Pokémon God Packs Explained
Pokémon God Packs are special booster packs that are unique to the Japanese market.
Opening Booster Packs is an exciting venture for Pokémon enthusiasts and collectors alike. Full of anticipation and expectation that the pack will contain a rare or valuable card, the silver wrapper is ripped open and the bulk cards set aside. Then comes the moment of truth – an art card or nothing.
Now imagine the same scenario, except that there are no bulk cards and every card in the pack is an art card or a special rare card. This is a God Pack!
When was the first Pokémon God Pack released?
The first Pokémon God Packs appeared in Japan in 2019 with the release of the twelfth Sun and Moon expansion set – Tag Team GX All Stars.
However, Pokémon was not the first Trading Card Company to use this concept. In 2014 Magic the Gathering released ‘Journey Into Nyx’ as the third and final set in a series featuring Greek Gods. Some packs contained only Greek Gods and as a consequence they were dubbed God Packs.
Pokémon God Packs are not found in every Japanese expansion set, they are typically reserved for special sets, often referred to as holiday sets. The rarity of encountering a God Pack depends on the specific Pokémon Card set, with an average likelihood of approximately 1 in 500 packs.
Is it possible to buy Pokemon God Packs individually?
The short answer to this question is No. The presence of God Packs in a set is not officially announced. It only becomes known when a pack is found in a set and the owner posts information and / or images of their find.
Some people believe that the presence of so many foil art cards in a set means that that pack will be considerably heavier than others in the box. However, this method is not fool-proof, as we have shown in our Pack Weight Tests and caution is advised when purchasing a product labelled as a God Pack due to its weight.
Some sellers on selling sites such as Ebay, list random collections of art cards as God Packs. These are often from western sets and comprise 9 or 10 art cards from a particular set. They may be listed as God Packs because the seller does not understand the term or they may be implying that they are very unique and inflating the price accordingly.
What are Pokémon DemiGod Packs?
Although God Packs have been a feature of Japanese sets since 2019, they have never featured outside of Japan. The latest set to include God Packs was the Scarlet & Violet 151 expansion set.
The 151 expansion set released internationally in September 2023. Soon after release, rumours began circulating of booster packs containing a complete evolution set of the three original starter Pokémon – Bulbasaur, Charizard and Squirtle. All three cards were revealed to be Illustration Rare or Special Illustration Rare cards. Others reported packs containing more than one Illustration or Special Illustration rare cards. Because not all the cards in the boosters were art cards, these packs were dubbed DemiGod packs.
