The Ultimate Guide to Mass Outbreak Wonder Pick Events in Pokémon TCG Pocket

What is a Mass Outbreak Wonder Pick Event in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

A Mass Outbreak event in TCG Pocket is an in-game event where special Wonder Picks have a chance to appear in your Wonder Pick section. These events also usually include time-limited flairs available for purchase, along with event-exclusive missions that usually reward hourglasses and Shop Tickets.

The special Wonder Picks come in two forms: Bonus Picks and Rare Picks.

• Rare Pick: Always contains at least one ex card, but costs 3 Wonder Stamina.
• Bonus Pick: A no-cost Wonder Pick that provides less-rare cards and (sometimes) various currencies.

This guide explains how these features work and what to expect during a Mass Outbreak.

How to prepare for an upcoming Mass Outbreak event

Preparing for any event in Pocket is a good idea, and the Mass Outbreak is no different. Active players should regularly check the event schedule on Pokemon-Zone.com to stay up to date on future, datamined events.

Once you know the dates for an upcoming Mass Outbreak, you should take the following steps to prepare:

1. Determine if you need more copies of the featured Rare or Bonus Pick cards.
2. Confirm you have enough copies of the cards slated to receive time-limited flairs.
3. If applicable, update your language trading sheet to see if you need any of the event cards in specific languages.

1. Check which Wonder Pick cards you are missing

On the upcoming Mass Outbreak event page (example), locate the widget with the heading "Rare Pick". For convenience, an example is posted below. Some Mass Outbreaks only feature a single Rare Pick selection, while others—such as the Eevee Mass Outbreak of 2025—offer multiple variations. Use the grey buttons labeled “25%” to cycle through the different Rare Pick selections for that event.

Bonus Pick: Eevee Mass Outbreak Event

Jul 21 - Jul 30, 2025

25%

25%

25%

25%

Rare Pick 25%

3

As you can see above, Eevee ex, Flareon ex, Leafeon ex, Sylveon ex and Glaceon ex are included as parts of the choices in the Rare Picks.

If you hover over a card in the widget, you can also see which set it comes from. This can help when deciding whether Rare Picks are worth spending Wonder Stamina on. For instance, if you need Glaceon ex from Triumphant Light and Sylveon ex from Eevee Grove, and you've already completed most of the Triumphant Light set, spending resources on Rare Picks for Glaceon ex is a much more efficient strategy than hoping to find it in a regular pack.

In addition, check the free Bonus Picks for any basic cards you may be missing from recent sets. Since Bonus Picks are free, you should always open them as they appear. They generally don’t require advance planning—unless you’re collecting specific cards in multiple languages. That said, there are strategies to increase the frequency of Bonus Picks during the event period, which will be covered later in this guide.

2. Check that you have enough cards to craft time-limited flairs

For dedicated Pokémon Pocket players, the time-limited flairs are a main attraction of Mass Outbreak events. These flairs are rare not only because they are only available during the short 5-day event window, but also because they usually require three or more copies of a recently released rare card to craft. This makes them costly, but for collectors aiming for a complete set, they are a major goal. Cards with flairs are also tradable. If you obtain extra copies of a time-limited flair, you can use them later to trade for other exclusive flairs you may have missed.

We’ll go into more detail about flairs later in this guide. For preparation, though, the key step is to check which cards will receive exclusive flairs in the upcoming event. If you don't have enough copies to get the flairs you want, you need to start targeting those cards. This can be done through trades (for cards from older sets), opening packs, using Pack Points, or targeting them with Wonder Picks or Rare Picks. Be on the lookout for Poké Gold deals and spend your gold wisely. Remember: you need at least three copies of a card, since one copy must be sacrificed to craft a flair.

Note: The Parallel Foil Cards Mass Outbreak Wonder Pick Event of October 2025 did not have any limited flairs, so limited flairs are not guaranteed to be a part of every Mass Outbreak event.

