Pokemon 151 Pull Rates: Odds, God Packs & Top Chases

Pokemon 151 is closing in on its third birthday and still sells like a new set. Every card comes from the original Kanto dex, Charizard ex anchors the chase list, and sealed product keeps cycling through bundles and Elite Trainer Boxes rather than sitting on shelves. Which makes the obvious question worth answering properly: what are the real Pokemon 151 pull rates, and how do you plan around a set that never got an English booster box?

The numbers below combine TCGPlayer's public dataset of 1,500+ opened packs with an independent 1,000+ pack sample from PokePatch. The two trackers agree on every tier, which almost never happens, so these figures are about as settled as pull-rate data gets. They are also the exact numbers behind our Pokemon pull rate calculator, where you can rework the odds for any pack count you like.

Pokemon 151 pull rates by rarity tier

English 151 packs follow the standard Scarlet & Violet structure, with the hit slot rotating through five tiers. If any of these rarity names are new to you, our Pokemon card rarity guide covers the full ladder.

• Pokemon ex (Double Rare): 1 in 8 packs, from 12 in the set.
• Illustration Rare: 1 in 12 packs, across a deep pool of 16 IRs.
• Ultra Rare (full-art ex): 1 in 16 packs, 16 cards.
• Special Illustration Rare: 1 in 32 packs, with only 7 SIRs in the set.
• Hyper Rare (gold): 1 in 51 packs, 3 golds.

That SIR figure deserves a second look. One special illustration every 32 packs is the most generous SIR slot of any set we track. Surging Sparks runs 1 in 80-90. Chaos Rising runs 1 in 80-85. 151 hands you roughly two and a half times their hit frequency at the top tier.

The seven Special Illustration Rares

The full SIR pool: Venusaur ex #198, Charizard ex #199, Blastoise ex #200, Alakazam ex #201, Zapdos ex #202, Erika's Invitation #203 and Giovanni's Charisma #204. Seven cards sharing a 1-in-32 slot puts any specific SIR at roughly 1 in 224 packs on even weighting. Charizard ex #199, the card most openers are actually chasing, still clears $400-450 ungraded on current sold data, and the three golds top out with Mew ex #205 at a far friendlier $25-40.

Putting the headline chase in plain numbers: the odds of pulling Charizard ex #199 from any single English 151 pack are roughly 1 in 224, which is a 2.6% chance across a 6-pack bundle and about 4% across a 9-pack ETB. Long, but transparently long, and far shorter than a specific SIR in most modern sets.

One tier below, the Illustration Rare pool is where 151 quietly shines. Sixteen IRs at 1 in 12 packs means most bundles show you at least one, and the Kanto starter evolution lines that headline that pool carry real value for a mid-tier rarity.

God packs: Japanese only

Search data says a big share of you arrived here asking about god packs, so let's settle it. God packs exist only in the Japanese 151 release. The English print run has no god pack mechanic and never did. What English openers occasionally report is a so-called demigod pack, a full Kanto starter evolution line landing as secret rares in one pack, which is a quirk of the rare-slot weighting rather than a designed insert. If an English listing hints at god pack odds, treat it as a red flag; our guide to buying Pokemon cards on eBay covers what those listings are usually doing.

No booster box: the maths in bundles and ETBs

English 151 shipped without a 36-pack booster box, so volume comes from smaller products. Odds compound per pack: a Booster Bundle (6 packs) carries about a 17% chance of a SIR, an Elite Trainer Box (9 packs) sits near 1 in 4 with a 16% shot at a gold on top, and the 16-pack Ultra-Premium Collection reaches roughly 40% odds of at least one SIR. Reaching the point where a Charizard ex is more likely than not takes about 155 packs, which is the honest cost of a seven-card pool behind a generous slot.

If you would rather feel those odds than read them, open simulated 151 packs and watch how streaky a 1-in-32 slot really behaves over a session.

Are Pokemon 151 pull rates actually good?

Per slot, yes, unusually good. You hit the top tier nearly three times as often as in Surging Sparks or Chaos Rising, IRs land every dozen packs, and the set's art density means even off-tier packs tend to show you something worth sleeving. The catch is structural rather than statistical: with no booster box, building real pack volume means stacking bundles and ETBs, and the small SIR pool keeps the specific-card maths long. Great rates, small pool, slow volume. That combination is why 151 rewards openers who want a SIR and punishes openers who want the SIR.

Chasing Kanto in 2026

Sealed English 151 is an aftermarket hunt now; Pokemon Center sold through its allocation long ago. If what pulls you to 151 is the original dex rather than this specific set, the Pokemon 30th Celebration line is the live way to chase Kanto nostalgia: the 30th Celebration Elite Trainer Box is a Pokemon Center exclusive we stock factory sealed, and the Eevee two-pack with collector coin is a low-commitment way in. Our 30th Celebration set guide breaks down the full lineup.

The 30th Celebration ETB: the current-era route to original-151 Pokemon.

Prefer current-era odds instead? Pitch Black released on 17 July and its pull rates are already in the calculator. Either way, get drop alerts and you'll hear about the next allocation before it goes.