Set Guides · SV11B

Black Bolt and White Flare Card Prices: Japanese vs English

Name: White Flare (SV11W) Japanese booster box
Brand: Pokémon
Availability: InStock

The 10 biggest Japanese vs English card price gaps in Black Bolt and White Flare, side by side, led by the Zekrom ex and Reshiram ex Black White Rares.

Bryce Watson

Author

Published Oct 17, 2026 6 min readSV11B

Title Black Bolt and White Flare Card Prices: Japanese vs English over the Japanese and English Zekrom ex Black White Rare cards side by side with a VS badge, on a black-and-white split purple Pacific Card Exchange banner.

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On this page (9)

Black Bolt and White Flare came out in Japan on Fri, Jun 6, 2025, and in English on Fri, Jul 18, 2025, with the same cards and the same art. This page compares what the exact same card costs in each language, so you can see where the Japanese copy is the smarter buy. Prices as of Oct 14, 2026.

The sets

SV11BBlack BoltブラックボルトReleased Jun 6, 2025 · 326 cardsFrom ¥24,000 on the board · Oct 21, 2026See prices

SV11WWhite FlareホワイトフレアReleased Jun 6, 2025 · 326 cardsFrom ¥22,000 on the board · Oct 21, 2026See prices

Black Bolt is the Zekrom set and White Flare is the Reshiram set. Both feature Unova Pokémon, and each has a single Black White Rare at the top. English kept the same split, but moved a handful of Art Rares between the two sets, so we compared the twin sets as one pool.

How we matched the cards

A pair counts only when it's the same Pokémon or Trainer, with the same art, in the matching rarity tier: Japanese Black White Rare to English Black White Rare, SAR to SIR, AR to IR, SR to Ultra Rare and RR to Double Rare. Cards with more than one possible match were left out.

Top 10 biggest price gaps

Ranked by the dollar gap between the Japanese and English copies of the same card, using TCGplayer market prices (USD) as of Oct 14, 2026.

1. Zekrom ex (BWR 174/086 / BWR 172/086)

The headline chase of Black Bolt, and the biggest dollar gap on the page. The English copy costs about twice as much. $303.14 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $602.79 in English Black Bolt, a $299.65 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Zekrom ex: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Zekrom ex

Black White Rare

$303.14

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Zekrom ex

Black White Rare

$602.79

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$299.65

Japanese is 50% lower

2. Reshiram ex (BWR 174/086 / BWR 173/086)

White Flare's Black White Rare. The gap is smaller than Zekrom's, but the English copy still costs about half as much again. $310.25 in Japanese White Flare vs $467.36 in English White Flare, a $157.11 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Reshiram ex: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Reshiram ex

Black White Rare

$310.25

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Reshiram ex

Black White Rare

$467.36

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$157.11

Japanese is 34% lower

3. Seismitoad (AR 109/086 / IR 105/086)

An Art Rare, not an ex, yet the English Illustration Rare costs about two and a half times as much. $82.45 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $207.84 in English Black Bolt, a $125.39 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Seismitoad: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Seismitoad

Art Rare

$82.45

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Seismitoad

Illustration Rare

$206.30

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$123.85

Japanese is 60% lower

4. Zekrom ex (SAR 169/086 / SIR 166/086)

Zekrom ex again, this time the Special Art Rare. The English Special Illustration Rare costs about 45% more. $182.17 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $263.89 in English Black Bolt, a $81.72 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Zekrom ex: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Zekrom ex

Special Art Rare

$183.01

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Zekrom ex

Special Illustration Rare

$262.53

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$79.52

Japanese is 30% lower

5. Zoroark (AR 141/086 / IR 143/086)

White Flare's top Art Rare. The English copy is about three and a half times the Japanese price. $21.11 in Japanese White Flare vs $74.72 in English White Flare, a $53.61 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Zoroark: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Zoroark

Art Rare

$21.11

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Zoroark

Illustration Rare

$74.72

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$53.61

Japanese is 72% lower

6. Chandelure (AR 102/086 / IR 103/086)

This one moved sets: Chandelure is in Black Bolt in Japanese and in White Flare in English. The English copy costs about four times as much. $15.85 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $65.77 in English White Flare, a $49.92 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Chandelure: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Chandelure

Art Rare

$15.75

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Chandelure

Illustration Rare

$64.95

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$49.20

Japanese is 76% lower

7. Haxorus (AR 152/086 / IR 147/086)

A Black Bolt Art Rare where the English copy costs more than five times as much, the biggest ratio in our top 10. $11.69 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $61.24 in English Black Bolt, a $49.55 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Haxorus: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Haxorus