3. Update your database of different-language cards and see what you need from the Bonus Picks

This last preparation tip is for extreme collectors only. Pokémon TCG Pocket currently has nine languages, and Bonus Picks during Mass Outbreak events can be a useful way to fill gaps in a multilingual collection without opening extra packs. As with the other tips, start by checking the upcoming schedule page to see which cards are included in Bonus Picks. Then, compare those cards against your collection to identify which languages you are still missing. The most efficient way to do this is to either:

• Manually update your multilingual trading sheet, or
• Link your Nintendo account to your Pokémon-Zone.com account and use the language filter to see which versions you lack.

In the following example, I have identified that Mightyena is included as a Bonus Pick. After updating your multilingual sheet, you notice that the Italian version is missing. Instead of opening more A2 packs, you could switch your app language to Italian during the Mass Outbreak to try to grab a free copy while using hourglasses on newer packs. Once you’ve collected all the cards you need in that language, switch the app language again and continue.

If you are using Pokémon Zone collection tool, look for the language option in the top-right corner. Combine it with the search bar or the filters on the "Cards" page to quickly see which cards are missing. Doing this a day or two before the event begins is recommended, so you don’t waste valuable time once the event is live. As we’ll see later, being active early and consistently during the event can make a significant difference.

Wonder Pick mechanics: How to get the most out of Mass Outbreak events

You've prepared for the event. Now, let's look at how to optimize the collection process to acquire as many cards and items as possible. The following theory is meant to emphasize the importance of being active during the event, not to suggest staying logged in all day. Consider this a motivation to be a bit more engaged. A small increase in activity will make a significant difference compared to, for example, checking Wonder Picks only every four hours.

Let's start with the basics:

What is a Wonder Pick and Wonder Stamina?

Wonder Pick stands as a core feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket, allowing trainers to snag an extra, random card from booster packs opened by other players, effectively offering a 'free' bonus copy from that pack. However, not all cards are eligible for a Wonder Pick. For a detailed breakdown of card eligibility and the associated costs for different rarities, we recommend consulting our comprehensive general Wonder Pick guide.

To summarize, a regular Wonder Pick contains 5 cards from a single booster pack opened by another account within the past 72 hours.

Special event Wonder Picks include Rare Picks, Bonus Picks, and Chansey Picks (not relevant here):

• A Rare Pick contains 1 or 2 ex cards pre-determined by the Mass Outbreak event. A Rare Pick costs 3 Wonder Stamina, in line with what a regular Wonder Pick for an ex card costs. In the beginning, Mass Outbreak events had only 1 ex card per event, while in recent events, the norm has been 2 ex cards per Rare Pick, increasing the value of those picks. Rare Picks have a 1.2% chance of replacing each expired Wonder Pick.
• A Bonus Pick, during a Mass Outbreak event, gives you a completely free Wonder Pick containing a combination of cards or items. The most regular combination is 5 Pokémon cards, but some Bonus Picks might also include 2 cards, 1 Shop Ticket, 1 Wonder Hourglass and 1 Trade Hourglass. Bonus Picks have a 15% chance of replacing each expired Wonder Pick.

In our ultimate Chansey Pick tutorial, we urged players to save up on Wonder Hourglasses, time their first Wonder Pick to the event start and keep a certain amount of friends before the event start. While we will go over the reasonings for these recommendations in this guide as well, Chansey Picks contain promo cards that will never return to the game. Mass Outbreak events contain cards that you will find in regular packs as well, and it is therefore of less importance to "grind" the event in the same manner as a Chansey Pick event.

Regardless, if you're aiming to get the ex cards from a Rare Pick, it is a good idea to be conservative with your Wonder Stamina in the days leading up to the Mass Outbreak event start.

So, what are the precise mechanics behind the Wonder Pick screen, and more importantly, how can we use the information to give us a good success rate when trying to get as many free cards or items as possible during the event? Let's dive deeper into the mechanics of the Wonder Pick screen.

How Many Wonder Picks Can You Have at Once?

The Wonder Pick screen can display a maximum of 16 potential picks at any given time: 12 general Wonder Picks, plus up to 4 additional picks sourced directly from your friends' booster pack pools. There's also a section for picks you've already claimed, but these are no longer relevant for our current strategy, and up to 4 expired picks will be shown if you haven't refreshed your screen.

