Summary
Pokemon Trading Card Gamehas announced its latest expansion—Black Bolt and White Flare. The dual-packPokemon TCGset will hit the market in June 2025, though it will likely take longer to make its way to the West.
The Pokemon Company consistently launches new sets for its popular TCG, which usually arrive very few months. Since the start of 2025, TPC has introduced threePokemon TCGexpansions: Prismatic Evolutions, Journey Together, and Destined Rivals. The first two released between January and March, whereas Destined Rivals is scheduled to arrive in late May.
While Destined Rivals has yet to debut internationally, the Japanese branch of TPC has already announced the game’s fourth set of 2025. Called Black Bolt and White Flare, the expansion was revealed with a June 6 release date. This turn of events might not come as a surprise to the most attentive fans, asPokemon TCG’s Black Bolt and White Flare set had already leakedon several occasions, going as far back as January 2025.
New Pokemon TCG Set Is Like a Gen 5 Version of Scarlet and Violet 151
The expansion itself will focus on the Unova region, and is essentially envisioned as a Gen 5 version ofPokemon TCG’s incredibly popular Scarlet and Violet 151 set. All 156 Unova Pokemon will be part of the set, with each receiving Illustration Rare or Special Illustration Rare variants. Apart from two booster packs, TPC has alsoannounceda deluxe pack containing five boosters. The packs included in the mini-bundle will also contain seven cards each, but the overall package will come with a guaranteed Illustration Rare (or rarer) card. A three-pack set with a bonus promo Victini IR card has also been announced.
As is tradition, TPC has opted to reveal the expansion’s cards gradually rather than showing everything at once. So far, the company unveiled 21 cards, including the evolution lines ofPokemonGeneration 5 starters: Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. Four EX cards have also been revealed—Zekrom and Reshiram, who feature on the upcoming expansion’s booster packs, as well as Kyurem EX and Serperior EX.
Black Bolt and White Flare will mark the return of the so-called Tinsel Holofoil paper, characterized by bold horizontal stripes. This flashy kind of paper was used fromPokemon TCG’s Black and White expansion until the Legendary Treasures set, which hit the market in late 2013. Individual Black Bolt and White Flare boosters will retail for ¥1,450 (~$10), whereas the five-pack deluxe bundles will be available for ¥2,640 (~$18.34). The Pokemon Company’s track record suggests that the newly revealed expansion will be released internationally in summer 2025, though nothing has been officially confirmed just yet.
