I’ll be going over how to play ranked matches, why to play ranked matches, rewards for ranked, which rank to stop at, and more below.
Why Play Ranked Matches?
I believe everyone should try and play some ranked matches. Even if you don’t progress past beginner rank, you’ll still be getting 10-25 free hourglasses each season. (Beginner Rank 1 vs Beginner Rank 4) If you reach Great Ball 1 you’ll get 50 Hourglass every season even if you never play a ranked match ever again. (just need to make sure to go and claim/start)
If you have rank anxiety or you’re a bit uncomfortable with the idea of having a rank assigned to you, I’ll mention a few things which I hope can dispel your worries and help you have fun in the game.
- No one can see your win/loss ratio or your current rank (unless you’re in the top 100)
- In the beginning ranks they give you free wins by pairing you up with bots
- Even after the season ends no one will know what rank you were unless you put on the Emblem or you tell them
- You get rewards (hourglass) for even the lowest rank possible
- You can reach the top rank (Master Ball) even with 45% win/loss ratio
- Once you reach certain ranks you cannot fall out of them (coming soon)
- There is no chat or emote feature in the game so you cannot get harassed by your opponent
- There is no decay during the season. So if you get to ultra ball on day 1 and don’t play again you’ll still get the ultra ball rewards
- At lower ranks you don’t lose as many points for a loss
I hope some of these reasons will convince you to try ranked and have fun playing your favorite decks.
How To Play Ranked Matches
In order to play ranked matches you need to be at least Level 3. This will unlock the battle feature. Pretty low barrier to entry so you can start quickly and easily.
Steps
- Get to level 3 (open packs/wonder pick)
- Go to Battle on the bottom right
- Click Versus then Ranked Matches
- Select deck and Battle!
Ranked Rewards and Point Requirements
Pokemon TCG Pocket ranked is divided into 5 tiers with 4 sub tiers with each one.
 Beginner Rank |  Rewards | Points Needed |
| Beginner Rank 1 | Season Emblem Rank 1 Pack Hourglass x10 | 0 |
| Beginner Rank 2 | Season Emblem Rank 2 Pack Hourglass x15 | 20 |
| Beginner Rank 3 | Season Emblem Rank 3 Pack Hourglass x20 | 50 |
| Beginner Rank 4 | Season Emblem Rank 4 Pack Hourglass x25 | 95 |
 Poke Ball Rank | Rewards | Points Needed |
| Poke Ball Rank 1 | Season Emblem Rank 1 Pack Hourglass x30 | 145 |
| Poke Ball Rank 2 | Season Emblem Rank 2 Pack Hourglass x35 | 195 |
| Poke Ball Rank 3 | Season Emblem Rank 3 Pack Hourglass x40 | 245 |
| Poke Ball Rank 4 | Season Emblem Rank 4 Pack Hourglass x45 | 300 |
 Great Ball Rank | Rewards | Points Needed |
| Great Ball Rank 1 | Season Emblem Rank 1 Pack Hourglass x50 | 355 |
| Great Ball Rank 2 | Season Emblem Rank 2 Pack Hourglass x55 | 420 |
| Great Ball Rank 3 | Season Emblem Rank 3 Pack Hourglass x60 | 490 |
| Great Ball Rank 4 | Season Emblem Rank 4 Pack Hourglass x65 | 600 |
 Ultra Ball Rank | Rewards | Points Needed |
| Ultra Ball Rank 1 | Season Emblem Rank 1 Pack Hourglass x75 | 710 |
| Ultra Ball Rank 2 | Season Emblem Rank 2 Pack Hourglass x80 | 860 |
| Ultra Ball Rank 3 | Season Emblem Rank 3 Pack Hourglass x85 | 1010 |
| Ultra Ball Rank 4 | Season Emblem Rank 4 Pack Hourglass x90 | 1225 |
 Master Ball Rank | Rewards | Points Needed |
| Master Ball Unranked | Season Emblem Master Ball Pack Hourglass x95 | 1450 |
| Master Ball Top 10,000 | Season Emblem Master Ball Top 10,000 Pack Hourglass x100 | Changes every season based on player base |
| Master Ball Top 5,000 | Season Emblem Master Ball Top 5,000 Pack Hourglass x100 | Changes every season based on player base |
| Master Ball Top 1,000 | Season Emblem Master Ball Top 1,000 Pack Hourglass x100 | Changes every season based on player base |
Point System and Win Streak In Each Rank
This table mainly shows you how many points you’ll lose in each rank if you lose a match. In the earlier ranks you’ll lose a lot less which means losses don’t hurt as bad. In Master Ball you’ll really want to play your best and try to win as much as possible since the penalty is so high.
