At long last, the Pokémon TCG is coming to mobile… again. Between Pokémon Go, Smile, Unite, Home, Quest, Café Remix, Rumble Rush, TCG Live, and Magikarp Jump, there’s been no end of mobile Pokémon games. Despite all these, The Pokémon Company is at it again with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket.
As the name suggests, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket aims to offer the fun of the TCG from your phone. Specifically, the new mobile game is angled around the collectible aspect of the game. This means you’ll primarily be cracking packs to admire the visually stunning contents inside.
Meet Pokémon Pocket
As touted on the new website for Pokémon Pocket, one of the major selling points is free packs. As The Pokémon Company states, “In this game, you will be able to open two booster packs every day at no cost.” This is great news for fans of the Pokémon franchise who don’t want to keep reaching into their wallet.
Beyond the inherent thrill of opening packs, Pokémon Game Pocket will feature brand-new and exclusive cards. These will be available alongside digital representations of classic cards featuring beloved and nostalgic artwork. Currently, it’s unclear if you can also purchase packs in Pokémon Game Pocket, but we imagine it’ll be possible.
To make Pokémon Game Pocket really unique, the mobile game will also offer Immersive cards. Presumably, Immense Cards are the ultra-chase rares that players will be cracking packs en masse for. Boasting special animations that take you into the frame, there’s no denying these cards look absolutely fantastic.
Not Just Good Looks
Thankfully, while collecting is clearly the focus, Pokémon Pocket isn’t just a pretty face. Alongside the collectible aspect, players will also be able to engage in quick battles. For better or worse, these battles won’t use the full Pokémon TCG battle system. Instead, this mobile game will use a streamlined, presumably more casual-focused, rule set.
Alongside this major feature, Pokémon Pocket will also feature a trading system. This should allow players to properly collect to their heart's content, rather than relying simply on pack opening. From the looks of things, Pokémon Pocket may not have an in-game economy to support this trading.
Despite the presumed lack of in-game currency, we fully expect people to try and sell their digital cards. Hopefully, if, or rather when, this happens, the digital-exclusive cards won't be worryingly expensive. As much as trading for money is expected, Pokémon Pocket ultimately looks like a lot of fun for free.
Unfortunately for potential Pokémon Pocket players, "the trading feature shown may not be available at launch." If this feature doesn't launch initially, we can only hope it doesn't take too long to be implemented.
What We Know
Since it has only just been announced, unsurprisingly, there aren’t many details about Pokémon Pocket available right now. What we do know is that the game is being made in collaboration with DeNA Co. Ltd and Creatures Inc. While they may not be household names, Creatures Inc. are the developers of the Pokémon TCG, so we can trust them to do a good job.
Currently, The Pokémon Company has only announced that Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket will be released sometime in 2024. When it is released, the game will be available on both iOS and Android devices. The system requirements for the game are not yet known.
Alongside Pokémon Pocket, The Pokémon Company also announced a new Pokémon Legends game. Dubbed Pokémon Legends Z-A, this game isn’t due to release until 2024, potentially on the Nintendo Switch 2. Within the game, Pokémon fans will return to Kalos and enjoy mega evolutions, which have been absent for some time.