Every card in Pokémon TCG Pocket carries a small symbol in its bottom-left corner. That symbol reveals how hard the card is to pull, what it costs, and whether you can trade it. This Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity guide breaks down all ten rarity tiers, from single diamonds to gold Crown cards. You’ll also get pull rates, Pack Points costs, and the latest booster pack changes. Use it to decide which cards deserve your chase and where your points should go.
Where to Find the Rarity Symbol?
Look at the bottom-left corner of any card, and you’ll see its rarity icon. Pokémon TCG Pocket uses four symbol families: diamonds (◆), stars (★), shiny stars (✵), and a gold crown (♕). Within each family, more icons mean a rarer card.
Diamonds cover the standard cards you actually build decks with. Stars, shinies, and crowns are mostly alternate-art versions of those same cards. The game also sorts diamond and star cards separately in your binder.
One quirk catches new players off guard. A one-star card costs fewer Pack Points than a four-diamond Pokémon ex. So the two scales don’t line up perfectly, even though stars feel “higher.”
Pokémon TCG Pocket Card Rarity Chart
The game doesn’t officially name each tier. The names below match the closest rarity in the physical Pokémon Trading Card Game.
| Symbol | Rarity (Physical TCG Equivalent) | What You’ll Find | Pack Points Cost |
| ◆ | Common | Basic Pokémon, some Stage 1s, Fossil Trainer cards | 35 |
| ◆◆ | Uncommon | Stage 1s, some Basics and Stage 2s, most Trainer cards | 70 |
| ◆◆◆ | Rare | Strong Pokémon of every stage, some Legendaries, shiny border | 150 |
| ◆◆◆◆ | Double Rare | Pokémon ex only | 500 |
| ★ | Illustration Rare | Full-art versions of ◆ to ◆◆◆ Pokémon | 400 |
| ★★ | Ultra Rare / Special Illustration Rare | 3D full-art ex, full-art Supporters, rainbow-border ex | 1,250 |
| ★★★ | Immersive | Animated artwork, mostly Pokémon ex | 1,500 |
| ✵ | Shiny Rare | Shiny versions of non-ex Pokémon | 1,000 |
| ✵✵ | Shiny Ultra Rare | Shiny Pokémon ex | 1,350 |
| ♕ | Hyper Rare (Crown) | Gold variants, usually ex, sometimes Items or Tools | 2,500 |
Diamond Rarities: The Cards You Build Decks With
One to Three Diamonds
These three tiers make up the bulk of every set. One-diamond cards are mostly Basic Pokémon and early evolutions. Two-diamond cards add Stage 1s, tougher Basics, and nearly every Trainer card. Three-diamond cards carry a shiny outer border and include strong Pokémon from every evolution stage.
Every regular pack gives you three one-diamond cards. The remaining slots roll for two diamonds or higher, so these tiers fill your binder quickly. They’re also the only rarities that qualify for gold frame flair.
Four Diamonds: Pokémon EX
Four diamonds always mean a Pokémon ex, including the Mega Evolution ex cards from the B series. The artwork breaks slightly past the standard frame, so you can spot one instantly.
These cards anchor most competitive lists, which makes them the most practical chase in any set. If you want to see which ex cards currently matter, check our Pokémon TCG Pocket best decks guide.
Star Rarities: Full-Art Collector Cards
One Star: Illustration Rare
One-star cards turn ordinary Pokémon into full-scene illustrations. The art fills the entire card, with no box separating it from the text. You’ll find these alternate versions for Pokémon from the one- to three-diamond tiers.
Two Stars: Ultra Rare and Special Illustration Rare
Two stars covers three distinct card styles:
- 3D full-art Pokémon ex: CGI renders of the set’s ex cards, built for tilting and showing off.
- Full-art Supporters: Illustrated Trainer art that stretches across the whole card.
- Special illustration ex: Fully painted ex artwork framed by a rainbow border.
All three cost the same 1,250 Pack Points. So if you’re buying one, pick purely on which art you like most.
Three Stars: Immersive Cards
Three-star cards are the showpieces of Pokémon TCG Pocket. Tap one and its artwork comes alive, pulling you into a short animated scene. Most feature Pokémon ex, though some show other Pokémon or Supporters.
You can’t trade immersive cards, so booster packs and Pack Points are your only routes.
Shiny Rarities: One and Two Shiny Stars
Shiny cards use a rainbow star-shaped icon instead of the standard star. They debuted with Shining Revelry and show Pokémon in their alternate shiny colors.
- ✵ Shiny Rare: Shiny versions of regular, non-ex Pokémon.
- ✵✵ Shiny Ultra Rare: Shiny versions of Pokémon ex.
