500-Pack Opening: The Real Data
A documented 500-pack opening of Journey Together produced the results below. This is real community data, not theoretical averages. At this sample size — ten times a standard booster box case — the numbers start to become meaningful for estimating true pull rates, while still showing the variance every collector encounters.
What was opened
- 500 booster packs total
- Mix of booster boxes and ETBs
- Set released: March 28, 2025
- English release based on the Japanese Battle Partners set
Hits pulled
- 112 EX cards (~1 in 4–5 packs)
- 8 Full Art Trainer cards (3 unique: Brock's Scouting, Iris's Fighting Spirit, Ruffian)
- ~14 Full Art Pokémon (including partner Pokémon EX full arts)
- 48 Illustration Rares — all 11 unique IRs pulled (IR master set completed)
- 4 Gold cards (N's Zoroark EX x2, Iono's Bellybolt EX, Spike Energy)
- 5 SIRs (N's Zoroark EX x3, Lily's Clefairy EX, Salamance EX)
Hit rate breakdown
- EX: ~22% (1 in ~4–5 packs)
- Illustration Rare: ~9.6% (1 in ~10 packs)
- Full Art Trainer: ~1.6% (1 in ~63 packs)
- Gold card: ~0.8% (1 in ~125 packs)
- SIR: ~1% (1 in ~100 packs)
Key takeaway: Hit rates were described as "proper" and "looking good" across the opening. At 500 packs, all 11 IRs were represented, and 4 out of 4 unique Gold cards were pulled — but SIR distribution was uneven, with N's Zoroark EX SIR appearing three times while several other SIRs in the set went unrepresented. Variance remains the defining feature of pack opening at any scale.
Journey Together SIR Pull Rates: What the Numbers Say
The Pokemon Company does not publish official pull rates for Journey Together or any other set. The estimates below are derived from community data — the 500-pack opening above plus aggregate reports from collectors globally, including the Japanese Battle Partners release.
| Card Type | Est. Per Pack | Per ETB (9 packs) | Per Booster Box (36 packs) | Variance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Illustration Rare (SIR) | ~1 in 100 | ~1 in 11 ETBs | ~1 per 3 boxes | Very high — clustering and dry runs both common |
| Gold Card | ~1 in 125 | ~1 in 14 ETBs | ~1 per 3–4 boxes | Very high — rarer than SIR per pack |
| Full Art Pokémon (FA) | ~1 in 35 | ~1 in 4 ETBs | ~1 per box | Moderate — roughly 1 per box |
| Full Art Trainer | ~1 in 63 | ~1 in 7 ETBs | ~1 per 2 boxes | Moderate-high — not guaranteed per box |
| Illustration Rare (IR) | ~1 in 10 | ~0.9 per ETB | ~3.6 per box | Low-moderate — fairly consistent |
| EX / Double Rare | ~1 in 4–5 | ~2 per ETB | ~7–9 per box | Low — reliable every session |
Why variance is extreme for SIRs and Gold cards
Even with 500 packs of data, individual session results can diverge sharply from these averages:
- Factory case packing seeds SIRs into specific positions — randomness is not uniform across every pack
- Adjacent cases can produce very different SIR counts even with identical pack totals
- Small sample sizes (1–3 boxes) are nearly meaningless for pull rate estimation
- Multiple copies of the same SIR can cluster together — as seen with N's Zoroark EX SIR appearing 3 times
Notable EX distribution anomaly
Blaziken EX appeared unusually infrequently across the 500-pack opening — only 6 copies among 112+ EX cards pulled. This is well below expected distribution if all EX cards were equally seeded. Whether this reflects a genuine lower print rate for Blaziken EX or is statistical noise at this sample size is not confirmed, but it is worth noting for collectors targeting that specific card.
Lily's Clefairy EX SIR: The Top Chase Card
Lily's Clefairy EX SIR was the most sought-after card in the Japanese Battle Partners set — and that demand has carried directly into Journey Together. In the 500-pack opening, only one copy was pulled across the entire run.
