Black Bolt

What Black Bolt is

Black Bolt is one half of the fifth and final special expansion of the Scarlet & Violet Series, released in English on July 18, 2025 under the set code BLK alongside its twin, White Flare. It has 86 cards in the numbered set plus 86 secret rares, 172 in total, and it is built entirely on the Generation V Pokémon of Unova. Zekrom ex is its mascot, with Serperior ex, Kyurem ex, Meloetta ex, Excadrill ex and Genesect ex the other Double rares, and the two sets between them hold every Generation V Pokémon, each with a full art illustration card in the set or its products.

The secret rares are unusual: 69 Illustration rares from Snivy 87 to Braviary 155, one for every Pokémon in the numbered set, then eight Ultra rares including the Supporters Fennel and N's Plan, seven Special illustration rares and two Black White Rares, Victini 171 and Zekrom ex 172, a rarity created for this expansion. Water is the most represented type at 25 cards and almost every card carries the I regulation mark.

The set lists were adjusted from the Japanese release so that Black Bolt carries the Pokémon exclusive to Pokémon White while White Flare carries the Pokémon Black exclusives.

What makes Black Bolt different

• Every Pokémon gets an Illustration rare Between them the two sets cover every Generation V Pokémon, and each one has a full art illustration card in the set or its products, which is why the secret rare run is almost as large as the numbered set.
• Poké Ball and Master Ball foils Common, uncommon and rare Pokémon come in three parallel foils: the regular reverse, a Poké Ball etched into the background and a much scarcer Master Ball. Trainers and Special Energy come only in regular and Poké Ball versions.
• The first Western split expansion Black Bolt and White Flare are two halves of one special expansion, the first split release in English and other Western markets, and the first international special expansion localized from a Japanese main expansion.
• Black White Rares 5ban Graphics' Victini 171 and takuyoa's Zekrom ex 172 carry the new Black White Rare rarity, and the two cards sit at the top of the set's market with Shinji Kanda's Illustration rare Seismitoad 105.
• No booster boxes Black Bolt was sold through Elite Trainer Boxes, Binder Collections, Tech Sticker Collections, Booster Bundles, Mini Tins and collections rather than display boxes, so packs are scarcer than a regular expansion's.

How Black Bolt arrived

Japan released Black Bolt and White Flare on June 6, 2025 as the final block of the Japanese Scarlet & Violet era. The English release followed on July 18, 2025, between Destined Rivals in May and Play! Pokémon Prize Pack Series Seven in August, in the same month the Mega Evolution Series was about to begin.

The launch wave brought the Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box and its Pokémon Center version, the Binder Collection and the Poster Collection with Tinsel Holofoil Snivy 1, Tepig 11 and Oshawott 21. The Tech Sticker Collection followed on August 1, 2025 with an Illustration rare style Reuniclus promo and three packs, and the Booster Bundle on August 22, 2025 with six packs. Unova Mini Tins, the Unova Victini Illustration Collection and the Unova Heavy Hitters Premium Collection carried packs from both halves.

Black Bolt products and what came in them

The Black Bolt Elite Trainer Box features Zekrom and holds nine booster packs, an Illustration rare style Thundurus promo (SVP Promo 209), 65 card sleeves, 45 basic Energy cards, a player's guide, six damage counter dice, a coin flip die, two Special Condition markers and a code card. The Pokémon Center version holds eleven packs and two Thundurus promos, one stamped. The Binder Collection pairs a Zekrom nine pocket binder holding 180 cards with five packs and a card list.

Collecting and grading Black Bolt

Shinji Kanda's Illustration rare Seismitoad 105 is the most valuable card in Black Bolt, ahead of the Black White Rare Victini 171 and Zekrom ex 172. AKIRA EGAWA's Volcarona 100, Yoshimi Miyoshi's Snivy 87, Shimaris Yukichi's Dwebble 129, Uninori's Krookodile 137, OKUBO's Amoonguss 96, tono's Cinccino 153, Mori Yuu's Pidove 148 and Natsumi Yoshida's Minccino 152 follow, with danciao's Special illustration rare Zekrom ex 166 among them. The live prices above show the current order.

With 69 Illustration rares in one set, the market is spread thin across many cards rather than concentrated on a few, and the Poké Ball and Master Ball parallel foils add another layer: match the variant label in the checklist before comparing prices. Because the set sold without display boxes, sealed product is the Elite Trainer Boxes, bundles, collections and tins in the sealed table above.