During events, special wonder picks can appear in the wonder pick section. It is presumed to work like this: Each time a Wonder Pick expires from your Wonder Pick screen during a Mass Outbreak event, there is a 15% chance it will be replaced with a Bonus Pick, and a 1.2% chance it will be replaced with a Rare Pick. This has important consequences: if you do not have enough friends, you do not have a maximum amount of expiring wonder picks, and therefore, you will have fewer chances of receiving a special Wonder Pick.

Now are 4 friends for the 4 friend Wonder Picks slots enough? No! Here’s why:

Each Wonder Pick can stay up for anywhere between 30 minutes and 4 hours. Each booster pack can be wonder picked anywhere from 0 to 72 hours after getting opened by your friend but not every booster pack will appear in the Wonder Pick screen (the exact science behind this is not understood, but let’s assume that 75% of booster packs opened by friends has a chance of being shown to you via the Wonder Pick screen).

To illustrate why just 4 friends aren't enough, let's consider a theoretical scenario:

• Assumption 1: Each Wonder Pick displayed on your screen lasts exactly 2 hours (ignoring Bonus/Rare picks for this example).
• Assumption 2: Your 4 friends consistently open 3 booster packs each day and have maintained this rate for the past 3 days. This totals 12 packs per day, or 36 packs over the 72-hour availability window.
• Assumption 3: Applying the 75% visibility rate, approximately 27 of these 36 packs would be eligible to appear on your screen.
• Assumption 4: For simplicity, we're assuming friends aren't pulling ultra-rare cards (Shinies, 2-Stars, 3-Stars, Crowns) that might alter Wonder Pick mechanics.

If you refresh your Wonder Pick screen every 2 hours, which would be optimal if every wonder pick lasted 2 hours, you will get 4 new packs in the friend section every 2 hours. Repeating this 8 times over a 16-hour waking period (allowing for 8 hours of sleep), you would, in just one day, cycle through the entire pool of 27 eligible packs from your 4 friends over the 72-hour window. This means that despite your friends regularly opening packs, there simply aren't enough unique packs generated by just 4 friends to consistently keep all 4 'friend' Wonder Pick slots populated throughout periods of optimal checking. Ergo: to ensure these critical slots are always full and cycling, you need a much larger pool of active friends.

As illustrated in the graph below, the number of available friend packs quickly depletes with only a few friends, leaving valuable Wonder Pick slots empty.

Crucially, for any of these friend-generated Wonder Picks to appear, your friends must have 'Booster Pack Sharing' enabled in their game settings (enabled by default for +18 players). To truly maximize your potential Wonder Pick opportunities and keep those friend slots constantly refreshing, you should aim for a robust friend list of at least 50 friends (preferably closer to 100).

To sum it up: Every time a Wonder Pick expires during a Wonder Pick event, and you refresh your wonder picks by going to the Wonder Pick Screen, every slot that is now available has a chance of refreshing into a Bonus Pick (15% chance) or a Rare Pick (1.2%). If you do not have any available packs from friends for the 4 Wonder Pick spots reserved for friends, it is believed that those spots cannot be populated by a Bonus Pick or a Rare Pick, and therefore it is important to have multiple active friends in order to optimize your chances of getting free cards or wishlisted ex cards.

When (and how) should I refresh my Wonder Picks?

While our previous example simplified Wonder Pick durations to 2 hours, the reality is more varied: each pick is randomly assigned a lifespan from a pool of 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1 hour 30 minutes, 2 hours, 2 hours 30 minutes, 3 hours, 3 hours 30 minutes, or 4 hours. It's currently understood that each of these durations has an equal probability of occurring.

How to refresh Wonder Picks

Refreshing your Wonder Picks is surprisingly straightforward: simply visiting the main menu within the app will trigger a backend refresh. If one or more Wonder Picks have expired, a new one will automatically become available to you in its place. You don't need to navigate into the specific Wonder Pick section itself for this refresh to occur. Through extensive testing (tracking new Wonder Pick timings), it's confirmed that returning to the main menu – whether via a full app restart or navigating between submenus – will indeed refresh your Wonder Picks. However, to be on the safe side, go into your Wonder Picks directly for a guaranteed refresh; Always assume visiting the main menu can refresh your Wonder Picks, but never assume it will refresh them every single time you do so.

