anime series is one of the most emotionally charged storylines the franchise produced.
Ash rescued the abandoned Chimchar, raised it through a troubled relationship with Paul, and watched it evolve into an Infernape in a pivotal league battle. That arc still resonates fifteen-plus years later, pulling collectors who may not care about the Mega Evolution card pool at all into this specific promo.
Infernape also has a strong competitive legacy in Gen 4 and Gen 5. Collectors who followed the VGC scene during those years have attachment to the line that compounds the anime nostalgia. Chimchar #041 sits at the intersection of both audiences, and neither is going anywhere.
Piplup MEP #042: Collector Favourite, Second-Place Price
Piplup MEP #042 carries the highest raw price of the three promos, typically listing at $10–$16 raw NM. Its PSA 10 ceiling ($130) is slightly above Turtwig's but below Chimchar's, which is an unusual inversion: Piplup's raw premium flips to a Chimchar ceiling advantage once graded.
Piplup's popularity among casual and gift-audience collectors is consistently high. It appears on more licensed merchandise than either Turtwig or Chimchar and benefits from anime exposure as Dawn's partner throughout the Diamond and Pearl series. That breadth of appeal keeps raw demand elevated, even while the character-intensity of Ash's Infernape arc drives Chimchar's PSA 10 premium.
If you are buying a single raw NM promo for a Sinnoh starter fan, Piplup is the safer gift. If you are targeting long-term appreciation in graded copies, Chimchar is the card with the higher ceiling.
Sealed vs. Singles: What the Math Actually Says
The three raw NM promos combined cost roughly $24–$29 if you buy them individually: Turtwig at $6.61, Chimchar at $7–$8, Piplup at $10–$13. A sealed First Partner Illustration Collection Series 1 box runs $69.99–$79.95.
That sealed premium buys you the booster packs included in the product. If you want the pack-opening experience or are targeting pulls from the ME series cards inside, sealed is a reasonable choice. If you are here solely for the three MEP promos, singles deliver all three for a fraction of the sealed price.
The PSA 10 set of all three lists at $183, which is 2.3–2.6x the cost of a sealed box. That premium only makes sense if you are confident all three cards would grade PSA 10 from a sealed submission and if the time and submission cost fit your strategy. A PSA 10 Chimchar alone at $128–$145 exceeds the sealed box on its own.
The graded route is the right call for collectors targeting long-hold display pieces. Sealed is the right call for collectors who want the full product experience. Raw singles are the right call for anyone whose budget ends at $30 and just wants the Sinnoh starter promos on a binder page.
Three Tiers for Every Collector
At the budget tier, raw singles cover all three promos for $24–$29 combined. Turtwig and Chimchar are the most under-$10 items in the group, making a binder-page Sinnoh starter trio affordable without a sealed commitment.
At the mid tier, the sealed box at $69.99–$79.95 delivers all three promos plus the booster packs inside. For collectors actively building their ME series collection, the sealed route adds real value beyond the promos themselves.
At the premium tier, the PSA 10 Chimchar at $128–$145 is the single most targeted card in Series 1. It sits higher than the PSA 10 Piplup despite Piplup's elevated raw price, which is a strong signal of where long-term graded demand is concentrating for this product line.
Browse both sealed boxes and individual Series 1 promos from independent shops at DexHaul's First Partners Illustration Collection search. DexHaul is independent and not affiliated with The Pokémon Company or any of the sellers listed.