Pokémon TCG Pocket Introduction guide

Pokémon TCG Pocket is now available for all Pokémon Trainers around the world! For those who didn’t take part in the game’s soft launch (as a resident New Zealand or a visiting guest thanks to a VPN), you’ll be pulling your first packs today. As you dive in and familiarize yourself with Genetic Apex (the first set available in Pokémon TCG Pocket), decks consisting of 20 cards (Pokémon, Trainer, and Supporter cards only), displaying your favorite cards, and more, here’s a rundown of Pokémon TCG Pocket’s features and some tips.

 

Tutorial

Starting Pokémon TCG Pocket for the first time, you’ll be treated to the game’s title screen. From there, you must proceed through the following menus:

• Country/Region and Age verification: You must select what country or region you reside in as well as input your birth month and year.
• Terms of Use and Privacy Notice: You must read through both the Terms of Use and Privacy Notice. After that, you must check off each box to agree.
• Create Save Data: You’ll be prompted to “Create New Save Data” or “Transfer Existing Save Data”. When selecting “Create New Save Data”, you’ll be prompted to link your account (to restore save data in case the Pokémon TCG Pocket app is deleted). You can link your account with your Nintendo Account, Apple ID (if playing on an Apple device), and Google Account. You can also select “Not now”.
  • If you want to “reroll” your first two pulls, then select “Not now”. You can delete the Pokémon TCG Pocket app and redownload it to start over.

After completing these steps, additional data may be downloaded, followed by an intro movie showing off various Pokémon cards that can be pulled in the app. Then you’ll get a little introduction and asked to select your player icon and player name. Currently player icons are limited to Pikachu, Eevee, Snorlax, Slowpoke, Gym Leader Erika, and Team Rocket Boss Giovanni (the artwork used is from various Pokémon cards). When picking a name, you’re limited to 14 characters. You can change your icon at any time, but you can only change your player name in 30 days.

 

Opening your first pack

Once complete, you’ll be able to pull your first booster pack. You can pick one of the three Genetic Apex packs: Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwo. Based on what pack you open, you’ll get a specific Pokémon ex card and lock in which First Partner Pokémon full illustration card you will get during the Wonder Pick tutorial (this will happen after opening a second booster pack).

 

 

First Pack guaranteed Pokémon ex card:

• Charizard Pack: Exeggutor ex (4 diamonds, “Double Rare/Ultra Rare” rarity)
• Pikachu Pack: Arcanine ex (4 diamonds, “Double Rare/Ultra Rare” rarity)
• Mewtwo Pack: Marowak ex (4 diamonds, “Double Rare/Ultra Rare” rarity)

 

First Partner Pokémon (in Wonder Pick) based on first pack choice:

• Charizard Pack: Charmander (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)
• Pikachu Pack: Squirtle (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)
• Mewtwo Pack: Bulbasaur (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)

 

After opening the pack and seeing what five cards you’ve pulled, you’ll be prompted to “swipe up” to add them to your card dex. Once the animation has ended, the tutorial will prompt you to select the Pokémon ex card you pulled and view it. This way you’re introduced to the view and rotating functions (this can be done with any card you’ve collected).

 

Missions menu

Then you’ll be introduced to the Mission icon and its menu. With pulling your first pack, you’ll automatically complete the “Register 5 cards in the card dex” Dex Mission. Selecting complete will earn you 2 Emblem Tickets (Genetic Apex). These emblems can be exchanged in the Shop (under the Emblems section) for badges that can be displayed on your profile. Currently, only three emblems are available and they are Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwo. Only one of each can be acquired and each emblem costs 100 Emblem Tickets (Genetic Apex).

 

Opening your second pack

Afterwards, you’ll be redirected back to the main screen. A cooldown timed for your next pack has appeared. Typically the cooldown timer is 12 hours, but for the tutorial it has been shortened to “1 minute”. After the tutorial text bubble disappears, you’ll instantly have another pack to open. Here, you’re not locked into the same type of pack you first pulled. You can select the Charizard (Genetic Apex) pack, or the Pikachu (Genetic Apex) pack, or the Mewtwo (Genetic Apex) pack by tapping the one you want.

