You just swiped up on a digital pack. The screen flashes white. You see a flicker of gold. Suddenly, there it is—a Mewtwo ex with art that literally spills over the borders. But wait, why does it have four diamonds? Or is it two stars? If you’re feeling a bit lost looking at the bottom of your screen in Pokémon TCG Pocket, you aren't alone. Honestly, the developers at DeNA and Creatures Inc. decided to throw the old physical card rarity system out the window for this mobile version.
No more "Common," "Uncommon," or "Rare" labels. Instead, we have a geometric language of shapes.
It’s confusing at first. You’ve probably spent years knowing a star means "rare" in the physical game, but in TCG Pocket, the star rarity is a whole different beast. It’s the difference between a card that’s just good in a deck and a card that’s the crown jewel of your digital binder.
Decoding the Diamond and Star System
In the physical Pokémon Trading Card Game, we’ve used circles, diamonds, and stars since 1999. It was simple. Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity uses a two-tiered hierarchy. First, you have the Diamonds (♢). These represent the "standard" set. Then you have the Stars (☆) and the elusive Crown (👑).
The Diamond Tiers (The Essentials)
Most of your packs will be filled with Diamond cards. One diamond is your basic common card. Think Rattata or Pidgey. Two diamonds? That’s your uncommon tier. Three diamonds usually represent the stronger Stage 2 evolutions or key Trainer cards.
Four diamonds (♢♢♢♢) is where things get serious. This is the home of the Pokémon ex. If you’re trying to build a competitive deck, these are the cards you’re hunting. They have massive HP, devastating attacks, and they give up two points when knocked out. In the Genetic Apex set, cards like Pikachu ex or Mewtwo ex are the four-diamond heavy hitters everyone is rerolling their accounts for.
The Star Tiers (The Eye Candy)
Then there are the stars. This is where the "Full Art" and "Special Illustration Rare" vibes live.
A one-star (☆) card is usually a "Full Art" version of a card that already exists in the diamond tier. For example, you might have a three-diamond Arcanine ex, but there is also a one-star version with unique art. They do the exact same thing in a match. The difference is purely aesthetic.
Two stars (☆☆) are often the "Support" full arts. Think Erika or Brock looking stylish. Three stars (☆☆☆) are the "Immersive Cards." These are the ones where you can tap the card and literally zoom into the artwork to see a little story play out. They are incredibly rare. Honestly, seeing that animation for the first time is a core memory for most players.
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The Infamous Crown Rarity
If you see a gold crown icon, stop what you're doing.
The Crown (👑) rarity is the pinnacle of Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity. The pull rates are abysmal—somewhere in the neighborhood of 0.04% to 0.2% depending on the specific pack and luck of the draw. These cards are gold-etched versions of the set's mascots. They don't have better stats than the four-diamond versions, but they are the ultimate flex.
If you pull a Crown Pikachu ex, you’ve basically won the lottery.
Why the Math Matters for F2P Players
If you’re playing for free, you need to understand how the "Pack Points" system interacts with rarity. Every time you open a pack, you get 5 points. You can use these points to just buy the card you want.
But here is the kicker: the cost jumps exponentially.
- A 1-Diamond card costs 35 points.
- A 4-Diamond Pokémon ex costs 500 points.
- A Crown rarity card costs a staggering 2,500 points.
Basically, if you want a Crown card through points, you need to open 500 packs. That’s a lot of daily logins. This makes the Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity system feel a bit more punishing than the physical game, where you could just buy a single for five bucks. Here, you're at the mercy of the gacha or a very long grind.
The Secret "God Packs"
We have to talk about God Packs. They are real.
In a standard pack, the first three cards are usually low rarity, and the last two have the potential to be hits. In a God Pack, every single card is a high-rarity hit. Usually, these packs contain an entire line of Full Art or Illustration Rare cards.
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The community has been obsessed with finding "tells" for these packs. Some people swear by the "crinkled corner" theory or waiting for the pack to rotate a certain way. Truthfully? It’s all server-side RNG. There is no trick. You just have to get lucky.
Pull Rates and Realistic Expectations
Let's get real about the numbers. The game is transparent about its odds, which is a legal requirement in many regions, but that doesn't make the numbers feel any better.
For a "Rare" slot in a Genetic Apex pack, you're looking at about a 1.6% chance for a three-star Immersive card. When you realize there are multiple different three-star cards, your odds of getting the specific one you want—like that beautiful Mewtwo—are incredibly thin.
Why Rarity Isn't Everything in Combat
Just because a card has more stars doesn't mean it wins games. A deck full of one-diamond cards like Farfetch'd can actually wreck a poorly built deck of "rare" cards.
The game’s meta currently favors speed. Often, the three-diamond cards are more "playable" than the flashy one-star versions because they are easier to pull and thus easier to build a consistent deck around. You need two copies of a card for maximum deck consistency. It is much easier to find two 4-diamond Pikachu ex cards than it is to find two 👑 versions.
The Wonder Pick Gamble
Wonder Pick is the "social" way to engage with Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity. You see what other people pulled and you spend "Wonder Stamina" to randomly snag one of their five cards.
If you see someone pull a 4-diamond ex card, you have a 1 in 5 chance (20%) of getting it. That is statistically much better than opening a pack yourself. However, the game balances this by making high-rarity Wonder Picks cost more Stamina and take longer to recharge.
Pro tip: Save your Wonder Hourglasses for when you see a three-star or Crown card in a friend's feed. It’s the only way to bypass the brutal pack RNG without spending a fortune.
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What Most People Get Wrong About Shiny Cards
In the physical TCG, "Reverse Holos" are common. In TCG Pocket, "Shimmer" or "Flair" is something you add to a card.
Rarity determines how much it costs to add these effects. You use "Shinedust" (obtained by decomposing extra cards or finishing missions) to give your cards a holographic glint. Higher rarity cards require significantly more Shinedust and specific "Emblems" to upgrade.
It’s a resource sink. Don't waste your Shinedust on one-diamond cards unless they are the backbone of your main competitive deck. Save it for the cards that actually show up on your profile.
Actionable Strategy for Navigating Rarity
Stop opening packs randomly. Focus on one set until you have the core 4-diamond ex cards you need for a meta-deck (like Mewtwo/Gardevoir or Pikachu/Raichu).
Check the "Offerings" tab in the pack shop. It shows you exactly what is in the pool. If you've already pulled the 3-star Charizard from the Charizard pack, move over to the Mewtwo pack. Diversifying your collection is fine, but finishing a deck is better for your win rate in events.
Understand that "Illustration Rares" (the star rarities) are trophy cards. They are beautiful, they make your profile look great, but they don't give you an edge in the actual game. If you're a player, chase diamonds. If you're a collector, chase stars.
Don't ignore the "Missions" tab. Often, completing a set of specific lower-rarity cards rewards you with the tickets or dust needed to pull more high-rarity cards. It’s a loop. Use it.
Lastly, keep an eye on the "Card Exchange." Since pull rates are fixed, your Pack Points are your only safety net. Don't spend them the moment you hit 35 points. Save them. It is much more painful to be missing one 4-diamond ex for a deck than it is to be missing a few 1-diamond commons. Use your points to bridge the gap on the hardest-to-find cards only.
The rarity system in Pokémon TCG Pocket is designed to keep you swiping, but with a bit of math and some patience with your Pack Points, you can build a top-tier collection without losing your mind to the RNG. Just remember: that shiny star looks great, but a well-timed Trainer card usually wins the match.