Special English Set Releasing in July, Could Be “Black Bolt” and “White Flare!”

it would be nice if they experimented a little bit with the way they do sets like splitting it into two sets like japan does it, have some boxes come with only one side and some come with a even mix
 
Honestly nostalgia aside, Scarlet and Violet could be one of the best generations of cards to me simply because of illustration rares, and we get cool gimmicks like trainer's pokemon again
Absolutely no doubt on that.

Still, wait for the Mega gimmick to come back with sv11, the high probability that we will go beyond sv12 + the absolute banger that will be the ultimate set of this era.

Scarlet&Violet will be the greatest generation of cards, without any contest. (but until then Hidden Fates continues to clear)
 
If this IS a special set only for unova, then I would like to see
Druddigon ex
Darmanitan ex
Ferrothorn ex
Golurk ex
Samurott ex
Emboar ex
Serperior ex
Braviery ex
Lilligent ex
AAAAAND
Seismitoad ex

That's my wishlist at least
 
If this is two ETBs in a special *English* set, that's not going to bode well if Reshiram and Zekrom are good in this set, and have insane SIR promos.
 
Pardon my ignorance, but can someone tell me what makes this set special? (other than the product lineup). I mean, was Unova highly popular compared to the other regions? Were the mechanics better or more interesting during Generation V?
 
Pardon my ignorance, but can someone tell me what makes this set special? (other than the product lineup). I mean, was Unova highly popular compared to the other regions? Were the mechanics better or more interesting during Generation V?
BW1 and BW2 are both looked back on as very good games. BW1 was the first pokemon game to have a story that is actually interesting (though its kinda overrated imo), and BW2 were just overall very good games with tons of content.

BW1 also locked all old pokemon to the postgame, so it's the only game outside of kanto to limit you to one region's pokemon. They probably chose Unova because it's the best region for a follow-up to 151.
 
Unova was not very popular upon release. The games sold less when they were current and Pokemon as a franchise went on a blatant course correction spree with putting fan favorites from Gen 1 front and center during XY to try to get older fans to come back. In retrospect fans (usually the ones who have nostalgia for Gen 5 tbh) give the games more slack because most of the Generations after 5 cut bigger corners or had more blatant issues. I still think Gen 5's storyline is wildly overrated, but the games were at least complete to an extent no games since have been.

And in terms of the TCG, the mechanics were a downgrade from Gen 4's as those three years rapidly devolved into big basics and big basic EXes, and the sharp increase of chase cards basically set the TCG down the long and hideous path to what it is now.

As for what makes this set special, it would be a special set because they said so. There was nothing special about Shrouded Fable either beyond them deeming it so because they're apparently obligated to make 2 special sets per year now. I'm a little surprised they jumped from 151 right to Unova. I didn't think they would do Johto or Sinnoh versions of 151 because so many Pokemon in those regions hinge on older Pokemon, but I figured Hoenn would be a safer bet since Gen 3 is more beloved than 5 and only two of the Pokemon are related to older ones (and they are both baby Pokemon, which aren't even related to their evolutions in the TCG anymore).
 
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Absolutely no doubt on that.

Still, wait for the Mega gimmick to come back with sv11, the high probability that we will go beyond sv12 + the absolute banger that will be the ultimate set of this era.

Scarlet&Violet will be the greatest generation of cards, without any contest. (but until then Hidden Fates continues to clear)
Absolute facts. I mean if we even just remove the gen 9 themed sets, when it’s all said and done we’ll be left with:

- 151
- Paldean Fates
- Surging Sparks
- Prismatic Evolutions
- Journey Together
- Rocket
- Black Bolt / White Flare
- Mega Evolution sets
- 2025 Holiday set
- 30th Anniversary (?)

That is an elite run of sets, it puts Sword and Shield to shame. That’s not even including Twilight, Paldea Evolved, Paradox etc.
 
It would be pretty cool if the actual version exclusive Pokemon in the BW games will also be set exclusives (Black version exclusive Pokemon in Black Bolt, White version exclusive Pokemon in White Flare)

Also, I feel like the numbering won't necessarily be in Pokedex order like 151 because of the fact that these are dual sets. It could really just be sets that features all 156 Gen 5 Pokemon. Kind of like how they did the original Black and White collections in Japan (BW base set in English)
 
I'm not the only one who sees them building toward global product releases, right? We've been converging in a bunch of ways this gen, from card design, to card rarities, to pack art, to near 1-to-1 sets like Night Wanderer/Shrouded Fable, and now possibly dual set releases. Even the Asian side is taking a few cues from TPCi, like the packaging on Chinese starter decks resembling our ex Battle Decks and the Japanese starter kits adopting the "Battle Academy" name.

I'm hoping this becomes the case some day, but I'm not convinced it'll actually happen.
If they're trying to converge on product, I'd expect them to make an effort to slowly bridge the release gap.

Products like this and Prismatic Evolution seem about a month behind Japan, but others like Stellar Crown and Journey Together are a full 2 months late.

Gen 6 was the first time the video games managed a simultaneous worldwide release, so I'd be thrilled to be wrong and see the TCG follow suit with Z-A
 
Absolutely no doubt on that.

Still, wait for the Mega gimmick to come back with sv11, the high probability that we will go beyond sv12 + the absolute banger that will be the ultimate set of this era.

Scarlet&Violet will be the greatest generation of cards, without any contest. (but until then Hidden Fates continues to clear)
I'm not sure about something. Scarlet and Violet Cards, if they follow the same pattern as earlier eras, will finish at the beginning of 2026. But, it's looking like Gen 10 will come out around November 2026. So, what will Creatures do for that gap year? A Legends Z-A short era? A whole year of Pokemon's 30th anniversary?
 
I'm not sure about something. Scarlet and Violet Cards, if they follow the same pattern as earlier eras, will finish at the beginning of 2026. But, it's looking like Gen 10 will come out around November 2026. So, what will Creatures do for that gap year? A Legends Z-A short era? A whole year of Pokemon's 30th anniversary?
Trainer's Pokemon IS the gap filler.
 
Trainer's Pokemon IS the gap filler.
A very mid gap filler so far on top of that.

EDIT: Well ok, so far the most practical applications I can see with the Trainers are using Hop's Pincurchin in Miraidon, Lillie's Clefairy in Gardy, and N's Zoroark in Raging Bolt (if my theory of it making it obscenely fast in a slower meta is correct). Maybe Hop Box will be playable in a single prize build if it ends up getting another attacker that Metal Maker accelerates easily to, but every trainer lacks more things to make them stand out individually as archetypes, so I'm hoping JP's March set expands on the selection they have right now.
 
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