The Black & White era: Japanese sets (2010–2013)

The Black & White era in Japan ran from the simultaneous launch of Black Collection and White Collection on 17 December 2010 to the end of the series in 2013. It is the fifth generation of the Pokémon TCG, built around Unova and the mechanics of Pokémon Full Art (introduced here) and Ability (replacing the long-standing Poké-POWER / Poké-BODY). Standard booster packs: 5 cards.

Main expansions

• BW1 — Black Collection / White Collection — 17 Dec 2010. Debut of Reshiram / Zekrom and Pokémon Full Art.
• BW2 — Red Collection — 15 Jul 2011. International equivalent: Emerging Powers.
• BW3 — Psycho Drive / Hail Blizzard — 16 Sep 2011. Int'l: Noble Victories.
• BW4 — Dark Rush — 16 Dec 2011. Int'l: Dark Explorers.
• BW5 — Dragon Selection — 27 Jan 2012. Int'l: Dragons Exalted precursor.
• BW6 — Freeze Bolt / Cold Flare — 13 Jul 2012. The start of the Plasma arc.
• BW7 — Plasma Gale — 14 Sep 2012. Int'l: Plasma Storm.
• BW8 — Spiral Force / Thunder Knuckle — 14 Dec 2012.
• BW9 — Megalo Cannon — Mar 2013 (transitional title, later XY).

Why BW matters for collectors

BW is the first era with modern Full Art Pokémon and the mechanic that enabled all later alt-art culture. Shiny Reshiram and Zekrom from Dark Rush, and the Plasma arc's symmetrical sets (Freeze Bolt + Cold Flare, Spiral Force + Thunder Knuckle) are the most sought-after sealed products from this era.

Korea: BW-era Korean sealed exists but is scarce. Our BW fichas default to Japanese-only variants until an official Korean source is confirmed.

Era index: MEGA · Scarlet & Violet · Sword & Shield · Sun & Moon · XY · Black & White · LEGEND / DP / Platinum · ADV / PCG · e-Card / VS / Web · Neo · Original.

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