China Gets Exclusive N's Plan and Hilda Special Illustration Rares in Black Bolt & White Flare

Pokémon China has announced the upcoming release of the Simplified Chinese versions of Black Bolt and White Flare, launching on November 6, 2026. For collectors, the big news is that both sets will include brand new Special Illustration Rares (SAR) that are exclusive to China. These cards — N's Plan in Black Bolt and Hilda in White Flare — feature original artwork not printed in any other language so far.

According to PokeBeach, the N's Plan SAR is illustrated by Iwamoto05, while the Hilda SAR is by Ligton. The two sets, named Black Thunder Torrent and White Flame Surge in Simplified Chinese, are nearly identical to the English and Japanese versions but include these exclusive cards. Historically, similar Chinese-exclusive alternate artworks from 2022 onward have remained locked to the region, and no English or Japanese reprint has been announced.

The cards carry the set numbers 173/086 (N's Plan) and 173/086 (Hilda) as SARs. Additionally, simplifiedcollector.com reports that promotional versions of these cards (numbered 363/SV-P and 364/SV-P) appear in Black & White Themed Energy Sets, where they are extremely rare as they occupy only the last slot of each pack with very low pull rates.

This marks another milestone for N, who has now tied Giovanni as the character with the most illustration/full-art cards during the SV-MEG era, second only to Pikachu thanks to the Chinese-exclusive 151 cards.

Booster Box: Black Bolt (SV11B)

• Box price: ¥28,160
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Source: PokeBeach