The Charcadet Drop Event is now live in Pokémon TCG Pocket, giving you a chance to earn five alternate-art promo cards from the Paldea region through solo AI battles. The event launched on March 11, 2026, and runs through March 28, 2026, at 6:00 AM UTC. It's tied to the Paldean Wonders (B2a) expansion and rewards Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 packs, each containing one of the five featured cards.
Quick answer: Play solo battles at Expert difficulty for a guaranteed Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 after every win, and complete the participation missions to collect up to five free packs plus a Promo Card Exchange Ticket.
Charcadet Drop Event Promo Cards and Drop Rates
Each Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 contains exactly one card, selected randomly from the pool below. The headline card is a full-illustration alternate art Charcadet, which is the rarest pull in the set. Tinkaton and Tatsugiri are also alternate-art reprints of their Paldean Wonders counterparts, while Smoliv and Frigibax are mechanically unique cards not found in the main expansion.
| Card | Drop Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Charcadet (P-B 035) | 12.66% | Full-illustration alternate art |
| Tinkaton (P-B 038) | 15.82% | Alternate art reprint |
| Smoliv (P-B 034) | 23.84% | New card with unique moves |
| Frigibax (P-B 037) | 23.84% | New card with damage reduction effect |
| Tatsugiri (P-B 036) | 23.84% | Alternate art reprint |
The promo Smoliv heals 20 HP from itself for a single energy, differentiating it from the Paldean Wonders version that deals 10 damage and heals 10. The promo Frigibax deals 20 damage and reduces incoming attack damage by 20 during the opponent's next turn. Collectors will likely want the Charcadet most since it's the only full-illustration card in the set.
Event Missions and Free Pack Rewards
A dedicated set of missions appears in the Missions tab for the duration of the event. Completing them earns you additional Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 packs and one Promo Card Exchange Ticket. All missions expire when the event ends on March 28.
| Mission | Reward |
|---|---|
| Participate in 1 battle | 1× Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 |
| Participate in 3 battles | 1× Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 |
| Participate in 5 battles | 1× Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 |
| Participate in 10 battles | 1× Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 + 1× Promo Card Exchange Ticket |
| Participate in 15 battles | 1× Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5 |
Solo Battle Difficulty Tiers and Promo Pack Chances
The event features four difficulty levels that unlock sequentially. Higher difficulties increase the probability of receiving a Promo Pack after each win, and Expert guarantees one every time. Event Stamina is consumed only on wins — losing costs nothing.
| Difficulty | Promo Pack Chance | First-Time Pack Hourglasses | First-Time EXP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beginner | 51% | 2 | 25 |
| Intermediate | 64% | 4 | 50 |
| Advanced | 80% | 6 | 75 |
| Expert | 100% | 8 | 100 |
Every difficulty tier also awards 1 Promo Pack B Series Vol. 5, 1 Shop Ticket, and the listed Pack Hourglasses as first-time clear rewards. Subsequent wins yield chance-based rewards: 25 Shinedust (guaranteed), a Shop Ticket at varying rates (38.7% to 75.5% depending on difficulty), and the Promo Pack at the rates above.
Battle Tasks by Difficulty
Each difficulty tier has specific battle tasks that reward Event Hourglasses or Wonder Hourglasses. You can complete these even on losses since stamina isn't consumed, making it worth intentionally conceding on lower tiers to knock out tasks without spending resources.
Beginner Battle Tasks
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| KO opponent's Active Pokémon with a Water-type attack | 4× Event Hourglass |
| Put 3 Basic Pokémon into play | 4× Event Hourglass |
Intermediate Battle Tasks
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| KO opponent's Active Pokémon with a Water-type attack | 3× Event Hourglass |
| Put a Stage 1 Pokémon into play | 4× Event Hourglass |
| Win with 2+ Paldean Wonders cards in your deck | 2× Event Hourglass |
Advanced Battle Tasks
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| KO opponent's Active Pokémon with a Water-type attack | 4× Wonder Hourglass |
| Deal 100+ damage with one attack | 4× Wonder Hourglass |
| Win with 6+ Paldean Wonders cards in your deck | 4× Wonder Hourglass |
| Win without opponent scoring any points | 4× Wonder Hourglass |
Expert Battle Tasks
| Task | Reward |
|---|---|
| Win without any Pokémon ex in your deck | 5× Wonder Hourglass |
| Win with 12+ Paldean Wonders cards in your deck | 5× Wonder Hourglass |
| Deal 100+ damage with one attack | 5× Wonder Hourglass |
| Win 5 or more battles | 5× Wonder Hourglass |
| Win 10 or more battles | 5× Wonder Hourglass |
Event Stamina and Hourglass Management
Each battle requires 1 Event Stamina, which regenerates at a rate of 1 every 12 hours. You can hold a maximum of 8 Event Stamina at once by banking 3 extra through Event Hourglasses. Hourglasses earned from battle tasks or carried over from previous drop events all work here. Poke Gold can also be used to replenish stamina if you run out.
Since stamina is only consumed on victories, you can freely attempt lower-difficulty battles to complete tasks without worrying about wasting resources. This is especially useful for tasks that don't require winning, like putting Pokémon into play.
AI Deck Composition and Counter Strategy
The Beginner and Intermediate stages use a Charcadet-themed Fire deck from the Paldean Wonders set, built around Fuecoco, Crocalor, and various Colorless Pokémon. The Advanced and Expert stages escalate to an Armarouge ex deck that also includes Moltres ex and Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon for energy acceleration.
The AI's Fire typing makes Water Pokémon the natural counter. Armarouge ex has an ability that reduces incoming damage, but Water-type weakness effectively cancels that out. Fast Water attackers like Suicune ex, Chien-Pao ex, and Alolan Ninetales ex are particularly effective. Alolan Ninetales ex stands out because its attack effect can prevent the opponent from drawing energy from the Energy Zone, shutting down Armarouge ex's setup entirely.
Energy disruption cards like Team Rocket Grunt, Piers, and Team Star Grunt are also strong choices since Armarouge ex already discards one of its own energy after attacking. Stacking energy removal on top of that self-discard makes it very difficult for the AI to maintain pressure.
For the Expert battle task requiring a deck with no Pokémon ex, consider a non-ex build using Greninja's bench-sniping ability alongside damage-boosting supporters. Greninja paired with Oricorio (which blocks all damage from Pokémon ex) creates a situation where only Hearthflame Mask Ogerpon can touch you, and it only deals 40 damage per attack.
How to Claim Promo Packs
Promo packs earned from battles and missions don't open automatically. Navigate to the Gifts section in the upper-right corner of the main menu to find and open them. Each pack contains exactly one of the five promo cards, so you'll need multiple packs to collect the full set. Farming Expert-difficulty battles is the most efficient path since every win guarantees a pack drop.
Between the five mission packs, four first-clear packs (one per difficulty), and guaranteed Expert drops, you have plenty of opportunities to collect all five cards before the event wraps up on March 28. If you're still missing a specific card, use the Promo Card Exchange Ticket from the 10-battle mission to grab whichever one you need most.