The final two sets in the Scarlet & Violet era of the Pokémon TCG were released simultaneously – the first time that the TCG had ever released two distinct sets with different cards concurrently with one another.
As a celebration of the Generation Five-era Pokémon games, each and every ‘mon that was introduced in Pokémon Black & White gets, at the very least, an Illustration Rare, with others getting remarkable Special Illustration Rare treatments. As you’d expect, most of those cards boast impressive values on the secondary market.
Of course, the real question is: what cards from these sets are the most valuable? Let’s take a look at White Flare first.
The most valuable cards from White Flare are white-hot
10. Zorua – Illustration Rare, 142/086
Market Price: $52.53
The Tricky Fox Pokémon looks amazing on this beautifully illustrated card from Naoki Saito. On a lovely blue backdrop, this fan-favorite Gen. 5 ‘mon trots along a downed tree, harkening back to the famous “Hakuna Matata” sequence from The Lion King.
The Zorua line remains a popular one among Pokémon TCG fans and collectors, as evidenced by the high prices of cards featuring both Zorua and its evolution Zoroark.
9. Hilda – Special Illustration Rare, 171/086
Market Price: $62.60
Hilda is the female player-character from Pokémon Black & White, and her SIR rendition from White Flare is the first card herein that hits a market value of above $60. The card shows her ready to duke it out with an opposing trainer alongside Pignite, Unfezant, and Zebstrika.
If she were a Magic: The Gathering card, she’d be “Hilda of the Protuberant Pockets,” but for PTCG purposes, simply calling her “Hilda” works just fine.
8. Chandelure – Illustration Rare, 103/086
Market Price: $69.61
Illustrated by Kuroimori, who delivers cinematic and detailed art for the Pokémon TCG, this Chandelure card was the first full-art rendition since the Sword & Shield era. A striking illustration, this card is among the best Chandelure cards out there, even better than the upcoming Pitch Black Chandelure SIR in this writer’s opinion.
7. Keldeo ex – Special Illustration Rare, 167/086
Market Price: $78.26
The Water/Fighting-type legendary Pokémon from Generation Five gets an SIR variant in White Flare. Shown in its “Ordinary Form” next to a vibrant, picturesque forest, the cutest member of the Swords of Justice quartet (which also includes, Cobalion, Terrakion, and Virizion) looks truly at peace here.
Beyond that pleasant thought, this lovely card’s nearly $80 price point seems about right for a modern SIR.
6. Zoroark – Illustration Rare, 143/086
Market Price: $82.97
While its value pales in comparison to the SIR N’s Zoroark, one of the most valuable cards from Ascended Heroes, this IR Zoroark from White Flare still boasts some of the best artwork featuring Zorua’s evolution, which employs its Illusion ability to appear to be another ‘mon in your party in-game. Nifty!
Illustrated with panache by Iwamoto05 (of Destined Rivals Team Rocket’s Mewtwo fame), this fledgling TCG illustrator has only five Pokémon TCG cards to their name (and one Magic card). I look forward to seeing them continue to produce more amazing artworks for the PTCG and other TCGs.
5. Hydreigon ex – Special Illustration Rare, 169/086
Market Price: $89.00
The Deino/Zweilous/Hydreigon evolution line from Generation Five represents the pseudolegendary Pokémon from Black & White, and this Takumi Wada-illustrated SIR totally conveys the immense power that this Dark/Dragon-type Pokémon has, both in the video games and the TCG.
Wada’s artworks often feature interesting framing, in which the Pokémon itself is often simply part of the landscape. In this case, the foreground of the card is some sort of rocky outcrop, and Hydreigon seems to loom out of the darkness as a fierce storm pummels the terrain. A terrific full-art card, and definitely worth of its close to $90 price tag.
4. Oshawott – Illustration Rare, 105/086
Market Price: $94.03
Oshawott, the staggeringly cute Water-type starter ‘mon from Black & White receives its best-ever card in White Flare. As such, this card’s value has exploded since its release, and it will surely top $100 fairly soon.
Illustrated with aplomb by prolific fan-favorite artist OKACHEKE, this IR shows the Sea Otter Pokémon taking a relaxing snooze on a beachfront hammock in what looks to be a tropical paradise. Seeing this card reminds me that I really need a beach vacation.
3. Reshiram ex – Special Illustration Rare, 166/086
Market Price: $214.88
As is often the case, like with Chaos Rising’s most valuable cards along with Perfect Order’s priciest pieces of cardboard, the box-art ‘mon from White Flare gets a tremendous SIR card, which also happens to be among the most valuable cards from that set.
Boasting stunning artwork by kawayoo, who also illustrated the immensely pricey Silver Tempest Alternate Full Art Lugia V fame, this colorful Reshiram card is the first card from White Flare to hit the $200 mark, though it is a far cry from the value of the top two cards here.
2. Reshiram ex – Black White Rare, 173/086
Market Price: $485.89
1. Victini – Black White Rare, 172/086
Market Price: $488.96
Much like the Mega Evolution era’s all-gold Mega Hyper Rares—one of which actually ranks as the most valuable card from the Mega Evolution set—White Flare and Black Bolt introduced a new rarity, called “Black White Rares,” which featured monochromatic black and white renditions of Zekrom and, in White Flare’s case, Reshiram.
Beyond that, both sets featured an extremely scarce all-red Victini card, which is the rarest card across both sets. The Victory Pokémon has long been a fan favorite, and its inclusion as the main chase from both White Flare and Black Bolt makes perfect sense. V for Victory!
There you have it. While Black Bolt is actually the more valuable set by median value across all cards, White Flare still hosts its fair share of heavy hitters, as well as what is sure to be an iconic card featuring a starter ‘mon via the IR Oshawott. Either way, this set is great; stay tuned for the most valuable cards from Black Bolt.
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