Pokémon TCG Pocket Ranks Explained: Every Ranked Match Rank from Beginner to Master Ball

Pokémon TCG Pocket ranked matches have 17 ranks across five tiers: Beginner Rank, Poké Ball Rank, Great Ball Rank and Ultra Ball Rank, each split into ranks 1 to 4, plus the Master Ball Rank at the very top. You only climb with rank points from wins. What happens when you lose, however, changes from season to season.

This guide covers every rank in order, the point thresholds, the win streak bonus, what a loss costs you, how the season reset works and when the next season starts. Accurate as of 28 October 2026, based on the official in-game announcements, Pokemon.com and the fan wikis Bulbapedia and PokéWiki.

All Pokémon TCG Pocket ranks in order

Beginner Rank 1 is the lowest rank, Master Ball Rank the highest. Within a tier, rank 4 is the highest: after Beginner Rank 4 comes Poké Ball Rank 1.

1. 05 Master Ball Rank no tiers
2. 04 Ultra Ball Rank 4
3. 03 Great Ball Rank 4
4. 02 Poké Ball Rank 4
5. 01 Beginner Rank 4

If you play in German or read German guides: Superball is Great Ball and Hyperball is Ultra Ball.

Master Ball Rank has no sub-ranks. Only your points count there: the top 10,000 players see their exact placement, everyone else does not.

Points per rank

Each rank starts at a fixed number of points. Bulbapedia and PokéWiki list the same values for regular seasons. The reward column shows what you get at the end of the season for the rank you are in at that moment.

You also get an emblem for your player profile. Important: special seasons can use different thresholds. For the special season B4b SP, fan sites listed lower values that we could not confirm with an official source. You can see the exact values in the game via the (?) button on the ranked match screen, then "Guide".

How you earn rank points

According to the in-game guide, regular seasons work like this:

• 10 points per win.
• Win streak bonus: 2 wins in a row give +3, 3 wins +6, 4 wins +9. PokéWiki and PokeZentrum also list +12 from the fifth win in a row.
• According to PokeZentrum, a draw gives no points but resets your win streak.

At first the win streak bonus only applied up to Great Ball Rank 4. Since season A3b (June 2025) it also applies in Ultra Ball Rank. The official B4 and B4a announcements only say in general terms that you earn extra points for consecutive wins.

Special rules in season B4b SP

Season B4b (until 28 October 2026) ran with special rules. According to the official announcement:

• Beginner Rank 1 to Ultra Ball Rank 4: 10 points per win.
• Master Ball Rank: only 1 point per win.
• Win streak bonus up to 10 wins in a row, worth 4 to 36 extra points depending on the streak.
• No points lost and no demotion on defeat, whatever your rank.

What happens when you lose

This is what has changed most, so check the date when you read other guides.

Current rules (seasons B4 and B4a, August and September 2026): According to the official announcements, you do not lose points outside Master Ball Rank when you are defeated, and you cannot drop down a rank through losses in any rank. Only in Master Ball Rank do losses cost points. Even there, you cannot lose Master Ball Rank during a season.

Earlier (2025): According to PokéWiki and PokeZentrum, a loss cost 5 points in Poké Ball and Great Ball Rank, 7 in Ultra Ball Rank and 10 in Master Ball Rank. Demotion was possible from Great Ball Rank 2 upwards. In Beginner Rank you never lost points.

Whether season C1 keeps the B4 and B4a rules has not been announced yet. Check the in-game guide when the season starts.

Season reset: where you start next season

At the end of a season you are not reset to Beginner. Up to Great Ball Rank 1 your rank stays the same; above that you drop one or two steps. The table comes from Bulbapedia, and ptcgpocket.gg lists the same values:

According to the official announcement, the points you start with also depend on your points from the previous season.

Unlocking, opponents and rewards

• Unlock: You can play ranked matches from player level 3, once versus battles are unlocked.
• Opponents: You are matched with players in your rank. According to the official announcement, at certain ranks you will sometimes face AI opponents.
• Participation: Playing at least one ranked match in a season is enough to get rewards at the end.
• Claiming: You claim rewards during the results announcement period after the season. After that they are gone.
• Late matches: A battle that ends after the season has ended no longer counts.