Why Lily's Clefairy EX SIR stands out
- Among the highest-demand SIRs from the Japanese Battle Partners release
- Features Lily (from Pokémon Sun and Moon) alongside Clefairy — a popular trainer and Pokémon pairing
- The partner Pokémon theme of this set makes trainer + Pokémon SIRs particularly desirable
- Low pull frequency relative to total SIR count — pulled once in 500 packs
SIR distribution in the 500-pack opening
| Card | Copies Pulled (500 packs) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| N's Zoroark EX SIR | 3 | Most common SIR in this sample — clustered pulls |
| Lily's Clefairy EX SIR | 1 | Top chase card — pulled once |
| Salamance EX SIR | 1 | High visual impact — "Lugia Alternate Art vibes" |
| Volcanion EX SIR | 0 | Not pulled in this sample |
| Whailord SIR | 0 | Not pulled in this sample |
| Mimikyu SIR | 0 | Not pulled in this sample |
| Hops Zatian EX SIR | 0 | Not pulled in this sample |
Only 3 of the 7 SIRs appeared in 500 packs. This is not unusual — it reflects how heavily SIR pulls can cluster around specific cards in a given sample, and highlights why chasing a specific SIR through opening is statistically unreliable.
Box Toppers: What Are They and How Do They Work?
Journey Together introduced a notable first for the Pokemon TCG in decades: a box topper card included in US booster boxes. Understanding how it works is important for Singapore collectors sourcing the set.
The N's Reshiram box topper
- Every Journey Together US booster box includes a bonus N's Reshiram Illustration Rare card inserted as a box topper
- This is the first time the Pokemon franchise has included a box topper in decades
- The box topper card is a separate bonus — it does not replace any pack inside the box
- N's Reshiram is featured as an IR, consistent with the Journey Together IR card design aesthetic
Can N's Reshiram also be pulled from packs?
Yes — and this is an important detail. N's Reshiram is not exclusive to the box topper. It also appears as a regular Illustration Rare within Journey Together booster packs, pullable at the standard IR rate of roughly 1 in 10 packs. This means:
- Collectors opening individual packs (not full boxes) can still pull N's Reshiram
- Buying a full booster box guarantees one copy via the box topper, plus possible additional copies from within the packs
- The box topper version and the pack-pulled version are the same card — not a distinct variant
What this means for Singapore collectors
Booster boxes imported from the US market will include the box topper. ETBs and other products do not include the box topper card. If sourcing Journey Together through Japan (where the set is known as Battle Partners), note that the box topper mechanic was specific to the English US release — Japanese Battle Partners boxes did not include this bonus card.
N's Zoroark EX SIR: The Duplicate Hit
One of the most discussed outcomes from the 500-pack opening was pulling N's Zoroark EX SIR three separate times — the same card appearing in three out of five total SIR pulls.
What happened
- N's Zoroark EX SIR appeared 3 times across 500 packs
- This accounts for 60% of all SIR pulls in the sample
- All other SIRs in the set combined for only 2 pulls (Lily's Clefairy EX and Salamance EX)
- 4 of the 7 SIRs in the set went unrepresented entirely
Is this unusual?
Not necessarily — at a total of only 5 SIR pulls across 500 packs, the sample is far too small to draw conclusions about equal SIR seeding rates. With 5 pulls and 7 possible SIRs, heavy duplication is statistically expected. It does not confirm that N's Zoroark EX SIR is more common than others — it simply reflects the reality that 500 packs is still a small sample for SIR-level rarity analysis.
Why this matters for collectors
- Pulling duplicates of an SIR is a normal outcome and does not indicate a "bad" case
- N's Zoroark EX Gold is widely considered one of the best gold cards in the set — duplicates of the SIR are tradeable
- Targeting a specific SIR through opening remains unreliable regardless of sample size at the individual box or case level
Completing the Illustration Rare Master Set
One of the standout results from the 500-pack Journey Together opening was completing all 11 unique Illustration Rares — a full IR master set — within a single run. This is a meaningful data point for collectors with master set goals.
Journey Together's 11 Illustration Rares
- Miraactus (Miraculous)
- Articuno
- Wailord
- Iono's Kilowattrel
- Ruffian
- Lily's Enamorus
- Swinub
- Lycanroc
- Furret
- Noibat
- Hop's Wooloo
N's Reshiram is also available as an IR (and as a box topper), making it a 12th IR to consider for a truly complete collection.
How feasible is completing the IR master set?
| Goal | Estimated Packs Needed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Pull at least one of each IR (11 unique) | ~400–600 packs | Completed in 500 packs in this sample — plausible but not guaranteed |
| Pull all IRs including N's Reshiram (12 unique) | ~450–650 packs | N's Reshiram can also be obtained as box topper from a booster box |
| Buy all 11 IRs as singles | N/A | Far more efficient — IRs are widely available from Singapore sellers |
Key observation on IR distribution
At 48 IRs across 500 packs, the average was roughly 1 IR per 10 packs. However, not all 48 pulls were unique — several IRs appeared multiple times before the 11th unique IR was completed. Completing the master set through opening requires significantly more packs than simply pulling 11 IRs, because duplicates accumulate before the final missing cards appear.
