My Crazy Obsession with Pull Rates
Got hooked on Pokemon TCG Pocket after lunch today – specifically wanted that shiny Ho-Oh artwork. Thought “how hard could it be?” Pulled up the app, grabbed my tablet, and started digging.
Step 1: Tracking Basic Odds
Made a stupidly simple spreadsheet on my phone. Opened 200 cards total from different packs – free daily ones plus some coins I’d saved. Every single time a pack opened, I’d manually type what popped out. My fingers got tired real quick. Stared at the screen till my eyes burned tracking:
- Common trash Mons (looking at you, Pidgey)
- Energy cards (yawn)
- Rares with lame art
- Actual legendaries like Ho-Oh/Lugia
Step 2: The Brutal Numbers Game
Saw Lugia pop once after 87 packs. Almost threw my tablet. Ho-Oh? Zero. Zilch. Figured maybe I got unlucky so I created two dummy accounts for rerolls. Did 30 pulls each morning while drinking coffee. Still nada.
Real Pain Points I Noticed
- Free daily pulls feel rigged – 90% gave common cards
- Coin packs slightly better but still garbage rates
- Those “guaranteed rare” packs? Mostly old Gen starters
Step 3: My Ugly Conclusions
Finally pulled regular Lugia at 213rd try. Screenshotted it like I won lottery. Went back through my messy notes and realized:
- Legendary birds? Roughly 0.5% per pack
- Cool alternate art versions? Basically unicorns
- This game hates free players
Gave up on Ho-Oh after 4 hours total. Might try tomorrow morning before work. Still cheaper than buying physical cards I guess. Might just go pet my actual cat instead.