When pre-orders for the Black Bolt and White Flare Elite Trainer Boxes remained open longer than usual on the official Pokémon Center website,
it initially gave fans hope that availability for this release might finally be improving. But that optimism may have been premature.
A leading U.S. Pokémon TCG distributor says Black Bolt and White Flare will be in very short supply—possibly even scarcer than the hard-to-find Prismatic Evolutions set.
In practical terms, this means many collectors and players might not find these items on shelves at all when they officially launch on July 18th.
PokeBeach reports that a major U.S. supplier confirmed the first wave of Black Bolt and White Flare products will be heavily understocked, leaving limited availability at launch.
The upcoming dual set includes various product types—Elite Trainer Boxes, Binder Collections, Poster Collections, and Mini Tins—mirroring the variety found in the Prismatic Evolutions release.
And like its predecessor, this new release is expected to attract a lot of attention, especially since it features Illustration Rare cards for every single Pokémon from the Unova region.
The real concern? Most local hobby stores across the U.S. might not receive any stock at all—zero units—on the day of release.
If you're hoping to pick up these products in-store on July 18th, you may want to temper your expectations.
Though the supply issue is frustrating, the shortage stems from Pokémon’s efforts to reprint older, high-demand sets, which has limited the stock available for Black Bolt and White Flare.
Recently, sets like Prismatic Evolutions and Surging Sparks have received significant reprints to address previous waves of overwhelming demand.