The Wonder Pick screen refreshing by visiting the main menu has important repercussions, especially in the hours leading up to an event: if you 'play around' in menus or open packs during this time, you risk prematurely refreshing your Wonder Picks. This means some of your slots will begin their countdown before the event starts potentially expiring hours into the event. This effectively reduces the number of fresh slots available at the event's commencement, directly impacting your early chances for free Bonus Picks.

When to refresh Wonder Picks?

Beyond the pre-event lockout (no logging into the app during the 4 hours leading up to the event start), there is one golden rule if you want to maximize your catch during the event: refresh as soon as possible after a Wonder Pick has expired.

Start by identifying the pick with the shortest remaining timer. By refreshing your Wonder Picks precisely at or just after that moment, you immediately reset the timer for that slot.

Is this perfectly timed refresh practical? Not for most. Many common guides recommend checking every hour or even every 30 minutes, which can be sufficient for most players. However, for true minmaxing, even slight delays accumulate into significant losses. Let's compare a 'robotic,' perfectly timed refresh strategy against a more 'human' approach, where we assume refreshes happen every 40 minutes – a reasonable cadence for busy players.

Let’s assume that by refreshing every 40 minutes, you are 10 minutes late for 1 Wonder Pick expiration and 4 minutes late for another expired Wonder Pick (due to 'human' timing in Wonder Pick refreshes earlier in the day). This seemingly small delay of 10+4 minutes means those two Wonder Pick slots sat expired and unrefreshed for 14 minutes – 14 minutes during which you lost out on a chance for a new Wonder Pick, a potential Bonus Pick (15% chance), or a Rare Pick (1.2% chance). But why does this matter, given that Wonder Picks last anywhere from 30 minutes to 4 hours? This is the crucial point: the expiration timer for any new Wonder Pick you receive only begins at the moment you refresh your screen. By forcing a refresh as soon as a pick expires, you immediately start a new timer for that slot, thereby maximizing the total number of Wonder Pick cycles you can achieve over the course of a day. More cycles mean more chances for special event cards. Let's zoom into a 16-hour period to see this impact: The initial Wonder Pick screen had the following time remaining:

This corresponds to the 14 minutes “wasted” as mentioned above. Using a randomizer, I refreshed the top two Wonder Picks to 00:30 time left and 04:00 time left. Subsequently, the top Wonder Pick will already be expired by the time we update our Wonder Picks 40 minutes later.

If we wait 40 minutes and refresh again, we can see that the 00:30 Wonder Pick, the 00:25 Wonder Pick and the 00:33 Wonder Pick will have expired. This sums up to 32 total minutes of “waste”. In column 3, we once again generate random expiration timers for the 3 expired Wonder Picks and have waited 40 additional minutes for yet another Wonder Pick screen refresh.

This is where the inefficiency truly compounds. Column 1 below is the same as column 3 above.

After just one more 40-minute delay, you'd find 6 additional Wonder Picks newly expired, with some having been idle for up to 38 minutes! The "wasted" time during this single 40-minute segment alone totals an astonishing 109 minutes across all affected slots. Consider the alternative: if you had refreshed at the precise 2-minute, 20-minute, and 34-minute marks when picks expired, you would have instantly gained new opportunities for Bonus or Rare Picks. More importantly, those slots would have immediately started new timers, creating even more potential cycles for special cards before the 40-minute mark was even reached. You could realistically have seen multiple short-timer picks (like 30-minute ones) generate a Bonus or Rare Pick, refresh, and then yield another special pick within that same timeframe.

To quantify this impact, I ran a full 16-hour simulation (from 8 AM to 10:40 PM) using the initial setup and a consistent 40-minute refresh interval, with random new expiration timers generated programmatically. The result was staggering: a total of 1,726 minutes (or 28.76 hours) of Wonder Picks sitting expired instead of being refreshed and cycling. Arbitrarily assuming an average Wonder Pick duration of 2 hours, this lost time translates to roughly 14 additional Wonder Pick cycles per day that you could have generated with perfect timing.

