It’s been officially one year (plus a couple of weeks) since the release of Pokemon TCG Pocket on mobile! This virtual on-the-go Pokemon Trading Card Game released October 30, 2024 and has been going strong since with well over ten expansions and thousands of Pokemon cards. I remember when they first announced this mobile app, I was excited because I had just learned how to play Pokemon TCG. I’ve always collected Pokemon cards, but only to collect and organize, never to play. So, I was eager to be early to this party.

I’ve been tempted to pay real money toward TCG Pocket, I won’t lie. But I haven’t. I agree that I think the game is fine as it is without paying anything. Those microtransactions are just extras you can get, but it doesn’t hinder the gameplay or anything else. I’ve been the most consistent with this mobile game than ever, and like Kris, I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon. Pokemon TCG Pocket has a lot to offer and with new booster packs coming out once a while, it’s pretty difficult to quit the game with the constant content and updates.

Saving up those Pack Hourglasses are certainly a trip and fun to hoard so you can open multiple packs at once. Although, I think even if you pay, you still have to wait twelve hours to open a new pack, but you can open two at once instead. So, instead of two new boosters per day, you get four per day. Honestly, I would pay the real money for the cosmetic stuff because I enjoy collecting all that stuff. I know I’ll eventually get the cards, but some of them are limited time offers or for events. See? Pocket does a great job keeping your attention and making sure you keep logging in every single day.

I was surprised at how the game is in terms of actual TCG battles. To put it bluntly, it’s like a watered-down version of the actual Pokemon TCG battles. Given it’s a mobile app and most people probably play on the go, I think the battles are done relatively well. Although, yeah, I agree with the coin flip. Normally it’d be exciting to go first in battle, but it almost punishes you for going first. You get to set up, sure, but you can’t add energy to your Pokemon, thus can’t attack first. The one who goes second gets to add energy and attack on their first turn, so they’re basically the ones going first. It doesn’t make sense to me and I always find myself keeping my fingers crossed to get a “tails” on that initial coin flip.

Oh, I see. I guess that makes sense about going first versus second. Still, in Pocket, I’d prefer to be the one going second. What you suggest makes more sense to me, honestly. Regardless, the way Pocket works is great. I know it sounds like we’re saying otherwise, but overall the gameplay is relatively smooth, unless you’re playing against a real person. Then, it can be slow depending on how quickly they take their turn and the delay of the internet and such, but that’s nothing that can really be helped. It works as well as it can. That said, I enjoy doing the solo battles more than the versus battles against real people. It goes faster and if I need to interrupt the battle for any reason, I won’t feel bad about ditching my opponent.

I don’t make my own decks all that often, truth be told. I do sometimes when I feel like taking the time to do so, but I’m already on my phone too much enough as it is. I use the rental decks quite a bit. But speaking of decks, let’s talk about the cards. In addition to battling, you can trade (and now share) cards with others. Personally, I like organizing my cards into different binders on the app. Unfortunately, you can only add thirty Pokemon cards to one binder at a time. I have a binder dedicated to my shiny Pokemon cards and have way more than thirty of them!

Yes! I appreciate that it now tells you how many of a specific card you have when doing a Wonder Pick or trading with someone. Speaking of the Wonder Picks, I don’t mind that feature, but it’s not a go-to of mine. I try to do one or two a day, but the random is too random for me. I mean, getting any card is better than getting none, but I often find myself having better odds of getting a card I don’t have and still manage to pick the one that I already have multiples of.

That’s fair. As for me, even though I do enjoy the battles from time to time, I think my favorite part about Pocket is collecting the cards, which is pretty similar to what I do in real life. I guess there’s no surprise there! Anyway, I’m glad Pokemon TCG Pocket exists. It’s a lot of fun and an inexpensive way to keep collecting cards so I don’t burn a hole in my wallet on real life cards… although, I’m still collecting cards in real life, too.

I had been dabbling in playing Pokemon TCG for the past few years, collecting the physical cards for the art but also for the codes to get those sweet booster packs online. However, I don’t always have the time to have a quick match with others and I miss the game. Pocket has scratched those itches for me this past year, and I don’t anticipate slowing down with the mobile game anytime soon. As a disclaimer, I have not paid real money on this game, and I still feel like the game is full without doing so.

