Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? It’s the mid-90s, Super Mario 64 was breaking records, Mario Kart 64 was ruining friendships, and times were much simpler. As we neared the start of the new millennia, our parents were worried about the Y2K bug, but we were worried about trying to “Catch ’em All.”
I vividly remember using my weekly allowance to pick up a new pack of Pokemon cards, before I finally could build a deck to battle my friends. I didn’t care about collecting them for the sake of future preservation, just so that I could try and get the cards I didn’t have.
Man, I sure wish I knew what I know now.
Anyway, Pokemon continued to consume me for a few years, thanks to the release of the Game Boy Color. I spent hours and hours playing Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow, trying to catch them all, without needing to spend a dime. Instead, Ash and I would just go on daily adventures, exploring new areas and filling the Pokedex.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Nails the Nostalgia
Since then, I have yet to find a card game that managed to capture my attention in the same way. I tried Magic and Yu-Gi-Oh, but neither of those really stuck. Instead, I ended up putting my attention into baseball cards, before that too fell to the wayside.
Fast forward to now, and I think Nintendo might have managed to hit me right in the nostalgia bone. Late last night, I was trying to look for an app on my phone and noticed a new app that I didn’t actually install. As it turns out, the Pokemon TCG Pocket app was finally released and I had completely forgotten about pre-registering for it back in August.
Not to be confused with “Pokemon TCG Live,” Pokemon TCG Pocket seems to put collecting cards first, with the added bonus of being able to create decks and battle. Getting everything ready to go is as simple as tapping a bunch of buttons on the screen, choosing a username, linking an account for syncing purposes, and then you’re in. Well, mostly.
After getting set up and signed in, you’re taken through a tutorial that you can’t skip. This kind of hand-holding drives me up a wall, even if it is helpful, as sometimes I just want to explore things for myself. Sadly, it’s just not possible, so be prepared to have your eyes glaze over for a few minutes.
Collecting Pokemon Cards
So the premise of Pokemon TCG Pocket is pretty simple. There are five tabs at the bottom of the screen: Shop, My Cards, Social Hub, Battle, and Menu. We have three different card packs to choose from, all from the “Genetic Apex” collection. One has Charizard, another has Mewtwo, and of course, the last one is Pikachu.
Currently, you can collect up to 226 cards, which includes not just Pokemon, but also a variety of Trainer cards. When going through the initial tutorial, you’ll be gifted your first pack, which even gives you a sense of nostalgia. Instead of just tapping the screen to open the pack, you drag your phone across the screen, with the top basically following the path of your finger.
From there, each pack includes five cards, with varying degrees of rarity and specialty. After opening the pack and sifting through the cards, you can view them with almost an AR-like experience, as the card moves back and forth according to the path of your finger.
This isn’t really all that exciting for Trainer cards or commons, but you’ll also find rare cards with effects that make it look like they’re coming out of the screen. So far, I only have a handful of these, but each of them is unique and just downright awesome.
How to Get Packs in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Getting new packs of cards is easy enough, as a new pack is unlocked from the Shop every 12 hours. You can speed things up with Hourglass Packs, which are earned by completing various missions and challenges. However, once you’re out of those, that’s it until the 12 hours have passed.
There are two other ways that you can get packs faster; Poke Gold and Premium Pass. Poke Gold can be used to buy things in the shop or recharge your “pack stamina.” With the Premium Pass, this is a monthly subscription that includes more than just getting new cards.
The Premium Pass costs $9.99 per month, but there’s a “one-time two-week no-cost trial.” With this, you’ll get the following:
- One extra pack to open per day and a new pack stamina gauge.
- Premium missions “that let you get promo cards and other items.”
I haven’t signed up for the Premium Pass just yet, but the idea of getting promo cards might push me over the edge.
Regardless of that, there are just a bunch of different things that you can purchase from the Shop, even without actually spending a cent. You’ll just have to grind battles and make sure to complete all of your missions.
Explore and Share
So what happens with all of the cards that you open and unpack every day? Well, as new cards are collected, they’ll appear in the “My Cards” section. From here you can filter the view based on different options, but that’s not all. It’s also you can also create Display Boards (for Community Showcase) and build your own deck.
There’s more nuance here that I haven’t really messed around with just yet, but it’s definitely in the cards.
The Social Hub is pretty neat, but there’s not much going on here just yet. All we really have is the Community Showcase, allowing you to see what others have managed to collect so far.
Oh, you can also add up to 99 friends thanks to the Friend ID that each player is assigned. There’s a “Trade” button in the Social Hub, but it’s crossed off and just says “coming soon.” I assume that we might only be able to trade with those on our friends list, but we’ll have to see.
It’s Time to Battle and Evolve
Once you’ve opened a few packs and have started amassing a collection, you can jump into the Battle section. After sitting through another walkthrough, complete with step-by-step instructions, you’re finally on your own.
I’ve been sticking to the Solo Battles, as I’m just trying to complete all of the missions and learn more about how the game works before trying to battle real people. Each of the Solo Battles has a different theme, so you’ll want to make sure that you have a Deck that’s suitable.
For instance, if battling the Ivysuar Deck, you’re going to want to have a Fire-type deck. Or if you’re taking on the Wartortle Deck, a Lightning-type deck will serve better.
Actual battles are pretty neat too, as you’ll need to earn three coins in order to “win.” But during the battle, you can actually perform evolutions if you have the right Pokemon. Say you start off with Charmander, but end up drawing a Charizard, and then a Charmeleon.
Well, you can’t just go from Charmander to Charizard, but you can evolve into Charmeleon, and then to Charizard. It’s just a matter of what cards are in your hand and playing them when the time is right.
Pokemon TCG Pocket is So Much Fun
So far, I’ve put about three or four hours into Pokemon TCG Pocket, and will definitely be sticking with it for now. I just hope that this doesn’t turn into yet another cash-grab attempt. Hopefully, we’ll see meaningful updates made that improve the game, introducing different ways to enjoy what it has to offer.
I really can’t believe it’s almost 2025 and I’m collecting Pokemon cards again. All without spending a bunch of money and without taking up space in my home.
You can download the game for free on either iOS or Android.
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