For collectors who want the IR master set without the pack variance, buying the 1–2 hardest-to-pull IRs as singles (and opening packs for the rest) is a practical approach.
What This Means For Singapore Collectors
If you want a specific Journey Together SIR
Buy the single. Lily's Clefairy EX SIR, Salamance EX SIR, and N's Zoroark EX are consistently listed by Singapore sellers on Carousell and tcgTalk. Opening packs to target a specific SIR costs many times more than purchasing the card outright. Use the tcgTalk price comparison to find current listings from Singapore collectors.
If you want to open packs
Set a budget you are comfortable spending regardless of outcome. At 1 in 10 packs for IRs and 1 in 4–5 for EX cards, you will pull genuine hits in most sessions — just do not open with the expectation of funding the hobby through resale. The Salamance EX SIR and Lily's Clefairy EX SIR are exciting when they land, but they are never guaranteed per box or case.
If you are targeting the IR master set
The 500-pack opening shows it is possible to complete all 11 IRs within a reasonable case opening, but the last few IRs will likely require significantly more packs than the first eight. Consider buying the rarest IRs as singles to top up your set rather than opening indefinitely to chase the final gaps.
Sourcing Journey Together in Singapore
Journey Together is an English set based on the Japanese Battle Partners release. Singapore collectors can source from local hobby shops, or import from the US market where booster boxes include the N's Reshiram box topper. Japanese Battle Partners products are also available through proxy-buying services — note these will not include the box topper card but otherwise contain the same card pool in Japanese.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the SIR pull rates in Journey Together?
Community data from a 500-pack opening puts SIRs at approximately 1 in 100 packs on average — roughly 1 SIR per 2–3 booster boxes. However, that same 500-pack run produced 3 copies of N's Zoroark EX SIR and 0 copies of four other SIRs in the set. Variance is extreme and the Pokemon Company does not publish official pull rates.
What is a box topper in Journey Together?
Journey Together US booster boxes include a bonus N's Reshiram Illustration Rare card as a "box topper" — the first time Pokemon has done this in decades. It is a separate bonus card, not replacing any pack. N's Reshiram can also be pulled as a regular IR from within packs, so it is accessible without purchasing a full booster box.
Is Lily's Clefairy EX SIR rare?
Yes — Lily's Clefairy EX SIR was the top chase card in the Japanese Battle Partners set and remains the most sought-after SIR in Journey Together. It was pulled only once in a 500-pack opening. As one of seven SIRs in the set, the odds of pulling it specifically in any given pack are very low.
Is Journey Together worth opening for IRs?
Journey Together has a strong IR hit rate at approximately 1 in 10 packs — one of the better IR densities in recent sets. A 500-pack opening completed all 11 unique IRs, which is a realistic target at that scale. For collectors who enjoy opening, the IR frequency makes each session rewarding. That said, buying specific IR singles remains far more cost-efficient than targeting them through pack opening.
How rare is the Salamance EX SIR?
Salamance EX SIR is one of seven SIRs in Journey Together and was pulled once in a 500-pack opening, consistent with an overall SIR rate of ~1 in 100 packs. It has attracted strong community interest for its artwork — often described as having "Lugia Alternate Art vibes" with Salamence flying through a dramatic mountain landscape. As a specific SIR, it is as rare per pack as any other SIR in the set.
What is the rarest card in Journey Together?
The three Gold cards — N's Zoroark EX Gold, Iono's Bellybolt EX Gold, and Spike Energy Gold — are the rarest pulls in Journey Together at approximately 1 in 125 packs each. Among named chase cards, Lily's Clefairy EX SIR is the most sought-after SIR, while N's Zoroark EX Gold is widely regarded as the most desirable Gold card in the set.
Looking for Journey Together singles without the pack variance? Browse Lily's Clefairy EX SIR, N's Zoroark EX Gold, Salamance EX SIR, and all Journey Together cards listed by Singapore collectors at tcgTalk Price Comparison.
Disclaimer: Pull rates are community estimates derived from aggregate opening data. The Pokemon Company does not publish official pull rates for Journey Together or any set. All hit rate estimates are based on documented community openings and are not guarantees of results. Individual sessions may vary significantly from stated averages. This is not financial advice.