Dates: B4b is over, C1 is coming

• Season B4b ran from 14 October 2026 until 28 October 2026 at 5:59 UTC (6:59 CET) and has now ended.
• According to the official announcement, the B4b results announcement period starts on 31 October 2026 at 6:00 UTC and runs until 16 December 2026.
• The next expansion, Dual Fusion (C1), launches on 28 October 2026 at 6:00 p.m. PDT, according to Pokemon.com.
• Season C1 runs from 30 November to 14 December 2026, according to Pokemon.com. That leaves about a month without ranked matches between B4b and C1.

Seasons are always named after the expansion code (A2b, B1, B4b …). According to the season list, they have mostly lasted about two weeks since 2026, compared with three to four weeks in 2025.

Tips for climbing

• Use streaks: The bonus quickly adds up to more than the 10 base points. In B4b SP this paid off even more because losses cost nothing.
• Plan for the season end: Rewards depend on your rank at the end. Under the current rules with no point loss below Master Ball, you can only gain until the last day.
• Test your deck before the season: There is a month between B4b and C1. Try new decks in random matches before the next season starts.
• Know the German names: Superball = Great Ball, Hyperball = Ultra Ball.
• Watch your battery: If you are on a streak, you do not want your phone to die mid-match.

Recommended hardware

Pokémon TCG Pocket runs on iOS and Android devices. For playing on a bigger screen and for long sessions on the go, these guides help:

• Gaming earbuds buying guide
• Mobile controller buying guide

Two example products (manufacturer specs, not our own tests):

477 g

Example model

A bigger screen for card battles: Samsung Galaxy Tab A11+

Display

11 inches, 1,920 × 1,200 pixels, 90 Hz

Storage

6 GB RAM, 128 GB, microSD up to 2 TB

Battery

7,040 mAh, 25 W fast charging

Weight

477 g

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Example model

For ranked matches on the go: Anker Zolo Power Bank 20000mAh 45W

Capacity

20,000 mAh

Output

up to 45 W

Ports

2 built-in USB-C cables, 1× USB-C, 1× USB-A

Size and weight

12 × 7.3 × 3.1 cm, 364 g

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FAQ

What is the highest rank in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Master Ball Rank. It has no sub-ranks. The top 10,000 players in it see their exact placement.

How many ranks are there?

17: four ranks each in Beginner, Poké Ball, Great Ball and Ultra Ball, plus Master Ball Rank.

Is rank 1 or rank 4 better?

Rank 4 is the highest rank within a tier. After Ultra Ball Rank 4 comes Master Ball Rank.

Can you get demoted in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Not in seasons B4 and B4a: according to the official announcements, you cannot drop a rank through losses in any rank, and you only lose points in Master Ball Rank. In B4b SP you lost no points at all. At the end of a season, however, you drop one or two steps from Great Ball Rank 2 upwards.

What are Great Ball and Ultra Ball called in German?

Great Ball is Superball-Rang and Ultra Ball is Hyperball-Rang.

When does the next ranked season start?

According to Pokemon.com, season C1 runs from 30 November to 14 December 2026. Season B4b ended on 28 October 2026 at 5:59 UTC. There are no ranked matches until C1.

Sources

• Official announcement: Ranked Match Season B4b SP (in-game news, mirrored on TCGPBot)
• Official announcement: Ranked Match Season B4a (in-game news, mirrored on TCGPBot)
• Official announcement: Ranked Match Season B4 (in-game news, mirrored on TCGPBot)
• Pokemon.com: Dual Fusion Expansion Coming Soon (C1 dates)
• Bulbapedia: Ranked match (TCG Pocket)
• PokéWiki: Rangmatches (Pokémon-Sammelkartenspiel-Pocket)
• PokeZentrum: Ranked matches guide (German)
• ptcgpocket.gg: Ranked Match Season B4b
• Samsung: Galaxy Tab A11+ specifications