Art Rare

$11.58

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Haxorus

Illustration Rare

$60.61

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$49.03

Japanese is 81% lower

8. Volcarona (AR 104/086 / IR 100/086)

Same pattern: the English Illustration Rare is nearly four times the Japanese Art Rare. $13.81 in Japanese Black Bolt vs $53.57 in English Black Bolt, a $39.76 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Volcarona: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Volcarona

Art Rare

$13.77

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Volcarona

Illustration Rare

$52.75

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$38.98

Japanese is 74% lower

9. Samurott (AR 104/086 / IR 107/086)

White Flare's Unova starter line shows up here. The English Samurott costs more than three times as much. $15.62 in Japanese White Flare vs $50.69 in English White Flare, a $35.07 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Samurott: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Samurott

Art Rare

$15.62

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Samurott

Illustration Rare

$49.85

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$34.23

Japanese is 69% lower

10. Keldeo ex (SAR 169/086 / SIR 167/086)

Rounds out the top 10. The English Keldeo ex Special Illustration Rare costs nearly twice the Japanese copy. $38.55 in Japanese White Flare vs $72.41 in English White Flare, a $33.86 gap; Japanese is cheaper.

JP vs EN

Keldeo ex: Japanese vs English

Japanese

Keldeo ex

Special Art Rare

$38.55

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

English

Keldeo ex

Special Illustration Rare

$71.59

TCGplayer market · Oct 16, 2026Price from Oct 16

-$33.04

Japanese is 46% lower

More matched cards

The next eight matches by gap are all Art Rares, and the Japanese copy is cheaper for every one, by about $28 to $33 per card: Amoonguss 096/086, Krookodile 143/086, Lilligant 092/086, Oshawott 102/086, Audino 156/086, Leavanny 089/086, Emboar 098/086 and Sawsbuck 092/086. These are the Japanese versions:

Where English is cheaper

Only 7 of the 183 matches go the other way, and none of them matter much. They're two Art Rares (Tympole and Emolga) and five low-priced Super Rares, where the two languages are within a few dollars or even cents of each other.

Why the gaps exist

Different products. English Black Bolt and White Flare have no booster box. They come in Elite Trainer Boxes, booster bundles and other boxed products, so each English pull costs more to chase. The Japanese sets are opened in volume as 20-pack booster boxes.
Art Rares in every Japanese box. A factory-sealed Japanese Black Bolt or White Flare box follows a strong pattern of 4 Art Rares, so Japanese Art Rares reach the market in bigger numbers. In English, every pack is random.
Where the buyers are. TCGplayer is an English-language marketplace. Demand for English cards is strongest among English-language players and collectors, since English cards are the ones legal in English-language tournament play, so English copies carry a premium.

The box pattern applies to factory-sealed full boxes only, and it isn't an official promise. Gaps move with every reprint, tournament result and new set, so check the live prices before you buy.

Buying the Japanese version

If you're collecting the art rather than playing English-language tournaments, the Japanese copy is usually the better value. You can open for these cards with a sealed Japanese box. Here's how each set compares with TCGplayer today:

Price gap

Black Bolt (SV11B) booster box

Japan-direct, lowest ask

$151.99

≈ ￥24,000

TCGplayer market (US resale)

$147.99

≈ ￥23,300

Market price on TCGplayer, not a seller ask

See the price board

Price gap

White Flare (SV11W) booster box

Japan-direct, lowest ask

$139.99

≈ ￥22,000

TCGplayer market (US resale)

$151.99

≈ ￥23,900

Market price on TCGplayer, not a seller ask

Save $12.00 · before fees & shipping

See the price board

Compare sellers on the Black Bolt price board and the White Flare price board, or read our Black Bolt and White Flare booster box guide.

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Frequently asked questions

Are Japanese Black Bolt and White Flare cards cheaper than English?

Almost always. The Japanese copy was cheaper for 176 of 183 matched cards as of Oct 14, 2026. The few exceptions are low-priced cards where the two are within a dollar or two.

What is the biggest Japanese vs English gap in Black Bolt?

Zekrom ex, the Black White Rare: $303.14 in Japanese vs $602.79 in English as of Oct 14, 2026.

Is a Japanese Art Rare the same card as an English Illustration Rare?

Yes. Art Rare (AR) is the Japanese name for the tier English sets call Illustration Rare (IR). The art is the same.

Is there an English Black Bolt booster box?

No. English Black Bolt and White Flare come in Elite Trainer Boxes, booster bundles and other boxed products, not a booster box. The Japanese sets have booster boxes of 20 packs.

Can I play Japanese cards in English-language tournaments?

Generally no. Japanese cards aren't legal in most English-language sanctioned play.

Pacific Card Exchange is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Creatures, or GAME FREAK. Prices are snapshots and change frequently.