Pokemon TCG Pocket review: Card collecting has never been cosier

Pokemon TCG Pocket isn’t just an accompaniment to the physical card game, it’s a standalone dopamine factory that, surprisingly, respects the player’s time and wallet. It does so to a far larger degree than any game, mobile or otherwise, even though it doesn’t have to.

Even in the case of a globally recognized brand with a child-friendly reputation to uphold, exercising preemptive caution with any chance-based entertainment (some card drop rates have already elicited scrutiny) is always worthwhile.

But so far, as an experience designed to be ever-evolving, Pokemon TCG Pocket has already carved itself a place in my daily routine with complimentary design choices that effortlessly simplify the pleasure of chasing great art. However, it’s far from a one-trick pony.

Pokemon TCG Pocket screenshots & details

• Price: Free (in-app purchases)
• Developer: DeNA/Creatures Inc.
• Release date: October 30, 2024
• Platforms: iOS/Android
• Reviewed on iOS

Cardboard combat

At a base level, TCG Pocket is to physical collectors what competitive-focused TCG Live is to Pokemon fans who dabble in tabletop tournaments.

Namely, TCG Pocket is unashamedly concerned with keeping the feel-good chemicals flowing with blind booster packs and the chance of something shiny hiding inside.

However, any card you collect isn’t resigned to the singular purpose of gathering dust on a digital shelf. You can build decks and battle NPCs or other players just like in TCG Pocket’s counterpart. Only here, the mechanics are simplified and, to put it bluntly, animated in a far prettier manner than the sibling designed to champion the act of battling above all else.

The decision to upend how paper Pokemon is played elsewhere could be a source of frustration for anyone who enjoys Pocket’s iteration and decides to expand the hobby beyond their phone, but the changes don’t alter how you play at a fundamental level.

The removal of Prize Cards – replaced with a first-to-three-points-wins system – and luck-based reliance on drawing Energy cards to fuel your Active Pokemon’s attacks are the two big adjustments.

A turn-off for hardcore purists? Perhaps, but having dabbled in Pokemon’s competitive scene myself over the years, I considered both welcome attempts at changing the status quo and wouldn’t be averse to The Pokemon Company lifting these and other TCG Pocket-exclusive ideas for use elsewhere in the future, including the cards themselves.

Leaning into Immersion

While TCG Pocket borrows a portion of the cards in its inaugural Genetic Apex expansion from various eras of the physical TCG, the lion’s share are bespoke creations, with some of its rarest cards boasting art that extends beyond the usual portrait-shaped borders.

Just three of these – one each for Pikachu, Mewtwo, and Charizard – are present in Genetic Apex, and boast truly gorgeous depictions of iconic Pocket Monsters. Bizarrely, they’re not the scarcest collector’s items of all – gold cards of the same ‘mons have astronomically low drop rates – but certainly deserve to be.

The Pokemon Company/Unsplash

Immersive Cards have no alternative in the physical game.

If TCG Pocket is all about the chase, then innovative ideas for cards that couldn’t possibly work on cardboard are what Creatures Inc. should be shooting for more of, not aping the physical TCG’s rarity scale.

That’s what would encourage me to cave and spend on packs, as is surely the grand design, although even for a mobile game, TCG Pocket finds a remarkable balance with monetization.

Payment not necessary

Yes, as with any mobile game, TCG Pocket will devour any disposable income you decide to throw at it, but doing so largely acts as a time-saver for collectors frantically hunting for a specific card.

Without spending a single Poke Dollar, every player gets two booster packs for free every day, with an additional third pack for paying a monthly subscription. Positioned, as it is, as a casual-friendly experience intended to whittle away downtime, the only difference between spenders and free players will be the speed of completing a collection.

With no endgame or similar trapping to speak of, FOMO is non-existent.

The Pokemon Company

The Poke Gold icon as seen in-game.

Daily missions and one-time rewards all grant generous payouts of resources you can funnel into more packs and require mere minutes of time investment, with some rewarding complete Rental Decks playable straight out of the box. The restrictions on these – they can’t be used online and expire after a certain number of uses – are needless, however, and should be permanent baseline unlocks.

Dexerto Review Score: 4/5 – Great

Pokemon TCG Pocket is fun, accessible, and, most surprising of all, innovative. Rather than try to deliver a 1:1 digital alternative to the physical game, Creatures Inc. and DeNA have infused the allure of pack opening and building collections with novel ideas, unafraid at the same time, to modernize others.

As with all mobile titles, concerns remain over how monetization will change over time, but taken at face value, TCG Pocket is equally enjoyable for zero and big spenders alike. Improvements to some systems, namely limited-time events and long-term access to competitive-viable decks need reassessing, but these are minor drawbacks in what’s otherwise a cozy, welcoming daily ritual.

For more information on how we score video games, check out our scoring guidelines here.