Pokémon TCG Upcoming B&W Sets To Feature Over 300 Cards And First-Ever Full-Set Illustration Rare Lineup

The upcoming Pokémon Trading Card Game sets Black Bolt and White Flare will do something no other set has ever done before—give every single card its own full art illustration. The two sets will feature all the Pokémon from the Unova region, bringing the Black & White generation back into the spotlight 14 years after the games were released.

Not too many cards have been revealed from the sets yet, but the ones that did are promising, especially since it now turns out the sets have an additional surprise for fans. In a series first, every single card in Black Bolt and White Flare will have a full-art Illustration Rare version, bringing the total number of cards in the combined sets to over 300, according to PokéBeach.

First Cards Revealed For Black Bolt & White Flare Promise Stunning Artwork

Every Artwork will Get A Full-Card Version

The first few Black Bolt and White Flare cardshave already been revealed, offering fans a glimpse into what to expect from this massive collection of new TCG cards. The previewed cards show the three starters of the Unova region and their evolutionary lines, depicted using vibrant, eye-catching artwork. The sets will also include a new type of rarity—the BWR rarity, which will present select cards in monochrome in a callback to the full illustration cards for the original Black & White card sets from the 2010s.

Now, collectors and fans can expect to find a full art card version of every single one of the 156 gen-5 Pokémon that appeared in Pokémon Black & White. This decision is unprecedented and means that every Pokémon will get its moment in the spotlight, regardless of its popularity. It also opens the potential for over 156 chase cards, depending on your favorite Pokémon from the generation. A special 35-card pack will be released alongside the two TCG sets that will come with one guaranteed Illustration Rare, though it’s unknown at the moment whether it will also be available in the West.

Pokémon TCG Black Bolt & White Flare Will Arrive Soon

The Sets Will Be Out In June (Japan) And July (The West)

The upcoming TCG sets will have a collection of over 300 cards to potentially collect, half of which will be Illustration Rares, drastically increasing the odds of pulling several special cards. The two sets are meant to be a generation-5 version of the Scarlet & Violet 151 set, but they also seem to be taking the card game in a new direction. Black Bolt and White Flare will introduce several series firsts, like the new rarity type that many fans hope will continue to be used in future sets.

The sets will also give every single Pokémon in the generation its own special card, making this a must-have for anyone who’s a fan of a Pokémon that tends to get left behind in the card game. Just this morning, PokéBeach also announced that the English release will bring both sets to the West as-is, without combining them into a separate set or even changing the names. The two Unova-region sets for Pokémon Trading Card Game will be released in Japan on June 6 and in the West on July 18, giving TCG fans something to look forward to as the summer approaches.

Source: PokéBeach (1, 2)