First Look: Pokémon Black Bolt & White Flare Spoilers and Highlights

The launch of Pokemon’s latest speciality sets Black Bolt and White Flare is imminent, and the TCG community is understandably hyped. Not only are these sets the Unova equivalent of 151 – one of the most iconic Pokemon sets ever – it also marks the first time we’ve had two speciality sets released concurrently, introduces a brand new rarity tier, features an illustration rare card of every Unova Pokemon, and brings back the Pokeball and Master ball reverse holos with new patterns.

The Pokemon community is eagerly awaiting Pokemon Black and White video game remakes, and plenty of Pokemon TCG collectors are attempting to complete their own Pokedex of cards, so this set couldn’t have come at a better time. With generous pull rates and a focus on Pokemon that don’t get as much love as popular ones like Charizard, Umbreon, Gengar, here is everything we know so far about these upcoming sets.

Official Release Date and Where to Buy

The official release date of Black Bolt and White Flare in the UK is Friday 18th July. On this date, we will see the following products released:

• Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box
• White Flare Elite Trainer Box
• Black Bolt Binder Collection
• White Flare Binder Collection
• Black Bolt & White Flare Unova Poster Collection
• Black Bolt & White Flare Unova Mini Tins (8 types)

More products will be released in August:

• Black Bolt & White Flare Unova Victini Illustration Collection (releasing 1st August)
• Black Bolt Tech Sticker Collection – Reuniclus (releasing 1st August)
• White Flare Tech Sticker Collection – Gothitelle (releasing 1st August)
• Black Bolt Booster Bundle (releasing 22nd August)
• White Flare Booster Bundle (releasing 22nd August)

As Black Bolt and White Flare are speciality sets, booster boxes won’t be in the product lineup.

The UK release comes 6 weeks after the sets’ Japanese release on 6th June. As always, this time difference has given fans plenty of time to see what cards the UK set should hold and judge how popular it might be.

To make sure you’re up-to-date with these latest Pokemon TCG releases, keep an eye on Magic Madhouse for pre-orders, product release dates and sealed products.

What’s in the New Set?

Both Black Bolt and White Flare will contain over 170 cards each, including:

• Over 5 Pokemon ex cards
• Over 70 illustration rares
• 6 full art Pokemon cards
• 2 full art trainer cards
• Over 5 special illustration rares
• 1 exclusive BWR rarity card

These sets are the last in the Scarlet and Violet era, and don’t continue the new Trainer’s Pokemon mechanic that we saw in the previous two sets, Journey Together and Destined Rivals.

All 156 Unova Pokemon will be featured in the set and receive an illustration rare or special illustration rare card, meaning fans will be able to collect a fully illustrated Unova Pokedex. So far, pull rates indicate that there should be 1 illustration rare card in every 6 packs – excellent news for those of us still recoiling from the awful pull rates of Prismatic Evolutions.

If you’re a long-time Pokemon fan, this set will be a great way to refresh your memory and reconnect with the generation of what is widely regarded as the best Pokemon video games. If you’re a newcomer, then what better way to get to know such Unova Pokemon as Zekrom, Reshiram and Victini than with a full range of fun, colourful illustrated cards.

Introducing the New BWR Rarity

Although an illustration rare card for every Unova Pokemon is exciting, what really has collectors buzzing about these sets is the introduction of a brand new rarity: Black White Rare (BWR). There will be three cards across the sets that are BWR:

• Reshiram ex (173/086) – This card will be available in the White Flare set, and features an all-white full art card for Reshiram.
• Zekrom ex (172/086) – This card will be available in the Black Bolt set, and features an all-black full art card for Zekrom.
• Victini (171/086 & 172/086) – This card will be available in both Black Bolt and White Flare and will have a different set number for each. It features an all-red full art card for Victini.

The BWR cards appear to take the place of gold cards for the Black Bolt and White Flare sets. The pull rates for this rarity are still unconfirmed, but they’re sure to be the chase cards of the sets, along with Reshiram and Zekrom’s special illustration rares.

The single colour and high quality details of these cards makes them look sleek and expensive. They’re a simple but effective design choice from Pokemon that will no doubt remind fans of the silver Dialga ex secret rare card from XY Phantom Forces. Seeing how popular and valuable that card has become, collectors will no doubt expect these new cards to follow suit.

Fans knew to expect the Reshiram and Zekrom BWR cards, but the Victini was a nice surprise. Videos have already started surfacing online of fans pulling it in the English sets. The Japanese version of this card was a promo card that could only be acquired through winning official tournaments and rock-paper-scissors events across Japan, or through an online lottery.

Early Spoilers – Confirmed Cards So Far

As previously stated, Black Bolt and White Flare will contain cards for every Unova Pokemon, including illustration rares. Some cards that were in the Japanese sets have been removed to become English promos, including:

• Victini illustration rare
• Reuniclus illustration rare
• Gothitelle illustration rare
• Tornadus illustration rare
• Thundurus illustration rare

In particular, the official Pokemon website has highlighted these cards in the set:

• Eelektrik (031/086) – From the Black Bolt set, this card has already been earmarked as a new potential addition to Raging Bolt ex and Miraidon ex decks, thanks to its ability ‘Dynamotor’, which allows you to attach an electric energy from your discard pile to a benched Pokemon.
• Meloetta ex (167/086) – Another from Black Bolt, this stunning special illustration rare features Meloetta standing on a pillar amidst flowers.
• Emboar (013/086) – From White Flare, Emboar’s ability ‘Inferno Fandango’ allows you to attach fire energy from your hand to your Pokemon as often as you like.
• Chandelure (103/086) – A lovely illustration rare from White Flare showing popular Pokemon Chandelure floating above a dinner table while glasses and cutlery float behind it.
• N’s Plan (170/086) – Another special illustration rare from Black Bolt, this is likely to be the most sought-after trainer card in either set. N is a fan favourite who we’ve already seen feature on recent chase cards from Journey Together like N’s Zoroak and N’s Reshiram.
• Oshawott (105/086) – Finally, we have White Flare’s illustration rare of Oshawott. This beautiful card depicts Oshawott sleeping in a hammock on the edge of a beach and has a lovely light-filtering effect. With so many illustration rares in this set, it’s difficult to say which ones will be the most sought after, but with the combination of Oshawott’s cuteness and excellent artwork, this could be one to chase.

Stay Updated with Magic Madhouse

With so many cards to chase, enormous master sets and the possibility of low product availability, this set is likely to require you to buy a lot of singles. Magic Madhouse normally lists singles from new Pokemon TCG sets a week or two after the release date, so once you’ve opened the products you pre-ordered and know which must-have cards you’re missing, it’s definitely worth taking a look at their site.

Or, if you have your heart set on pulling the products yourself, sign up for notifications to be alerted when Black Bolt and White Flare products come back in stock.

Booster bundles – which are always the most cost-efficient way to obtain booster packs for speciality sets – won’t be released for these sets until 22nd August, so pack prices and demand may be high until then.

Make sure you buy from a trusted source like Magic Madhouse. Not only can you use their website to keep an eye on card prices and which cards in the set are the most sought after, you can also keep up-to-date with the latest news about this set and upcoming releases thanks to their blog updates.