Black Bolt & White Flare Set Guide

The Pokemon TCG's Black Bolt and White Flare sets mark a major return to the Unova region, featuring all 156 Pokémon from Black & White in a modern format. These are dual sets, released in Japan on June 6, 2025, and scheduled for English release on July 18, 2025.

What makes this release stand out is the scale: every Gen V Unova Pokemon is included, and each will have a special full art illustration. Each set is composed of 174 cards in Japanese, making the combined set 348 main cards.

Black Bolt & White Flare also sees the return of Master Ball and Poke Ball reverse holos, and a new rarity type, BWR, or Black and White Rare. Here is everything we know about the Black Bolt & White Flare Pokemon TCG release, the final set of the Scarlet & Violet series.

Black Bolt & White Flare Set Overview

Release Date: July 18, 2025

The first Black Bolt & White Flare products will be available in English on July 18,2025. This will include the Elite Trainer Boxes, Binder Collections, Poster Collections, and Mini-Tins.

Other products like the Tech-Sticker Collections, Victini Illustration Collection, and Booster Bundles, will be available in August. That said, major retailers like Walmart and Target have already started online preorders which have been shared in our Discord.

Black Bolt & White Flare Top Chase Cards

Unsurpisingly, the new BWR rarity cards have proven to be the most expensive from Black Bolt & White Flare in Japanese. These cards pay homage to the original Zekrom and Reshiram Full Arts that debuted in the original Black & White set in 2011.

The Top 5 Cards From Black Bolt

Black Bolt leans into a darker theme, with Zekrom serving as the set's marquee legendary. It's also the only half of the set to feature Kyurem cards. N makes his return as the most expensive Full Art Trainer in Black Bolt after a prominent showing in Journey Together.

The Top 5 Cards From White Flare

Just like in Black Bolt, White Flare is topped by the legendary mascot Reshiram in BWR and SIR form. It also features a notable Full Art Trainer, Hilda, the playable female protagonist from the Black & White games. Both of these sets are loaded with SIRs, so there are a large number of high value chase cards.

What to Buy for Black Bolt & White Flare

Black Bolt & White Flare is a special set rather than a standard set. This means it does not come with booster boxes or build & battle boxes. We can expect the usual ETBs (including the limited Pokemon Center ETB), booster bundles, binder collections, poster collections, mini-tins, and a number of special products. Here are some of the top sealed products for Black Bolt & White Flare:

Booster bundles have an MSRP of $26.94 and come with 6 booster packs. These are typically a good option if your goal is opening packs since they have no additional promos or TCG accessories included. Stores typically get a lot of booster bundles for special sets which can help drive the price down on the secondary market.

Modern Elite Trainer Boxes typically offer 9 booster packs while the Pokemon Center Exclusive ETBs offer 11. They also offer exclusive promos and TCG accessories for the card game.

The Black Bolt ETBs include the Thundurus promo #209 and the White Flare ETBs include the Tornadus promo #210. The Pokemon Center ETBs contain one additional promo with the Pokemon Center stamp, which historically come with a notable premium on the secondary market. This can make the Pokemon Center ETB a great deal if you can get one from the Pokemon Center for MSRP.

Black Bolt & White Flare has a combined Poster Collection that features the Unova starters Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. It also contains 4 booster packs (2 Black Bolt, 2 White Flare), and a double-sided Black Bolt & White Flare poster. Typically these promos are reprints of the set cards with a holo pattern.

The Black Bolt & White Flare Victini Illustration Collection is one of the most exciting sealed products tied to the set. It includes four booster packs (two from each set), a full-art Victini promo, a jumbo version of that same card, and an additional foil promo. On the Japanese side, the full-art Victini is classified as an Art Rare, making it a desirable pickup for collectors looking to complete their Unova-era showcase.

In addition to the Victini Full Art promo, Reuniclus and Gothitelle will also be available as Full Arts in the Tech-Sticker Collection boxes.

Bear in mind that as a special set there will not be pre-release promos. Additionally, we can't say for sure if the Victini, Reuniclus, and Gothitelle will be available in the main set separate from the black star promos that have been revealed.

---

Product Release Schedule

---

Where to Buy Black Bolt & White Flare?

Black Bolt & White Flare will be available in-store at most major retailers, including Walmart, Target, GameStop, and Best Buy. Preorders for Black Bolt & White Flare have already been happening online through Pokemon Center, Target, Walmart, Amazon, and more. We have been sharing these in the Discord.

To stay up to date with Black Bolt & White Flare drops be sure to join our free Discord!

Use our quick search tool to compare prices for Black Bolt & White Flare across online retailers:

eBay | Amazon | Walmart | Target | GameStop | Best Buy | Barnes & Noble

...