Opinion: One Year On, Every Positive ‘Pokémon TCG Pocket’ Update Still Comes With A Catch

Approximately a year prior, I evaluated Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket here at Nintendo Life, granting it a commendable 7/10, predominantly due to the thrill of collecting ‘mons from that initial batch of packs.

Admittedly, there was excessive monetization manifested as various currencies, and the battles were devoid of significant strategy, but as a mobile game that you can mainly engage in without charge, it satisfied a desire that prevented me from tearing open overpriced physical packs and connected me with numerous friends doing likewise.

I’ve continued playing since then, acquiring all One- to Four-Diamond cards from each of the 11 sets while also successfully pulling every Immersive card. I’ve also attained the Master Ball rank in every ranked season. Yet, despite being someone who appears invested, my feelings about TCG Pocket have oscillated like a Magikarp uncertain whether to leap into the water or meet its end on the dry ground. Every advantage has its disadvantage in this Coalossal gacha title.

Throughout the past year, every significant feature or enhancement that developer DeNA introduced to improve the collecting and battling experience has accompanied an endeavor to extract more real-world money from the player community.

A notable instance of this (which later got ‘adjusted’) is the trading mechanism. TCG Pocket launched without this feature — ironically enough given the game’s title — and when it finally appeared, it came with a new currency and restrictive stipulations regarding which cards could be traded, encouraging players to spend additional real-world money on packs, as is typical in gacha games.

Specifically, you were unable to trade cards from the active set, and Two-Star cards or higher were not eligible for trading. If your favorite Pokémon happens to be Dragonite and you desperately seek that rainbow-border Dragonite EX, it’s wise to have your credit card ready because the Pack Points system won’t facilitate your need unless you drop a few hundred bucks, as trading with a friend who has duplicates isn’t an option.

Following community backlash, DeNA revised this restrictive framework. They initially eliminated the trade-specific currency and integrated it with Shinedust. And soon — perhaps even while you read this — they assure that you will be able to trade Two-Star cards while also incorporating the ability to gift Diamond rarity cards to your friends.

These amendments will undoubtedly enhance TCG Pocket’s player-friendliness, yet from my personal experience, it feels too little too late. Numerous individuals I know abandoned the game due to the overwhelming stress of keeping pace with the swift release cycle of new cards.

And in spite of advances in trading, I’m uncertain that collecting will markedly improve. The latest set — the limited-time Deluxe Pack EX — has players experiencing mixed feelings, like a Morpeko. While there are no mechanically novel cards in this pack, it guarantees an EX card in every pack. This indeed makes it a fantastic catch-up option for players who missed significant cards from earlier sets.

Simultaneously, completing this set is nearly impossible without spending money before its removal from the game, until some indefinite time in the future when DeNA re-launches it. They went ahead and incorporated 353 cards total, which is four times the amount in a standard pack of roughly 75 cards. This includes reverse holo cards as well as regular reprints of common cards, making most packs filled with excess for those — like me — who have consistently kept up with their collections.

Moreover, the cards from this set do not retroactively resolve past sets despite being identical in every respect, meaning that if you want to acquire those last few EX cards to finalize them, this pack is largely worthless.

Many individuals I know gave it up because it was too taxing to keep up with the rapid release of new cards.