Hello. In this Pokemon TCG and gaming post, I highlight the mobile game Pokemon TCG Pocket. This game is out in New Zealand as it is geolocked. For those who want to play it early a VPN is required. In most countries, this game launches on October 30, 2024.
Genetic Apex Cards - Pokemon TCG Pocket
Notes About Gameplay
You can view Pokemon TCG Pocket mobile game as a lighter version of the Pokemon trading card game. In this game you collect playable cards, battle against the computers in guided tutorials and missions, collect more cool cards and battle against other players.
The controls in the game are pretty much all by touch with some touch and drag mechanics. In the early stages of the game it can be a bit slow as there a lot of tutorials and guides. This is good for new players to any card game and not so good for the impatient ones who want to jump right into the games.
There are pay to win elements in this game (as with almost any game). You can buy more in-game items in order to collect more cards or to pay for gambling chances to chase shiny rare cards.
Guided Tutorials
Guided tutorials in the game help newer players understand the mechanics of battling, moving cards around, Pokemon types, Pokemon weaknesses, evolutions, Supporter cards, Item cards and Energy attachments.
In the regular video game and the trading card game you do double damage if you hit the opponent's Pokemon for weakness. (i.e. Lightning Pokemon do double damage to Water Pokemon) Weakness in Pokemon TCG Pocket does +20 damage instead. There are no resistances in the Pocket game.
Energy cards are in the regular/physical trading card game but in Pocket you attach Energy to your Pokemon from an Energy Zone. You manually attach one Energy from the Energy Zone to one of your Pokemon once per turn. Energy is needed to meet the attack cost requirements. If you play with just Lightning Energy then all your Energies are Lightning type. If you play with two or more Energy types then the Energy you get is random. This random Energy could be bad. If you need Water Energy for an attack but you can Fire Energy then you may not be able to attack.
In the regular trading card game you need to collect 6 prizes to win or have your opponent not have any more Pokemon available. With Pocket you need to get 3 points first befor your opponent to win. If you knock out one regular Pokemon then you get 1 point. Knocking out a Pokemon ex card that is usually more powerful gets you 2 points. The deck out win condition is not in this game. If you have no cards to draw then the game continues.
If a player goes first then that player can play item cards, one Supporter card, bench Basic Pokemon (no evolving). You cannot attach energy manually on the first turn. The only exception to attaching energy on the first turn is with the Misty Supporter card. If you get lucky with Misty then you can attach energy first turn and attack on your first turn.
A player going second can attach energy manually and start attacking.
There are more mechanics but it would be too much to list here. You could watch this guy's guide who had insider information from a private event or this trailer. Note that I have not watched the first link video. I don't know if it's informative or not.
Single Player Missions
The Pokemon TCG Pocket game does have single player missions. These missions are good for gaining EXP points, collecting more cards from opening booster packs and for testing out cards & decks. I do recommend playing these single player missions before getting into battling other random players globally.
The missions start off easy and gradually get tougher. Opponent AI at the start is not that great but they get quite strategic in the later missions. Decks from the opponents start off from bad to more powerful. In the later single player missions they will have Pokemon ex cards. Watch out for Charizard ex that can one hit knockout almost anything in this game.
Random Battles Mode
With battling you can battle against random opponents online or have a private match. If you choose to battle random opponents online you can choose Beginner at the top or select that you are experienced in trading card games. I have only selected Beginner so far in my own playthroughs. You then get paired up with a random opponent for you to face.
In private matches you either enter in a code to enter someone else's hosted room or you generate a code to give to your opponent. Once the other player has correctly entered the private room code and internet connection is okay then the private match begins. A coin flip is done to determine who goes first.
Card Gallery
There are a bunch of cards you can collect and play with. It would be too much too show them all. I show some images here. For the full list go to this Pokebeach link.
In the free version of the game you can open 2 virtual booster packs for free. Collect cards to make stronger decks as well as collect the colourful art cards to complete your collection.
The Pokemon TCG Pocket game does have a Wonder Pick feature. This feature is interesting as you can select booster packs from other players. Around every 12 hours you increase your Wonder stamina by 1. Booster packs from other players would be available for you to choose. The packs contain five cards for you to see. Booster packs that don't have rare cards cost 1 from your Wonder stamina. Packs with slightly more rare cards cost 2 from your Wonder stamina. Players with packs that feature a really rare card like a Pokemon ex or a colourful art card cost 3 or 4 from your Wonder stamina.
Once you select a pack from the Wonder Pick feature, you select one of the 5 cards at random. If you get a rare card then
Other Notes
When you start playing the game there is a lot of learning and missions to complete. Once you finish most of the single player missions the game does get stale. You would then have daily missions, battles to complete for more experience and grind your way to collecting all the cards.
The game does have a bit of randomness (RNG). There are a few big attackers that have attacks with coin flips and there are scenarios where drawing the right card can decide between winning and losing. There is also the case where the opponent can get lucky in his or her setups.
Your decks may not be good if you don't have certain cards. Opponents may have better and stronger decks because they have the necessary cards or have all the cards. The better opponents may have spent more time on the game and/or have really spent money in getting more cards. There are players or content creators who are willing to pay to win. I have not purchased the Premium Pass yet. There is a two week trial. The pass allows access for more missions resulting in more rewards. Also you can open 3 free booster packs in 24 hours instead of two.
Youtube content creators are already getting in early on this game and making content. VPNs are very likely used here.