Honestly, I think the only mobile game that I’ve thrown real money at was Fire Emblem Heroes… Haven’t played that in a hot minute. If I recall, Fire Emblem Heroes was more of a gacha game, spending money for more chances at the “slot machine” mechanic for getting the heroes. For Pokemon Pocket, spending real money gives you another booster pack to open as well as some cosmetic stuff, I believe. I am fine waiting out the time limit for opening booster packs and eventually splurging on opening multiple after I save up enough of the Pack Hourglasses to do so. It’s like a reward, haha!

It does! I’m usually not one for gambling, but this kind of game does it fine by me. Aside from the collecting, I enjoy the simplified version of the TCG too. There are a few tweaks I would make for it (like, why can’t whoever goes first at least put an energy on one of their Pokemon?) but I overall like it. Creating decks is simple but with all of the trainer and item cards available, there is plenty of strategy to it. I’m that trainer that tends to stick with her favorites rather than go for the trends in decks, I’ll admit. Can’t wrap my head around every type of ability and card that is available to us.

I believe in the original TCG, the person who goes first is able to add an energy to their Pokemon but cannot attack. Then, the second person adds an energy and, if able, can attack. The game is set up so the second player has the opportunity to attack first while the first player may be able to have a stronger attack when it’s their turn again. It’s like speed versus power. Because the cards and attacks themselves are watered-down, to borrow Rachel’s phrase, having the first player merely set up their cards rather than allowing them to start prepping attacks may have seemed fairer to the developers. In my opinion, both players’ first turns should be about setting up. The person going second is able to strategize their own set up after seeing the first player’s cards, while the first player can get the chance to attack once it’s their next turn.

I do my best not to be too impatient when playing against other people when they’re taking their time because, as you said, it can also be the fault of internet speed. With that said, I think I prefer battling against real people rather than the solo battles. The prizes and timing of the solo battles are great, but there’s nothing like the rush of actually going against a real person and, hopefully, beating their deck with your own crafted one. I also enjoy battling against you, Rachel, particularly when either of us has a crafted deck to test out! The battling and collecting card mechanics work very well for this little mobile app.

That’s awesome! I… forgot about the binder feature for your cards. Whoops. I should probably explore that more. My favorite thing to do with my cards is improve my own decks. Collecting is a big part of the game, obviously, and I’ve been trying to initiate more trades to finish up the packs. Cards that are on my wishlist for folks to see are the ones I’m missing and, I figured, if there’s any other cards down the line that I think I need to complete a deck, those will be the next to add to the wishlist. I have noticed with one of the more recent updates that when you open a pack or do a Wonder Pick, there is a number indicating how many of the specific cards you have. I think that’s super useful when planning out decks or trades!

Oh, I do that all the time! If I only have one card out of the five shown, I will more often than not pick the one card rather than any of the others. I don’t mind the Wonder Pick in general but, like yourself, I tend to do the one or two a day to fulfill the daily missions for more pack hourglasses. I do enjoy the little missions that Pocket has, especially the themed collections. I find it fun and rewarding to fulfill those. Overall, though, I think my favorite aspect about Pocket is creating the decks and playing a simplified version of TCG with others around the world.

Kris

Kris is the older sister of the pair, and has been playing video games since she was able to read. She was introduced to the gaming world mainly by her uncles with the Super Nintendo and Nintendo 64 consoles.

As a child, she wanted to grow up to be a teenage mutant ninja turtle, but instead she works a typical 9 to 5 office job. Much of her other time is spent pet-sitting, writing, and role-playing shenanigans in tabletop RPGs.

Rachel

Often seen as the second player, Rachel grew up watching Kris play video games before she was old enough to pick up a Nintendo controller herself. Now she only sometimes gives Kris the hard bosses to defeat.

In real life, Rachel is a full-time pet sitter and part-time storyteller. She writes game reviews for Pure Nintendo Magazine, and is working on creating her own video game.