Extend this over a 6-day Mass Outbreak event, and that's approximately 86 additional Wonder Pick opportunities (based on the simulation with a sample size of 1)! With a 1.2% chance for a Rare Pick and a 15% chance for a Bonus Pick on each refresh, this level of optimization could net you an extra ~1 Rare Pick and ~13 Bonus Picks over the event. This clearly demonstrates how even seemingly minor inefficiencies – like checking every 40 minutes – balloon into significant lost potential. Imagine the impact if you only check 3-4 times a day due to common misconceptions.

Naturally, few players have the luxury of perfectly timing 16 individual Wonder Pick refreshes throughout a multi-day event. So, what's the most practical strategy for maximizing your gains without cosplaying a robot?

The practical solution is to open it as often as possible, even if this means refreshing the screen when there is nothing to refresh. During periods when you're already active in the game (e.g., between ranked battles, during downtimes), make it a habit to quickly navigate to the main menu every 5-10 minutes. Swiftly check for any Bonus Picks or Rare Picks that might have popped up. While frequent checks are key, don't let it consume you. During these quick checks, take a moment to scroll through your Wonder Picks and note their remaining timers. If you observe, for instance, that three picks are set to expire in roughly 22 minutes, prioritize checking again in approximately 20 minutes instead of maintaining the rapid 5-minute cadence. This conserves your energy and attention. If no Wonder Picks are expiring within the next hour or so, make a mental note or set a timer for when you should resume your more frequent checks.

Can You Force New Wonder Picks to Appear?

Near the end of an event, you might wonder if you can speed things up by spending stamina on regular picks to trigger new Wonder Picks. Unfortunately, the answer is no. Even if you clear all 16 Wonder Picks from your screen, new ones won’t appear until their individual, original timers expire. The only way to get new Wonder Picks is to wait.

Rare Picks during Mass Outbreak Events in TCG Pocket, and; are they worth it?

This is a common question. At first glance, a Rare Pick's cost of 3 Wonder Stamina can be disappointing. After all, you can also find ex cards in regular Wonder Picks for the same price. So, what makes these picks "rare," and are they worth your time?

In this section, we’ll look at how Rare Picks have changed over time, why they may not be as underwhelming as they once were, and when they are (and aren’t) worth chasing.

Early Rare Picks

In the first few months after the game's release, Rare Picks were underwhelming, featuring only one ex card with a generally uninteresting selection. This changed in June 2025 with the Ultra Beast Mass Outbreak Wonder Pick Event. Since then, all Mass Outbreak Rare Picks have included two ex cards instead of one, and most events has also offered at least two time-limited flairs. The card selection has also improved, featuring more meta-relevant cards.

Why Rare Picks are better now

The inclusion of two ex cards makes Rare Picks much more appealing compared to both earlier events and random Wonder Picks. To put this into perspective:

• In A4a booster packs, the chance of pulling a 4-diamond ex is 1.666% in slot 4 and 6.664% in slot 5.
• This means the chance of pulling one ex card in a single booster pack is 8.219% (roughly 1 in 12 packs).
• The odds of pulling two ex cards in one pack are only 0.111% (about 1 in 901 packs).
• For comparison, the chance of pulling a crown rare is 0.2% (about 1 in 500 packs).

Given this, a Rare Pick containing two ex cards is not a bad deal at all. That said, probability can be framed in many ways. For example, the chance of pulling at least one ex card in two consecutive booster packs is 0.676% (about 1 in 148), which can also leave you with two new ex cards. The math highlights the value of Rare Picks, but ultimately, it comes down to what your collection needs. The math in this section is based on the offering rates of regular non-God packs from A4a.

When Rare Picks are worth it

If you are missing one or both of the ex cards featured in a Rare Pick, spending 3 Wonder Stamina is usually worthwhile. Even if you miss the card you were targeting, you still have a good chance of walking away with the other. However, if you already own all the copies you need, there is no benefit in chasing a Rare Pick. In that case, save your Wonder Stamina for other goals, such as missing cards.

Earlier Mass Outbreaks once included small rewards for collecting the featured ex card during the event, but those were removed in June 2025 along with the other Rare Pick changes.

Points to keep in mind

• You need enough duplicate copies of certain cards if you want to craft the event-exclusive flairs. Rare Picks can help fill those gaps.
• Rare Picks have a 1.2% chance of appearing whenever a Wonder Pick expires, but only one can be active at a time.

