Pokémon Playmat - Sparkling Greninja (Battle Region, Japanese)

The official rubber playmat from the Pokémon Center Japan featuring Sparkling Greninja, released alongside the Japanese set Battle Region.

Specifications

• Artwork: Sparkling Greninja
• Version: Japanese Pokémon Center playmat, half mat for one player
• Material: fabric top with rubber non-slip bottom
• Officially licensed, sold in a limited run

What "Sparkling" means

The Japanese set Battle Region centered on the so-called Sparkling cards: Pokémon in their shiny color variant, with their own card design. Greninja was the face of it. A shiny Greninja trades its blue for a darker, almost black shade — and that's exactly what you're putting on the table here.

About Greninja

Greninja is the final evolution of Froakie from the Kalos region: a ninja frog that compresses water into shuriken and throws them mid-leap. In 2020 it won the worldwide vote for most popular Pokémon of all time, out of all 890 that existed at that point. That also explains why there's so much merchandise of it.

What a playmat is for

A playmat gives your play area a fixed layout and keeps your cards off the table: no moisture, no crumbs, no edges scraping against wood. The rubber bottom stays put wherever you lay it, and the fabric top lets you pick up your cards without having to pick at them. At tournaments, bringing your own mat is standard practice.

From the same Pokémon there are sleeves in the Deck Shield PRO line. Another Japanese playmat is the one with Flying and Surfing Pikachu.