Typically, tapping on any pack directs you to a screen where you can cycle through each different pack, selecting a different pack than what you originally tapped. For the tutorial, this has been disabled. You’ll be locked into whichever pack you tapped on the hub screen.

From there, you’ll be locked into opening the pack and can cycle through a “carousel” of the same packs. Here you can spin packs (can open them front facing or backwards) and cycle through them. For this second pack, you are guaranteed to pull at least one “rare” card (it appears the minimum is a 3 Diamonds, but 1 Gold Star, an Illustration Rare, have been more common). Once the entire pack has been shown, your cards will be added to the card dex.

 

Leveling up and Wonder Pick

With two packs opened, you’ve earned enough EXP to level up and be Level 2. You’ll be rewarded with 12 Wonder Hourglasses, 1 Rewind Watch, 1 Poké gold, and unlocking the Wonder Pick feature.

Now that Wonder Pick has been unlocked, the tutorial will walk you through this feature. Wonder Pick is where you can randomly pick one card from another player’s booster pack pull. Wonder Stamina is needed to initiate a Wonder Pick, but that will be waved for the tutorial. You’ll automatically be given a “Bonus Pick” and it doesn’t matter which of the 5 cards you choose from, you’ll get the following card based on the first pack you opened:

• Charizard Pack: Charmander (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)
• Pikachu Pack: Squirtle (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)
• Mewtwo Pack: Bulbasaur (1 Gold Star, Illustration Rare)

 

With the Wonder Pick finished, your First Partner Pokémon Illustration Rare will be added to your card dex. The tutorial will be over and your Pack Stamina will be refilled so you can pull another 2 packs.

 

 

 

General Info

Here are some things to keep in mind (and explore) when playing Pokémon TCG Pocket for the first few days.

 

Opening booster packs

A card pack can be opened once every 12 hours. This cooldown timers of 12 hours can be shortened when using a Pack Hourglass (or multiple Pack Hourglasses). One Pack Hourglass reduces the timer (your Pack Stamina) by one hour. There is no daily limit on using Pack Hourglasses – you’ll just be limited to how many you can earn.

You can get Pack Hourglasses via Daily Missions, purchased in the Shop, received for free in a Daily Gift, completing Guide “missions” in the Battle section, level up reward, and as a reward in the Premium Missions.

A third pack can also be opened daily if Trainers have an active Premium Pass subscription. The service requires a monthly fee of US$9.99.

There is also a small chance (0.05%) of pulling a Rare Pack (also called a God Pack). These packs will have all rare cards for all five cards (1 Gold Star to the elusive Crown Rare rarities).

 

Genetic Apex (A1) and Promo-A cards

Genetic Apex (A1) is the first set of cards available in Pokémon TCG Pocket. This set contains at total of 286 cards – 226 cards as the “set” and an additional 60 “secret” cards. Currently, there are three different trading card packs that can be chosen to open – Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwo. Certain cards (specific Pokémon and Trainer cards) can only be “opened” from one of these themed packs (i.e.: the Illustration Rare Gyarados card (One Gold Star) can only be pulled from the Pikachu pack). To check what’s in each pack, you can select the “Offering Rates” button in the pack selection menu. (Rates will show for whichever pack is centered on screen.)

A Promo-A set is also available, but cards from this series are obtained through other means (purchasing in the shop, completing missions, participating in events, etc.). During the soft launch, Promo-A mainly consisted of Trainer and Support cards. With the global launch, this set will include Pokémon cards Trainers can earn during upcoming events.

More expansions will be available in the future.

 

 

Pack Points and Pack Point Exchange

With every pack you open, you’ll earn 5 Pack Points. These points can be exchange for Pokémon cards. Pack Points earned from a specific set can only be exchanged for cards in that set (i.e.: points earned from opening Genetic Apex (A1) packs can only be exchanged for Genetic Apex (A1) cards). The Pack Point cost is based on the card’s rarity:

• 35 Points: 1 Diamond
• 70 Points: 2 Diamonds
• 150 Points: 3 Diamonds
• 400 Points: 1 Gold Star (Illustration Rare)
• 500 Points: 4 Diamonds
• 1,250 Points: 2 Gold Stars
• 1,500 Points: 3 Gold Stars (Immersive Card)
• 2,500 Points: Crown Rare

 

Starting out, it’s best to save up your Pack Points to exchange for cards you want for deck building or for that extra-rare card you haven’t pulled after opening hundreds of packs.