To sum it up: Rare Picks used to be underwhelming, but with the June 2025 changes, they now offer a much stronger value. If you need at least one of the featured ex cards—or want to prepare for crafting event flairs—they are well worth the stamina cost. If not, you’re better off saving your resources.

Bonus Picks during Mass Outbreak Events in TCG Pocket

Did you know that if you do a full Wonder Pick screen refresh (every Wonder Pick has expired), you have a 9/10 chance of seeing a Bonus Pick? Each of the 16 wp slots has a 15% chance to become a Bonus Pick, making it very likely that at least one will appear in every refresh cycle. The only complication is the small 1.2% chance that one of the slots becomes a Rare Pick instead, leaving only 15 slots eligible.

Most of the time (98.8% of refreshes), no Rare Pick shows up, and all 16 slots are in play. In this scenario, the probability of seeing at least one Bonus Pick is approximately 92.57%. On the rare occasions when a Rare Pick does appear (1.2% of refreshes), the probability of a Bonus Pick drops slightly to 91.26%. Overall, players can expect to see a Bonus Pick in over nine out of ten refreshes.

Weighting these two outcomes together gives an overall probability of roughly 92.56% per refresh cycle. In other words, the occasional Rare Pick hardly changes the outcome.

This high probability does not mean you should wait for a full screen refresh every 3-4 hours to get a Bonus Pick. As we discussed earlier, you need to be checking your Wonder Picks more often.

For example, if you wait four hours and have only one Wonder Pick slot expire three hours ago, you've essentially wasted three hours of potential picks for that spot. Wonder Picks only refresh when you manually visit the main or Wonder Pick screen. If four Wonder Picks expire, the probability of seeing a Bonus Pick is only 47.64%, accounting for the risk of a Rare Pick appearing.

More details about Bonus Picks

But what even is a Bonus Pick, and is there any difference between Bonus Picks in Chansey events and Mass Outbreak events? In the widget below, you can see the available bonus picks for a given Eevee Outbreak event (2025):

Bonus Pick: Eevee Mass Outbreak Event

Jul 21 - Jul 30, 2025

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

9.09%

Bonus Pick 9.09%

No cost

Each Bonus Pick contains 5 rewards, each with a 20% chance of being chosen (1 in 5), similar to how regular Wonder Picks work. Bonus Picks are completely free.

Cards vs. Items

Bonus Picks typically offer five Pokémon cards. However, some events also include item Bonus Picks, which contain two cards, a Shop Ticket, an Hourglass, and a Wonder Hourglass. For many players, these item-focused picks are the most sought-after, as the cards in Bonus Picks are often common. Since Mass Outbreak events usually happen late in a season, you might already have enough copies of the featured cards. That said, Bonus Picks often include cards from prior sets, so new players should look out for cards they might be missing.

Changing app language

You should always open a Bonus Pick as soon as you see one, even if you already own the cards. Duplicate cards have many uses, including flairs and trades. As mentioned earlier in the guide, this is also a great opportunity to change your app language and start getting free cards in other languages! Once you change your app language back to your local language, the cards you got when you opened booster packs or Wonder Picks in another language, will permanently stay in that language. Do note however that for Wonder Picks, the following rules apply when you change your app's language:

• Your current Wonder Pick selection stays the same.
• The next refresh of the 12 Wonder Pick slots will appear in the new language.
• The 4 friend slots reflect the language your friends are currently opening cards in.
• Promo cards always match your app's language, regardless of friend activity.

More information on our article about card languages in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

The difference between Bonus Picks in Chansey Pick events and Mass Outbreak events

While they share a name and basic functionality, Bonus Picks in Chansey Pick events are not the same as those in Mass Outbreak events. Both are frequent, time-limited, and completely free, but there are some key differences.

• Chansey Bonus Picks: These always follow the same formula: one Pokémon card (either a promo or a regular card), two Wonder Hourglasses, and two Shop Tickets. The single Pokémon card is one of four specific cards: two Chansey promos (30% chance) or their two regular counterparts (70% chance).
• Mass Outbreak Bonus Picks: These offer a wider variety of cards. They don't include Event Tickets, as Mass Outbreak events don't have an Event Shop.

