Pokémon TCG’s upcoming new set, which will celebrate 15 years of Pokémon Black and White, will introduce a brand-new rarity.
Even though Pokémon TCG collectors continue to struggle to get their hands on some of the newest packs, the upcoming set is a stunning visual refresh. The Pokémon Company announced today that the next trading card game set (after Destined Rivals) is celebrating the 15th anniversary of the game Pokémon Black and White by introducing a brand-new rarity. This special new set is expected to drop in Japan in June, with the English version following in July.
As detailed via VGC, the set will celebrate the Unova region, which first debuted in Pokémon Black and Pokémon White, released for the Nintendo DS in 2010. The set will include all 156 of the Pokémon originally found in the Unova region to celebrate 15 years since the games were released.
The new rarity type card is being classified as “BWR,” joining a higher rarity than the gold cards featured in many of the latest card sets. So, what does BWR rarity mean? Assumedly, it will stand for Black and White Rare and will be the highest rarity in the new set. The three cards revealed so far featuring this BWR rarity marker include Reshiram, Zekrom, and Victini.
These Pokémon cards feature unique one-colour designs, which have rarely been seen in the history of the Pokémon TCG. The last time The Pokémon Company printed an entirely silver card was Dialga EX from Phantom Forces, which was released in 2014. There has not been evidence of other cards joining these three with the special BWR identification.
The Pokémon Company hasn’t announced the name for the English equivalent of this set, but we do know that it will be released only a month after its Japanese counterpart, and that the set will have around 300 cards to collect when it debuts. The next English Pokémon TCG set, Destined Rivals, will be released on May 30.
As mentioned before, the Pokémon TCG faces setbacks with outcries from fans about it being difficult to obtain new card sets for the average collector or player. The Pokémon Company released a statement earlier this year, addressing the issue: “We’re aware that some fans are experiencing difficulties purchasing certain Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) products due to very high demand impacting availability,” the statement reads.
“We understand this inconvenience can be disappointing for fans, and we are actively working to print more of the impacted Pokémon TCG products as quickly as possible and at maximum capacity to acknowledge this. Reprinted products are expected to be available at participating retailers as soon as possible.” So far, the worst sets impacted by the inflated prices and scalpers include Prismatic Evolutions and the final releases of Pokémon 151. Hopefully, the market stabilizes again in preparation for this very special Pokémon Black and Pokémon White collection dropping in the next few months.
