Polygon.com / 12.06.25

Our favorite secret rares from Pokémon TCG's Black Bolt and White Flare set

The Pokémon Trading Card Games next sets are Black Bolt and White Flare, two sets that go hand-in-hand to represent the Unova region from the Pokémon Black and White games. The special thing about this set is that not only will every Pokémon from Unova be included, but each one will get an illustration rare, making the sets ginormous and also beautiful. The sets released in Japanese on Friday, so we can finally take a full look at these cards ahead of their English release on July 18. For those who dont remember or didnt play Pokémon Black and White, those games had a real fun gimmick: You couldnt actually catch any old Pokémon until you became the champion. The Unova region was new Pokémon only, meaning you had to learn about the new creatures GameFreak made in order to play the game. Zubat? No, thats Woobat. You need a Chansey? Well, we dont have that. We have Audino. That all being said, that means the region has a ton of Pokémon, some of which are pretty unique in design and...
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