Another important difference is the appearance rate. Chansey Bonus Picks have a 20% chance of appearing, while Mass Outbreak Bonus Picks have a slightly lower 15% chance.

Event-exclusive flairs during TCG Pocket Mass Outbreak events

The event-exclusive flairs obtained from Mass Outbreak events are perhaps the most rare-to-see unlocks in the game together with flairs from ultra-rare cards such as or cards. This section will cover flairs, trading with flairs, and details specific to Mass Outbreak flairs.

Every Mass Outbreak event up until October 2025 had one or more limited flairs available. In October 2025 (A4b), the focus was on Parallel Foil cards, and no limited flairs was offered during this event. Whether this is a common occurrence for Deluxe Packs or not, we need to confirm at a later time.

Understanding Flairs

Flair cosmetics add effects to your cards, either in battle or in binders/display boards:

• Cosmetic flairs
  • Add a constant animation or effect in binders or display boards
  • Show up in battle when you swap the card in/out or when you attack/use a Trainer card
• Battle flairs
  • Trigger when a card is placed or moved on the board
  • Not visible to your opponent if activated before the first round begins

A short introduction to flairs will be given below, but for more details, see our full-fledged guide on the flair cosmetics system.

Regular flair progression

Outside of Mass Outbreaks, there are four flair stages. For most ◊ rarity cards, you must unlock them in order:

• 1st flair → 1 ex card + 720 Shinedust
• 2nd flair → 1 ex card + 1,080 Shinedust
• 3rd flair → 1 ex card + 2,160 Shinedust
• 4th flair → 1 ex card + 3,240 Shinedust

Important requirements:

• The sacrificed ex card must be the same card as the one you’re buying a flair for.
• You need a “playset” (at least 2 copies left after sacrifices).
• For 1 copy of each flair: 7,200 Shinedust + 6 copies of the card (4 sacrificed).
• For two flairs per copy (matching playsets): 14,400 Shinedust + 10 copies of the card.

Event-exclusive Mass Outbreak flairs

Time-limited flairs from Mass Outbreak events follow a simpler rule:

• Each flair → 1 EX card + 720 Shinedust
• Price does not scale up with multiple purchases
• You can buy them without owning other flairs for the card

These flairs are permanent—buying them first doesn’t block you from unlocking the regular four flairs later. Because they require a sacrificed card, we recommend securing at least two copies of each exclusive flair so your full playset can benefit in matches.

Considering that there can be up to 5 limited flairs per Mass Outbreak event, that's a hefty investment! Plan your resources accordingly.

What makes limited flairs so rare?

Time-limited flairs are widely considered some of the rarest collectibles in Pokémon TCG Pocket—but why? Several factors combine to make them elusive:

1. Recency of the cards
   Event-exclusive flairs are usually tied to ex cards released only 3–4 weeks before the event. For free-to-play players, pulling even a single copy so soon can be tough—especially when packs from multiple sets are competing for attention. To craft two exclusive flairs, you’d need four copies of the same ex card, a tall order without heavy use of Rare Picks and Wonder Stamina.
2. Poor visibility in-game
   Exclusive flairs are barely promoted inside the app. Many players only discover them through social media posts—often after the event is over.
3. The Commitment Barrier:
   Building a complete collection of exclusive flairs requires consistency and determination. Acquiring one occasionally is easy, but remembering to do so every month is a different level of commitment.
4. Short availability window
   Flairs are only obtainable during the 6 days of a Mass Outbreak. Miss the window, and they’re gone forever. To make matters worse, Mass Outbreaks are often seen as one of the less exciting monthly events, so many players don’t pay close attention.
5. Limited appeal
   Many players simply do not find flairs interesting. Their presence in the game is minimal, and collecting them all is a daunting, if not impossible, task when most players are focused on getting a single copy of each card. The event-exclusive flairs offer no special rewards, and their effects are not necessarily better than regular flairs. In battle, there is a low chance your opponent will even notice that your flair is a rare, limited edition.
6. Collection fatigue
   Many players who have missed out on earlier flairs have abandoned the goal of completing the collection and now ignore these flairs entirely.
7. Focus on other rarities
   Event flairs are tied to 4-diamond ex cards, while many players prefer to flex their rarest 2-star cards in battle. Given that choice, why spend resources on “just another” 4-diamond with a flair?