 

Wonder Pick

The Wonder Pick is where you can blindly pick one card from another player’s booster pack pull. Your first Wonder Pick through the game’s tutorial will be free (and may be labeled as a Bonus Pick).

Wonder Stamina is required to make a Wonder Pick. Your Wonder Stamina gauge can hold up to five Wonder Stamina (in the free version) and it takes 12 hours for one Wonder Stamina to regenerate. To expedite the process, you can use the Wonder Hourglass to shorten the time (with 1 Wonder Hourglass removing 1 hour). The Wonder Stamina cost is determined by the highest rarity card in the booster pack that was opened (and can cost anywhere between 1 and 5 Wonder Stamina).

• 0 Wonder Stamina: Bonus Pick
• 1 Wonder Stamina: contains only 1 to 2 Diamond(s) rarity OR a “Chansey Pick”
• 2 Wonder Stamina: contains at least a 3 Diamonds rarity card is featured
• 3 Wonder Stamina: contains at least one 1 Gold Star rarity (Illustration Rare card) OR a “Rare Pick”
• 4 Wonder Stamina: contains at least a 2 or 3 Gold Star rarity
• 5 Wonder Stamina: contains a Crown Rare

 

Your selection of Wonder Picks refreshes every two to four hours. Friends’ pack pulls will be prioritized at the top of the list. At the bottom of the list, up to four expired Wonder Picks will be shown. This options can still be picked from with the aid of a Rewind Watch and the required Wonder Stamina. After completing a Wonder Pick, you can send a Friend Request to the Trainer and/or Thank them. Make sure you at least send a “Thanks!” their way, as they’ll receive a Shop Ticket.

At launch, the Bonus Pick was not available outside of the tutorial and Chansey Picks haven’t been implemented.

 

 

Missions

The Missions Menu consists of six sections: Beginner, Advanced, Daily, Dex, Deck, and Premium.

• Beginner: Available when starting out, these Beginner Missions will reward Trainers with Pack Hourglasses and Wonder Hourglasses.
  • Only 5 missions are available with Beginner Missions. Once all are completed, this tab will disappear from the Missions menu and be replaced with Advanced Missions.
• Advanced: Available after Beginner Missions are completed. The Advanced Missions will reward Trainers with Shinedust and Pack Hourglasses.
  • Only 12 missions are available with Advanced Missions, but you need to only complete 9 to get all completion rewards. Once completed, this tab will disappear from the Missions menu.
• Daily: These missions will refresh every 24 hours (a countdown timer is featured). Only three out of the five missions need to be completed to get the “completion bonus” of 3 Pack Hourglasses.
• Dex: Missions themed around specific expansion packs will be listed here. Currently there is no time limit to completing these missions.
  • For Genetic Apex (A1), there are 13 missions to complete. All missions are related to registering different cards from this expansion into your card dex (ranging from 5 cards to 220 cards).
• Deck: These missions are related to Pokémon TCG Pocket’s card battling (solo battling and versus matches). Each expansion in Pokémon TCG Pocket will get their own set of missions.
  • For Genetic Apex (A1), there are 24 missions available. All missions require collecting specific cards to unlock rental decks.
• Premium: These missions are only available to Trainers that have an active Premium Pass subscription. Missions will reward Trainers with Premium Tickets which can be exchanged for cards and accessories in the Premium shop.

 

Shop

Pokémon TCG Pocket’s in-game shop is divided into two sections – Main and Limited Time / Events.