| Rank | Points For Winning | Points for Losing |
| Beginner Rank | +10 | 0 |
| Poke Ball Rank | +10 | -5 |
| Great Ball Rank | +10 | -5 |
| Ultra Ball Rank | +10 | -7 |
| Master Ball Rank | +10 | -10 |
If you win games in a row you’ll get rewarded with extra points which will help you climb faster. Looking at the point gains you can see how some people make it to Ultra Ball in a day while others can take much longer.
| Win Streak | Extra Points | Total Points Gained |
| 1 | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | +3 | 13 |
| 3 | +6 | 16 |
| 4 | +9 | 19 |
| 5+ | +12 | 22 |
Win streaks will be in every rank from season A3b onwards.
End Of Season Rank Changes
When the next season begins you’ll be placed into a new rank depending on where you ended up in the previous rank. Anything below Great Ball 1 is no change so that means if you reach at least Great Ball one time, you’ll forever be collecting 50 Hourglass each rank season for free even if you don’t play ever again.
When To Stop Playing Ranked (based on time to win/loss ratio)
If you notice the rewards from each rank you’ll see that even at the highest rank you won’t even get a full 10 pack. I believe Pokemon TCG Pocket has done this on purpose in order to prevent burnout in the game and quitting.
On average ranked matches take around 8 minutes and if you have a 50% win rate, it could take you over 100 hours to reach Master Ball rank. Of course this can be sped up with win streak bonuses and a better win/loss ratio but that is still a lot of time to invest in a game you want to play casually.
I believe stopping somewhere in Ultra Ball is the best time to reward ratio. Beginner Rank and Poke Ball rank are very easy to get through because of the bots that are there to give you free wins. Great Ball rank might be a little harder but if you know how to pull packs properly each season you should be able to build at least 1 meta deck which will carry you through to Ultra Ball.
Beyond Ultra Ball it is more of a personal judgment whether to keep going or not. If you enjoy the game and the current meta you should keep going. When the new change happens and you cannot fall out of Ultra Ball you’ll be able to try new decks without fear of dropping and lowering your rewards.
Please keep in mind while playing that the rewards at higher ranks are really not worth the time. If you continue on it will only be for ego reasons or because you really like the emblem they give you. (which is a bit of cope in my opinion)
First Time Climbing Rank?
If it is your first time climbing rank and you’re trying to reach MasterBall, just know it will be a lot of hours of grinding games. (highly recommend using a Meta deck if you’re doing this) Since you have to go from 0 to 1450 even with win streak bonuses it will take time so make sure you’re ready for that.
If you don’t care about reaching Master Ball that season then just play and see where you end up for that season. It will get much easier the next season and going forward because you won’t have to start at 0 and likely be somewhere already in Great Ball or Ultra Ball.
There is no official competitive scene for this game and it is a slimmed down version of the existing Pokemon Trading Card Game. This means there aren’t many good reasons you should be grinding away at this game day after day just for some hourglass and an emblem which becomes irrelevant the next season. Remember to have fun and that just by Pocket being a card game, there is random luck involved but don’t let that get you down.
What Decks To Use In Rank?
If you’re looking to climb quickly and don’t care which decks to play or being called a meta slave, you should find out what the top decks are of that current meta and just play that.
If you’re a player that only wants to play what you like and don’t care for the meta, just do so knowing you might not win as much and it will take longer to reach a higher rank. (Not impossible tho!)
If you’re a brand new player but want the best shot at reaching a high rank check out this guide where I go over what packs to open and how to get the cards you need.
Final Tips and Answers For Ranked In Pokemon TCG Pocket
- What happens if I tie?
If you tie, nothing happens. You don’t gain or lose points.
- How do I see my current rank points and win loss ratio?
If you go to Versus, Ranked Match, then Season Records on the bottom right.
- How do I see my ranked match history?
If you go to Ranked Match, tap the (?) button on the top right then Battle History.
- How do I claim my ranked rewards?
After the season is over you need to wait for the game to finalize rankings and placements. You should be able to claim the rewards in the next few days by going back to the rank match section and pressing ranked matches.
- How do I participate?
As long as you open the ranked match section and see the screen where you can start a match you’ll be participating.
- How do I check when the season ends?
If you go to Ranked Match, tap the (?) button on the top right, Event Details, News (Availability Period). You should see the date it ends there.