In our opinion, these are the factors that contribute to their rarity, making them a unique and interesting pursuit for the right type of collector.

Trading and time-limited flairs

If you missed out on a time-limited flair, it is still possible to acquire it through trading. This may require some effort due to their rarity and high collectability, but it is not impossible.

For this reason, we recommend acquiring more than two copies of any event-exclusive flair. Having extras allows you to assist other players in completing their collections later on, and they may have something you need in return.

So how does trading with flairs work?

Trading a card does not affect the card's flair. The flair is independent of the card. However, it is possible to trade the flair along with the card if you want to. This requires your trade partner to send you a flaired card back. The flair does not have to be in the same Shinedust cost range or event-exclusivity.

If you trade your last copy of a specific flair away, the flair will be removed from that card in decks, binders and/or display boards. If this was your last copy of the card, the card itself will also be removed or greyed out from these places. If you are trading away your last copy of a flair, you will get a warning from the game to make sure this is OK for you before sending the trade.

However, be aware; when you do trade an event-exclusive flair, you will not get a warning from the game telling you that this flair is especially rare, so do not get scammed! Instead, refer to the list below to make sure the flair your trading partner is interested in is not inadvertently on the list below.

List of time-limited flairs

Here are all the time-limited flairs released so far in the game:

Fire-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Nov 2024)

First limited flair ever released. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Arcanine ex: Circles Flair: Yellow (Battle)

Lightning-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Dec 2024)

First lightning-type limited flair. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Zapdos ex: Star Outlines Flair: Yellow (Battle)

Psychic-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Jan 2025)

First exclusive flair for a card not stemming from Genetic Apex. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Mew ex: Circle Flairs: Blue (Battle)

Darkness-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Feb 2025)

First exclusive flair to be "Cosmetic" instead of "Battle". See event page.

Flair(s):

• Weavile ex: Bursts Flair: Purple (Cosmetic)

Grass-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Mar 2025)

First grass-type limited flair. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Leafeon ex: Petals Flair: White (Battle)

Fighting-Type Mass Outbreak Event (Apr 2025)

First fighting-type limited flair. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Lucario ex: Tiny Twinkles Flair: Blue (Battle)

Metal-Type Mass Outbreak Event (May 2025)

First metal-type limited flair. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Solgaleo ex: Sunshine Sparkles Flair: Yellow (Battle)

Ultra Beast Mass Outbreak Event (June 2025)

First event to feature two limited flairs and first event to focus on Pokémon sub-types instead of specific energies. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Guzzlord ex: Bursts Flair: Blue (Cosmetic)
• Buzzwole ex: Bursts Flair: Orange (Cosmetic)

Eevee Mass Outbreak Event (July 2025)

First event to feature five limited flairs, first event to have limited flairs for cards from older sets and the first time a card has gotten a second limited flair (A2a Leafeon ex - first card to feature 6 different flairs in total). Also the first event to combine Battle and Cosmetic flairs. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Eevee ex: Heart Outlines Flair: Pink (Battle)
• Sylveon ex: Small Hearts Flair: Pink (Cosmetic)
• Flareon ex: Flame Trail Flair: Orange (Cosmetic)
• Leafeon ex: Sword Flash Flair: Green (Battle)
• Glaceon ex: Snowflakes Flair (Cosmetic)

Lightning-Type Pokémon Mass Outbreak Event (Aug 2025)

First energy type to get its second Mass Outbreak event. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Lanturn ex Glowing Ring Flair: Yellow (Battle)
• Tapu Koko ex Lightning surge Flair: Yellow (Cosmetic)

Water-Type Pokémon Mass Outbreak Event (Sep 2025)

First water-type limited flair. See event page.

Flair(s):

• Suicune ex: Sunshine Sparkles Flair: Light blue (Battle)
• Primarina ex: Ripples Flair: Light blue (Cosmetic)

Parallel Foil Cards Mass Outbreak Event (Oct 2025)

No limited flairs were available during this Mass Outbreak event. See event page.