Even if you’re an experienced Pokemon Trading Card player, TCG Pocket’s rarity system might initially confuse you. The Pokemon Company has simplified the card rarity mechanics to make the game more accessible to casual players, which means a lot of stuff might differ from the original game. As a result, both veterans and newcomers may wonder how card rarities work and what the new symbols and categories mean. If you’re one of those players, don’t worry—this guide explains everything you need to know about Pokemon Pocket’s rarity system and walks you through the changes from the physical Pokemon TCG.
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Updated on March 29, 2025, by Mohsen Baqery: Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Shining Revelry update introduced two new Shiny Pokemon rarities. In light of this change, we’ve updated the following guide to explain how Shiny cards affect the card rarity charts and to provide all the essential details you need. (All the tables now also include the stats and drop rates of Shiny cards.)
How to Identify Card Rarities in Pokemon Pocket
Pokemon Pocket has ten rarity tiers: one-diamond, two-diamond, three-diamond, four-diamond, one-star, two-star, three-star, crown, one-star shiny, and two-star shiny. Each tier has a smaller card pool and is progressively rarer, with immersive (three-star), shiny, and crown cards being the most elusive.
Rarity in Pokemon TCG Pocket is indicated by four symbols: diamond, star, crown, and rainbow star (octagon). These symbols are displayed under the illustrator’s name in the bottom-left corner. Different art styles and borders, such as full art, immersive art, and rainbow borders also distinguish rarity.
Here’s what each rarity in Pokemon Pocket means:
- One-diamond: Basic Pokemon
- Two-diamond: Basic or Stage One Pokemon
- Three-diamond: Stage One or Stage Two Pokemon
- Four-diamond: ex Pokemon
- One-star: A full art of a Basic, Stage One, or Stage Two Pokemon
- Two-star: A full art of an ex Pokemon
- Three-star: A special immersive card of an ex Pokemon
- Crown: Gold edition of rare ex Pokemon
- One rainbow star: A sparkling variant of a diamond-rarity card
- Two rainbow star: A sparkling full-art variant.
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Shiny Cards Explained
On March 27, 2025, Pokemon TCG Pocket released the Shining Revelry set, introducing the first batch of shiny cards. These variants feature sparkling artwork of the depicted Pokemon and come in two rarity levels: (regular) shiny and shiny ultra rare. The standard shiny cards showcase the Pokemon with sparkles in a non-full-art design, while shiny ultra rare cards feature a full-art shimmering illustration.
The rarity of shiny Pokemon cards is marked by a rainbow-colored octagram-like symbol in the bottom-left corner. A single rainbow star indicates a regular shiny, while two signify a shiny ultra rare. Naturally, the latter holds greater value.
List of All Shiny Cards in the Shining Revelry Set
|
One-Star Shiny |
Two Star Shiny |
|---|---|
|
|
How Pokemon Pocket Rarities Compare to Pokemon TCG
Since the Scarlet & Violet revamp in 2023, the physical Pokemon TCG uses three primary symbols to indicate card rarities: Circle, Diamond, and Star. Higher rarities, such as Hyper Rare, are marked with variants of these symbols. (For example, a three-star stamp at the bottom for Hyper Rare.)
Pokemon TCG Pocket simplifies this system further by removing the Circle symbol. While most of Pocket’s card rarities have counterparts in the physical game, not all physical rarities are directly included.
The following table shows Pocket rarities’ counterparts in Pokemon TCG.
|
Pokemon Pocket Rarity |
Pokemon TCG Rarity |
|---|---|
|
One-diamond |
Common |
|
Two-diamond |
Uncommon |
|
Three-diamond |
Rare |
|
Four-diamond |
Double Rare or Ultra Rare |
|
One-star |
Illustration Rare (Full-Art) |
|
Two-star |
Special Illustration Rare |
|
Three-star |
N/A |
|
Crown |
Hyper Rare |
|
One rainbow star |
Shiny Rare |
|
Two rainbow star |
Shiny Ultra Rare |
Pokemon Pocket’s Pack Rarities
Each booster pack can be either Regular or Rare. Regular packs contain five cards of any type, with a very small chance of including three-star, crown, or shiny cards. Rare packs, on the other hand, are guaranteed to contain at least one-star or better cards, but the odds of getting a rare pack are only 0.050%.
