Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Review: The New Definitive Way to Play
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a new digital reimagining of the popular trading card game. Available as an app for iPhone or Android, this game allows you to collect and battle Pokémon cards with little barrier to entry.
Read our full review and view our rating below.
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★★★★★ 5/5 - Outstanding!
This new digital version of the hit trading card game captures all the fun of collecting cards while streamlining battles for a much more enjoyable user experience. The game is very easy to pick up and put down without feeling like you’re missing out and is a great way to experience the thrills of opening packs, all without breaking the bank. The new definitive way to play.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a new video game for Android and iOS that reimagines the popular physical card game into a digital on-the-go format. Pokémon TCGP aims to capture all of the aspects of the physical version of the game that make it so beloved, while also introducing new features to freshen up the experience for a modern audience.
Within the app, you can collect cards, open card packs, battle via online multiplayer, and more. The online-only game requires a free account to log in. Once logged in, the game’s available features are displayed on the Home screen.
Prominently displayed on the Home screen are the available card packs that may be opened.
Like many, my personal favorite part of the physical version of the trading card game was buying and opening card packs to see what Pokémon I got, the joy from the surprise and the pride from each rare card in my collection primarily fueling my interest.
I was very pleased to see this aspect of the game was kept intact for the Pocket version, and I was even happier to discover that opening card packs is completely free! I think this is the change that I was the most excited about by far, making it much more accessible and budget-friendly for those with a more passing interest in the game.
Opening a card pack within the app is done with much flair, inviting the player to first choose a pack from an available category. Then, numerous packs of this type populate a rotating carousel. Players can then flick their finger across the carousel to choose a specific pack before dragging their finger across the pack to “tear” it open.
The presentation is rather impressive for the first few pack openings, but it can slowly start to lose its full appeal as it becomes more of a barrier to entry, adding a couple extra steps before the real fun part: the card reveals.
After a pack is opened, five (5) cards are revealed, one-by-one. The last two (2) cards typically have increased rarity than the previous cards in the pack, making it particularly suspenseful if there are certain rare cards you are hoping to obtain.
Each Pokémon currently available in the game has a Basic card form with various attacks, attributes, abilities, health points (HP), and more. Many other cards have special versions with more colorful backgrounds and more powerful “ex” versions with different attacks/abilities. "ex” cards are harder to defeat in battle but give your opponents more points when they are defeated.
After each card is revealed, these cards are added to your ongoing card collection within the game, cataloging each card you have revealed so far. From your collection, you can zoom in on your cards, build decks for battling, mark cards as favorites, or upgrade their special effects (if you have any card duplicates).
Between card pack openings, you must wait twelve (12) hours before opening any additional packs. While being a business-smart limitation for free users, it doesn’t feel too much like a hindrance, however, and can be further alleviated by the use of “timer consumables.”
These timer consumables can be collected by completing daily missions, battling, leveling up, or by purchase from the in-game shop. Each one reduces the time you must wait to open a booster pack by an hour, and they are fairly common to come by.
Every time you open up a booster pack, you also receive a few Pack Points, which may be used to purchase specific cards you may be looking for to complete your set.
It can take quite a while to build up enough points to purchase the rarer cards in each set, so these are best saved until you’re only missing a handful of cards for your perfect battling deck.
Almost everything you do in the app is rewarded with experience points (EXP), which is used to level up your game profile. Leveling up grants access to new features, consumables, and more, indicating to others just how far along your collection is.
Profiles may be customized to show different avatars, names, badges, battle greetings, and various other personal settings.
By battling or completing missions within the game, you can gather a variety of in-game currencies that may be exchanged for certain cards, avatars, or other various items within the Shop screen.
Certain items can only be purchased using specific kinds of currency, ensuring that your focus isn’t too heavily weighted towards one aspect of the game. This can make some items feel like a chore to obtain if you don’t particularly favor one aspect like battling/collecting/etc.
Daily missions can be completed for simple tasks like logging in or opening a certain number of packs. Other missions have more specialized criteria for completion, such as obtaining both an Electabuzz and a Magmar card, or completing the legendary bird trio (Zapdos, Articuno, and Moltres).
One of the more prominent features of the game that is entirely unique to the Pocket version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game is the Wonder Pick function.
Wonder Pick allows players to view the results of recent pack openings by other players, including those on your friends list, in order to pick a card from these results.
Once a player chooses which results they want to pick a card from in Wonder Pick, the cards are flipped over and shuffled. Only one card may be picked from the bunch, making it a tense experience if there’s a certain card that you wanted from the group.
After a card is picked, that card is now part of your collection. Like pack-opening, Wonder Pick requires a period of time to recharge, or special timer consumables (specific to Wonder Pick) may be used to reduce the cooldown timer.
Now, onto Battles!
The battles within the Pocket version of this game have been significantly simplified and streamlined for the average user, keeping track of various rules of play in the background and clearly indicating to the player which options are available during the battle.
As someone who played only a handful of games of the physical version of the Pokémon Trading Card Game, keeping track of the rules was one of my biggest challenges and hindrance to my enjoyment, and I was grateful for Pocket’s very user-friendly experience, only possible via its digital format.
On the Battle screen in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, you can play against the computer in specific Solo scenarios, or you can battle others in online multiplayer using your collected cards in decks of twenty (20) cards each.
In battles, the game guides you through the various stages of each battle, starting with picking your starting Pokémon in the active spot.
The Pocket version offers a friendly, hand-holding tutorial for those unexperienced with the rules, guiding you through the various aspects of each battle gently. Available options within battles are highlighted appropriately, letting you know what actions you are able to take, and reminders appear on the screen if you attempt to end your turn without performing all possible actions.
You can zoom in on cards by holding your finger on them, allowing you to more closely read their attacks, abilities, HP, and other various information. Abilities and attacks highlight appropriately as well, letting you know when necessary criteria are met in order to use them.
In order to use attacks, Pokémon must have energy attached to them, and energy is automatically generated each turn. Attaching energy to a Pokémon is fairly intuitive, consisting of a simple drag-and-drop motion.
Battles tend to be between 10-20 minutes in length, which is a little on the longer side compared to other card games in its genre, like Marvel Snap.
Battles are rewarded with EXP and other various consumables, depending on if the battle was in Solo or Versus mode.
Overall, my experience with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket was very positive, and I can see myself playing this off-and-on for a very long time!
After spending some time with the game for the past couple weeks, I think one of the sorest points it has against it right now is that you can collect a decent percentage of the cards within the game pretty easily and quickly, making it less enticing to open new card packs. Duplicates are very common at the time of this writing, though with some upcoming expansions, I imagine this issue will be remedied fairly quickly.
★★★★★ 5/5 - Outstanding!
Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is the new definitive way to play the popular trading card game. Digital card pack-opening is free and hits all the right notes to still be fun, lowering the cost of entry to a plethora of new players. Battles are streamlined and user-friendly, guiding players through the more complicated rules. Online multiplayer is engaging and entices players to keep collecting cards. Card offerings are limited as of this writing, but expansions promise to greatly increase the number of available cards. A reimagining done right.
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