Dual Pokémon Trading Card Game set, Black Bolt and White Flare are now available in Japan. Ahead of each set’s release in the West, we thought we’d check out which cards have been attracting the most attention, and have taken a look at the highest value cards by looking at both sets at once. Which cards are going for the highest prices so far? Let’s find out, as we take a look at the most valuable Black Bolt and White Flare Japanese Pokémon cards!
10. Meloetta ex – Black Bolt, Special Art Rare, 170/086
Hailing from the Black Bolt set, Meloetta ex has a great ability, which allows you to attack on your first turn if you’re the first player. That’s a step you normally have to skip if you go first! Given that Meloetta ex’s attack only needs 1 Psychic Energy to use and deals 30 damage, if your opponent has only put a Basic Pokémon in their Active Spot with a Psychic weakness, they may well be in immediate trouble! Then there’s the fact that Meloetta ex’s attack deals 80 more damage on the turn following its first use; it’s easy to see why this card is a popular one, even aside from its lovely artwork!
9. Hydreigon ex – White Flare, Special Art Rare, 171/086
The Pokémon Company are notorious for hiding numbers in their Pokémon names. The original three Legendary Pokémon feature the Spanish words for one, two and three (uno, dos and tres), for example. To illustrate, those Pokémon are named Articuno, Zapdos and Moltres! They’ve done the same with Hydreigon’s evolution line, only this time it’s the German words for one, two and three (ein, zwei and drei), which you’ll find within Deino, Zweilous and, of course, Hydreigon itself. This Hydreigon ex, from White Flare, takes an extra Prize Card if it knocks out an opponent’s Basic Pokémon with an attack. Considering its only attack deals 200 damage, and also stops the defending Pokémon from retreating on the following turn, there’s a good chance this will seriously accelerate victory for its owner!
8. Kyurem ex – Black Bolt, Special Art Rare, 168/086
Though you’ll see Kyurem ex on this list again, it appears here as its Special Art Rare variant. Though it has one attack which only requires two Colorless Energy to use (dealing 50 damage with no other ability), its real power lies in its second attack. That attack, Blizzard Burst, deals 130 damage (requiring 2 Water and 1 Colorless Energy to use), as well as
10 damage to each of the opponent’s Benched Pokémon, for each Prize card their opponent has taken. Not bad, right? It certainly a Pokémon that can swiftly turn around a losing position!
7. Serperior ex – Black Bolt, Special Art Rare, 167/086
Stage 2 Pokémon evolves from Servine, which itself evolves from Snivy. This Seperior ex card, from Black Bolt, is a Special Art Rare variant; its ability allow your Pokémon (not just Serperior ex itself!) to deal an extra 20 HP of damage to the opponent’s Active Pokémon with their attacks. Not only that, but its own attack deals an impressive 150 HP of damage (albeit at the cost of 1 Grass and 3 Colorless Energy), then allows you to search your deck for 3 cards and put them in your hand. Which is pretty impressive, and incredibly useful!
6. N’s Plot – Black Bolt, Special Art Rare, 173/086
The first of only two Trainer cards to make it to the list of the most valuable cards in Black Bolt and White Flare, this Special Art Rare variant of N’s Plot couldn’t be simpler in terms of what it actually does when played. The ability of N’s Plot is as follows: when you play it, you can move up to 2 Energy cards from your Benched Pokémon to your Active Pokémon.
5. Hilda – White Flare, Special Art Rare, 173/086
The second of the Trainer cards to feature on this list, Hilda appears in White Flare, and it’s her Special Art Rare that we have as one of the most valuable cards in the set. In terms of her in-game ability, she allows you to search your deck for an Evolution Pokémon and an Energy card, then put them in your hand before shuffling your deck.
4. Zekrom ex – Black Bolt, Special Art Rare, 169/086
It’s no surprise that almost all of this list’s cards are Special Art Rares; they’re invariably the most highly sought after cards in any given set, though occasionally a different rarity type will overtake it (as you’ll soon see!). This Zekrom ex is, of course, another Special Art Rare from the Black Bolt set. Its first attack costs 2 Colorless Energy and simply deals 50 damage; its second costs 2 Lightning and 1 Colorless Energy, dealing 130 damage plus an extra 50 for each Prize Card the opponent has taken. Though it also deals 30 damage to itself with the second attack, its HP of 230 should see it last a few turns at least!
3. Reshiram ex – White Flare, Special Art Rare, 168/086
The Reshiram and Zekrom cards are almost like mirror images of each other, which is fitting considering their status as the mascots for the video games Pokémon Black and White respectively. Reshiram ex heads up the White Flare set, with a basic attack that deals 50 damage (for 2 Colorless Energy) and another which deals 130 damage, plus an extra 50 for each Prize Card your opponent has taken (sound familiar?). Where it differs from Zekrom is that it doesn’t deal damage to itself when using this second attack; instead, it discards an Energy card from itself.
2. Zekrom ex -Black Bolt, Black/White Rare, 174/086
The top two cards on this list are also Zekrom ex and Reshiram ex variants; this time, however, they’re in the special “BWR” rarity, which we expect is going to be exclusive to this set. That’s because the Zekrom ex is a special, black textured foil card, and the “BWR” itself likely stands for “Black/White Rare”. We can’t see that it’ll be used or useful for other Pokémon or sets, but you never know!
1. Reshiram ex – White Flare, Black/White Rare, 174/086
Finally, the most valuable card overall is the BWR variant of Reshiram ex. Again, it’s practically the reverse of the Zekrom card, right down to the fact that it’s actually a white textured foil card instead of black. It’s a close run thing, in terms of value, and these two may well be switching positions at the top two for a little while, but they’re certain to continue being the most valuable cards found in the Japanese Black Bolt and White Flare sets overall!
Want to go back in time and check out the most valuable Trainer Gallery Pokémon cards? How about taking a look at a more recently released English Pokémon set, with the most valuable Destined Rivals cards?