 

Main

• Tickets
  • Daily Gifts: Each day you can claim a free Daily Gift bundle that contains a Wonder Hourglass and Shop Ticket.
  • Hourglasses: Where individual and bundles of Pack Hourglasses and Wonder Hourglasses can be purchased with Shop Tickets.
  • Special Shop Tickets: Purchasing a Special shop ticket – a currency that is used to exchange for special accessories or items in Special section.
    • It costs 300 Shop Tickets for 1 Special shop ticket (at launch).
  • Accessories: Where binder covers (and other accessories) can be purchased.
  • Cards: Where Supporter and Item Cards can be purchased.
• Emblems
  • Where emblems can be purchased. These can be displayed on your profile.
    • In the future, these will be separated by the Pokémon TCG expansion pack. At launch, only Genetic Apex emblems are available.
• Special
  • Accessories: Where themed accessory skins for battling (Pokémon coin, card sleeve, playmat, backdrop, and cover) can be purchased.
• Other
  • ???: No items are currently listed in this tab. This may be updated in the future.

 

Limited Timed / Events

• Premium
  • Premium Pass: Trainers can subscribe to the Premium Pass here. This is a monthly subscription (costs US$9.99 per month). You can try out the Premium Pass for free for two weeks.
    • Purchasing this pass (or trying it out) will allow Trainers to open an additional card pack each day and unlock the Cards and Accessories section in the Premium Shop plus Premium Missions.
  • Cards: Using Premium Tickets, Trainers can redeem exclusive cards (available with an active Premium Pass subscription).
  • Accessories: Using Premium Tickets, Trainers can redeem exclusive accessories (available with an active Premium Pass subscription).
• Poké gold
  • Recommended: Where curated bundles that require Poké gold can be purchased.
    • At launch, only the Pokémon coin (Erika) + Bonuses A and Pokémon coin (Erika) + Bonuses B bundles can be purchased.
• Other
  • ???: No items are currently listed in this tab. This may be updated in the future.

 

Card Dex

 

 

Every Pokémon TCG card you collect can be found here. You can view individual cards be selecting them. This is also where you can rewatch the animation for Immersive cards.

You can also access Binders, Display Boards, and Decks, but these require you to reach a certain level.

 

Leveling Up and Level Unlocks

In Pokémon TCG Pocket, there is a level system. To level up, you’ll have to earn EXP. Starting out, you’ll be limited to earning EXP – through opening booster packs (25 EXP per pack) and Wonder Pick (15 EXP for each Wonder Stamina used, 15 EXP to 75 EXP depending on the Wonder Pick). Once you’ve reached Level 3, you’ll be able to earn EXP through card battles (15 EXP for Versus matches and 25 t0 100 EXP for Solo matches).

Every time you level up, you’ll be reward to the following items: 12 Pack Hourglasses, 12 Wonder Hourglasses, 1 Rewind Watch, and 1 Poké gold.

Depending on what level you reach, you may also unlock a feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket:

• Level 2: Wonder Pick (picking one card from someone else’s booster pack pull, unlocked during the Tutorial)
• Level 3: Battle menu  deck miissions(battling Solo or Versus with Pokémon cards you’ve collected)
• Level 4: Display Boards (can craft multiple display boards, where a single display board shows off a single card)
• Level 6: Binders (can make digital binders that you can use to show off cards, curate collections, and more)

 

A Display Board (left) and a Binder (right).

 

Battle

 

 

You can craft 20 card Pokémon TCG decks in Pokémon TCG Pocket and use them to battle the game’s computer and/or other Trainers. This feature doesn’t unlock until reaching Level 3. Once unlocked, you’ll be prompted to go through Guide Missions 00 – 06. Once completed, you’ll be given a free 20 card deck. (These cards will automatically be added to your card dex.)

Battles are divided into Solo and Versus modes. In the Solo mode, difficulty in separated into four sections: Step-Up Battle (Beginner), Step-Up Battle (Intermediate), Step-Up Battle (Advanced), and Expert Solo Battle. Each challenge (a specific deck) will have a First-Time Rewards payout and additional Battle Tasks for extra rewards.

 

Good luck collecting and battling in Pokémon TCG Pocket! May you pull your favorite Pokémon card or even one of the Crown Rare cards.

 

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