- Regular Booster Pack Drop Rate: 99.950%
- Rare (God) Pack Drop Rate: 0.050%
Card Price Estimation Based on Rarity
Pokemon Pocket allows players to purchase cards of all rarities, provided they have enough Pack Points. These points are earned by opening booster packs, meaning players who open the most packs—referred to as whales—have a guaranteed way to acquire rare cards.
The following table shows how many packs you need to open and how much real-life money you should spend to purchase a card from each rarity.
|
Rarity |
Pack Point |
Price |
F2P |
|---|---|---|---|
|
One-diamond |
35 (7 packs) |
~ $5 |
4 days |
|
Two-diamond |
70 (14 packs) |
~ $15 |
7 days |
|
Three-diamond |
150 (30 packs) |
~ $25 |
15 days |
|
Four-diamond |
500 (100 packs) |
~ $90 |
50 days |
|
One-star |
400 (80 packs) |
~ $80 |
40 days |
|
Two-star |
1,250 (250 packs) |
~ $200 |
125 days |
|
Three-star |
1,500 (300 packs) |
~ $300 |
150 days |
|
Crown |
2,500 (500 packs) |
~ $500 |
250 days |
|
One-star shiny |
1,000 (200 packs) |
~ $180 |
100 days |
|
Two-star shiny |
1,350 (266 packs) |
~ $210 |
133 days |
Card Drop Rates Based on Rarity
Booster packs in Pokemon Pocket contain five cards, with each slot having a different drop rate for various rarities. The cards at the back of the pack—slots four and five—have the highest chances of containing rare cards. In contrast, the cards in the front (slots one to three) are almost always guaranteed to be common Pokemon.
|
Rarity/Slot |
Slot #1 to #3 |
Slot #4 |
Slot #5 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
One-diamond |
100% |
0% |
0% |
|
Two-diamond |
0% |
90% |
60% |
|
Three-diamond |
0% |
5% |
20% |
|
Four-diamond |
0% |
1.6% |
6.66% |
|
One-star |
0% |
2.572% |
10.288% |
|
Two-star |
0% |
0.5% |
2% |
|
Three-star |
0% |
0.222% |
0.888% |
|
Crown |
0% |
0.040% |
0.16% |
|
One-star shiny |
0% |
0.714% |
2.857% |
|
Two-star shiny |
0% |
0.333% |
1.333% |
FAQs About Card Rarity in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Here are the most frequently asked questions about card rarities in Pokemon Pocket:
What’s the Rarest Card in Pokemon Pocket?
The rarest cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket are immersive and crown cards, such as the Golden Pikachu ex, Golden Charizard ex, and Golden Mewtwo ex. While these are ultra-rare in packs, you can purchase them from the Pack Point shop for 1,500 points each for immersive cards and 2,500 points for each golden edition crown card.
Are Promo Cards a Rarity in Pokemon Pocket?
Promo cards are not considered a rarity tier in Pokemon Pocket. You can earn them by opening exclusive one-card packs, typically awarded during limited-time events. Currently, there are 24 Promo cards in the Genetic Apex expansion, identifiable by the unique blue icon on the right flank of their illustrations.
Are There Secret Rare Cards in Pokemon Pocket?
As of now, the only secret rare in Pokemon Pocket is Mew. Pocket does not feature cards with a number higher than their expansion’s total count, unlike the physical Pokemon Trading Card Game. However, this may change in the future.
Do Rarities Affect Card Power in Pokemon Pocket?
As rarity increases, the card’s HP, ATK, and abilities may change, but illustration variants do not affect the card’s stats—these are simply alternative art versions of regular Pokemon cards. In other words, rarities like one-star, two-star, three-star, and crown typically affect the card’s art style, not its stats.
- Released
-
October 30, 2024
- Developer(s)
-
DeNA, Creatures Inc.
- Multiplayer
-
Online Multiplayer
