How many cards are in a Pokémon Booster Pack?

When you open a Pokémon Booster Pack , the excitement is always high. Is there a rare card inside? Maybe a Full Art or a Secret Rare? But how many cards are actually in such a pack? And has that always been the case?

Let's take a closer look at that.

How many cards are in a modern booster pack?

A standard Pokémon Booster Pack nowadays contains 10 cards. This has been the standard for years and applies to almost all regular sets.

A typical package contains:

• 6 Common Cards – These are the most common cards.
• 3 Uncommon cards – Slightly rarer and often more useful in the game.
• 1 Rare card – This can be a regular Rare, a Holo, a V-card, or even a Secret Rare.

In addition, you often get:

• 1 Code card (not a Pokémon card) – For the Pokémon TCG Online, so you can open a digital pack.

In short, you can almost always assume that a Pokémon Booster Pack will contain 10 cards, plus extras like an energy and code card.

How many cards used to be in a Pokémon pack?

The number of cards in a Pokémon booster pack has changed several times over the years. In the early years, packs were often larger, while some later sets contained fewer cards.

Important exceptions:

• Base Set (1999 - 2002): 11 cards per pack. This was the standard in the first generations.
• E-Series (Expedition, Aquapolis, Skyridge - 2002 - 2003): 9 cards per pack. These sets had less cards, but the quality and illustrations were top notch.
• Diamond & Pearl (2007 - 2010): The number was increased to 10 cards per pack, which has remained the standard ever since.

In addition, there are special sets with fewer cards per booster pack.

Sets with less than 10 cards per pack

Some Pokémon expansions deliberately contain fewer cards per booster, often due to special themes or exclusive cards. Some notable examples:

• Celebrations (2021): 4 cards per pack. An anniversary set with only special cards.
• Dragon Vault (2012): 5 cards per pack. All cards in this set were holographic.
• Shining Legends & Hidden Fates: 7 cards per pack in the Japanese version, while the English versions contain 10.

This shows that there has always been variation depending on the set.

Japanese Booster Packs: Fewer Cards, More Packs

Japanese Pokémon Booster Packs work differently than the international versions. These usually contain 5 to 7 cards in a pack, depending on the set.

Why? In Japan, packs are often sold in larger quantities and booster boxes are released with more packs. This means that you get less per pack, but over an entire booster box you draw about the same number of cards as in the international versions.

If you collect Japanese cards, this is good to know!