The world of Pokemon is a titan within the world of pop culture. This legacy was built off a never ending flow of content that ranges from games, shows, and movies. One of the crown jewels for the Pokémon company is their trading card game that captured the minds of Pokémon like myself over the years. This conquest to dominate the trading card scene brings us to the Pokémon Company’s newest venture in the world of mobile gaming with Pokemon TCG Pocket. After playing it quite a bit since its release, I feel like a kid again and that classic Pokémon hype is in the air once again.
Simple yet fun
Being a mobile game based around card collecting, I had some heavy reservations heading into Pokémon TCG Pocket. I thought I’d be greeted with a slew of microtransactions for in-game currencies and sure, they do exist within the app but in a surprise twist, they are not required to get a positive experience out of your time with the game.
Every day you log into the app you have the ability to open an average of two to three packs of cards per day. These packs are entirely randomized and cards range from ones that feature the beloved classic style of cards I grew up collecting, to full art “immersive cards” that really take this experience to the next level.
Opening your two daily packs is a thing that is controlled by an in-game timer which concludes every 12 hours. Getting those two packs a day is nice for pacing purposes, but I am rather impatient when it comes to my next opening, so yes, this timer can be decreased by using a pack hourglass. When it comes to getting your next big pack hit, you can obtain more hourglasses by completing simple in-game missions to speed this process along as well. The missions themselves are as trivial as logging in, opening your two daily packs and completing a wonder pick mini game, so they can be completed fairly easily and lack any real challenge. I can only assume as time goes on more intricate challenges will be added to the game such as completing various sets and participating in more battles.
For those of you who like to take a chance, you can also try your hand at wonder picks which are completely random and allow the player to get one of the cards from a booster pack that was opened by another player. This is a part of the overall Pokémon TCG Pocket that I feel is not entirely needed since collecting cards can be done entirely via pack openings. Sure it’s nice to hit on a wonder pick every now and then but I often find myself gravitating towards opening another pack or battling.
Speaking of battling, I avoided this game mode out of fear it would be clunky and bland at face value. This can be accredited to my prior experience with games just like this. However, the Lapras EX drop event reeled me into this mode and I am happy to report I was wrong about my initial feelings towards this aspect of the game. The way the battling experience is set up will allow new trainers to thrive easily with various tips and tricks popping up on your screen that aren’t too intrusive. As you start to get a feel for the various decks you’ve constructed based on type advantages and evolutions you pull, battling will come to you naturally and can only improve with more generations of Pokémon and their unique abilities.
Just Like The Good Ole Days
Upon opening my fair share of packs over the Pokémon TCG Pocket initial release window, I have amassed quite the collection. So far, I have collected just around 200 cards that all vary in rarity, all being acquired without spending a single real-world dime. Just like when I was a kid, I now have the ability to arrange my shiny new cards in digital binders. This is a neat feature that allows you to arrange them as you see fit, much like you would in the real world. If you just so happen to pull one of the many rare cards within the game you can display the card via the game’s showcase feature or display boards to show off to the community or your close friends.
The Verdict
All I really wanted from Pokémon TCG Pocket was an app to pop into every now and then and feel like I walked away with a fun experience. There were definitely questions of if this app could rival or even come close to surpassing the hype levels that Pokémon GO warranted when it released back in 2016. That isn’t likely with Pokémon TCG Pocket being a completely different experience, but games like Marvel SNAP prove there is a market for mobile card collecting games. I might not strike gold with every pack I open, but the excitement and nostalgia of ripping open Pokémon Trading Card packs looks to keep me coming back for more.