Since Mega Rising (B1), shiny cards appear in a bonus sixth card slot. Some regular packs contain six cards instead of five. Before this change, shinies competed with ex and star cards for the fourth and fifth slots. That frustrated plenty of players, since a shiny often pushed out a deck-relevant pull.
Crown Rarity: The Rarest Cards in the Game
The gold crown marks the top tier. Crown cards are golden variants, usually of a set’s headline Pokémon ex. Some sets also include gold Items or Tools, such as the Crown Poké Ball.
In sets with multiple pack variants, a Crown card tied to any mascot can appear. You aren’t limited to the Crown matching the pack you opened. Crown cards cost 2,500 Pack Points, and you can’t trade them.
Cards With No Rarity Symbol
Promo cards carry no rarity icon at all. You get them from events, missions, promo packs, the shop, or the Premium Pass. Pack Points can’t buy them, and you can’t trade them. Duplicates still give Shinedust based on the rarity each promo resembles.
Parallel foil cards are another exception worth knowing. These shimmering variants of ◆ to ◆◆◆◆ cards first appeared in Deluxe Pack: ex. They keep a normal diamond rating, but the entire card background shines. Unlike standard low-diamond cards, they don’t qualify for gold frame flair.
Pokémon TCG Pocket Card Rarity Pull Rates
In a regular five-card pack, the first three cards are always one-diamond. The fourth and fifth slots decide everything, and the fifth slot rolls with much better odds.
| Rarity | Card 4 | Card 5 |
| ◆◆ | 90% | 60% |
| ◆◆◆ | 5% | 20% |
| ◆◆◆◆ | 1.666% | 6.664% |
| ★ | 2.572% | 10.288% |
| ★★ | 0.5% | 2% |
| ★★★ | 0.222% | 0.888% |
| ♕ | 0.04% | 0.16% |
These are the standard slot rates the game launched with. Each expansion lists its own figures, so tap Offering Rates on the pack screen before you commit.
Combined across both slots, the rough odds per pack look like this:
- ★: About 1 in 8 packs.
- ★★: About 1 in 40 packs.
- ★★★: About 1 in 90 packs.
- ♕: About 1 in 500 packs.
Rare Packs (God Packs)
About 1 in 2,000 packs, or 0.05%, is a rare pack. Every card inside is one star or higher, with no diamond cards at all. Since Mega Rising, rare packs no longer include shiny cards, which keeps them focused on stars and Crowns.
The New Four-Diamond Guarantee
Ruler of the Skies (B4) added a safety net in July 2026. Meet certain conditions while opening a pack, and your next pack from that expansion guarantees a ◆◆◆◆ or a better card.
The Pokémon Company hasn’t publicly detailed those conditions yet. Check the in-game News for the exact trigger. Our Ruler of the Skies launch coverage covers the rest of that update.
Pack Points Costs by Rarity
Pack Points let you skip the luck entirely. You earn 5 points every time you open a pack from the Pack screen. Gifted packs from events and missions don’t count toward your total.
| Rarity | Pack Points Cost | Packs Needed |
| ◆ | 35 | 7 |
| ◆◆ | 70 | 14 |
| ◆◆◆ | 150 | 30 |
| ◆◆◆◆ | 500 | 100 |
| ★ | 400 | 80 |
| ★★ | 1,250 | 250 |
| ★★★ | 1,500 | 300 |
| ✵ | 1,000 | 200 |
| ✵✵ | 1,350 | 270 |
| ♕ | 2,500 | 500 |
Three rules shape how you should spend them:
- Points are expansion-locked: Points from Genetic Apex packs only buy Genetic Apex cards.
- Points don’t expire: They stay usable even after a booster pack leaves the rotation.
- Promos stay out: The exchange doesn’t offer event, mission, or Premium Pass cards.
Opening your two free packs a day earns 10 points. At that pace, a single Crown card takes about 250 days of saving.
For most players, a four-diamond ex is the smartest purchase. It costs 500 points and directly strengthens a deck. A Crown version of that same ex costs five times more and battles exactly the same way.
Which Card Rarities Can You Trade in Pokemon Pocket?
Trading rules loosened with the October 2025 anniversary update. Here’s where each tier stands today:
- Tradable: ◆ through ◆◆◆◆, ★, ★★, ✵, and ✵✵ cards.
- Not tradable: ★★★ immersive cards, ♕ Crown cards, and all promo cards.
From three diamonds upward, trades also cost Shinedust, and the price climbs with rarity.
Final Thoughts
Pokémon TCG Pocket card rarity comes down to four symbol families. Diamonds build your decks, stars and shinies showcase alternate art, and Crowns sit at the very top. Rarity changes how a card looks and what it costs, never how it battles.
If you play competitively, spend Pack Points on four-diamond ex cards and key Trainers first. Save for Crown or immersive cards only after your main decks feel complete.
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