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Ranked Matches are here inPokemon Trading Card Game Pocket, and they bring with them a welcome paradigm shift to the competitive experience. In fact, it would be fair to say thereisa competitive experience now; the infrequent emblem events hardly counted as such.
Naturally, this brand-new gameplay system is a rather involved affair. We’ve got the full scoop on how Ranked Battles function in Pokemon TCG Pocket, from overview-level stuff that the in-app tutorials touch upon to varying degrees, to more in-depth analysis that The Pokemon Company and DeNA haven’t quite covered within the game’s Ranked Matches overview.
Ranked Matches Overview
WIthRanked Matches, players canaim to climb several competitive ranksin a bid to acquireunique emblems and end-of-season rewards. These rewards can be well worth the effort. We’ll go into further detail on those in a bit, but for now, let’s cover the basics.
Ranks
It wouldn’t be much of a ranking system withoutranks, and in Pokemon TCG Pocket, there are a total offive ranks to climb.
Each rank, except Master Rank, also hasits own tiers, from1 to 4.to reach the next rank, you mustearn enough points to reach and surpass the highest rank within your current tier.
Additionally, for the first two tiers,Beginner and Poke Ball, you will earnextra pointswhenever you earnwinning streaks. Put another way,you’ll get points for winning matches; but you’ll getmorepoints for winning matches in succession.
From Poke Ball onward,you will not only earn points for emerging victorious, but lose points when defeated. This makes Beginner the only exception to the rule, as point advancement is guaranteed here.
Ten pointsfor winning
Ten pointsfor winning;five pointsfor losing
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Match Opponents
Suffice it to say,you will be pitted against opponents within your own rank. We’re not sure whether the individual tiers are also taken into account, but we’ll update this guide if and when we hear confirmation therein.
While you’ll generally be pitted againstother players, there’s a chance that you’ll faceAI opponents instead. Per the developer, this only happens in “certain ranks”, which we’re taking to meanthe lowest ranks.
In our own experience, we’ve encountered several AI opponents whilst climbingBeginner Rank. AI opponents are something of a boon, as they’ll generally be easier, andbattle animations are mercifully abbreviated.
Certain animations are also abbreviated in Ranked Matches against real players, too, but not as many!
Ranked Rewards
While you may feel that testing your mettle against skilled players is its own reward,there are tangible benefits to playing Ranked Matchesas well.
Simply by participating just once in a given season, you will be eligible for rewards upon that season’s end. Even if you loathe battling, you should probably take a moment to do one!
Rewards, Explained
Each season has its own rewards list. As of this writing,Ranked Matches are a brand-new additionto Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket. Naturally, we can only speak ofthe inaugural seasonhere:Season A2b.
Season A2b will run fromMarch 28, 2025,untilApril 27, 2025, andresults will be announced at some point thereafter. We can likely expect future seasons to follow a similar cadence.
At the beginning of every season,your progress partly restarts. Therefore, when the next season starts,you’llprobablyreturn to Beginner Rank(or, in the unlikely event that ranks are renamed, whatever the stand-in is for the first tiers).
Yet, as the tutorials denote,the Rank Points earned from one season will affect the number of points a player will begin with. You’ll get something of a head start this way.
Season A2b Rewards
Now, we’ll cover this first season’s upcoming prizes. If you happen to be reading this guide during a future season,you’re able to safely disregard this part. Unless, we suppose, the rewards prove identical!
You’ll earn anEmblem corresponding to each rank and its multiple tiers.You will also earna set number of Pack Hourglassestied toyour final rankwhen the season’s finished. We’ve documented the numbers below:
15
20
25
30
35
40
50
55
60
65
75
80
85
90
95
100
Master Ball Rank (#1-#1,000)
Notice howMaster Rank has a different form of tiers?This is becausethose who manage to place within the top 10,000 players will have their names displayedfor bragging rights.
Best Practices
Needless to say, you want to win Ranked Matches. We have a few thoughts on how you may increase your chances.
Leave The Experimentation At Home
Versus Battles, AKA regular competitive matches, are an excellent testing ground fordeck experimentation.Solo Battlesas well, though you’re at least guaranteed to earn a bit of EXP from the former, andthey’ll better prepare you for real opponents.
…But Do Experiment
That said,it pays to hop into most ranks with surprising decks. By the time you reachMaster Rank, there’s a very real chance that every single player is going to be rockingmeta decks, at which point you’ll not have much choice, yourself.
Before then, though? You can really improve your chances by tossing big spins on classic archetypes. For instance,we’ve been bringing a deck with two Weavile ex and two Honchkrowto many matches. No Darkrai ex, nothing else big-time.
Opponents frequentlydo not bother reading attacks on Pokemon they’re unfamiliar with, and you can use this to your advantage. In our above example,Honchkrow can deal 50 damage toanyof your opponent’s Pokemon. It’s an uncommon choice, and that can be helpful.
Another good example:Starly. Starly’sPluckdestroys the opponent’s Active Pokemon’s Tool before the attack lands. So, so, so, many players don’t read this - and they waste a Tool at the start of the game.
Hone your skills elsewhere, and if and when you find unexpectedly excellent twists on Pokemon TCG’s tried-and-true staples, unleash them to great effect. Good luck!
