Black Bolt and White Flare are paired sets which are primarily based on Generation V, with cards featuring all 156 Pokémon originally introduced in the Unova region. Every single Pokémon card introduced in this expansion has a secret rare variant of AR (Art Rare) or better. Tinsel Holofoil cards are also reintroduced with the release of these sets. In contrast to the original Black Collection and White Collection and the games that they were based on, Black Bolt and White Flare each center around the version mascot matching their color; thus, Black Bolt is themed around Zekrom, while White Flare is themed around Reshiram.

Black Bolt and White Flare were released in Japan on June 6, 2025. Each booster box contains 20 booster packs. There are two kinds of booster packs for each set that are available for purchase: regular packs cost ¥290 and contain 7 cards, with 2 cards guaranteed to be Holofoil, while “Deluxe Packs” cost ¥1450 and contain 35 cards, with 1 card guaranteed to have a rarity of AR or better. Releasing on the same day in Japan is the Black Bolt / White Flare Card File Set (Japanese: ブラックボルト・ホワイトフレア カードファイルセット), which contains a 3-pocket card file album that can store up to 156 cards, a promo card of Victini, and 3 booster packs of Black Bolt and White Flare each.