Pokemon TCG Pocket (Complete Game Guide)

Last updated November 4th, 2024 · Published by Water Pokémon Master

Pokemon TCG Pocket is a “free to start” mobile app that allows fans to open virtual Pokemon TCG booster packs, collect digital cards, and construct 20-card decks to battle other players. The cards in Pocket cannot be found in real-world booster packs; they exist exclusively within the app.

Pocket‘s cards use more streamlined effects and mechanics than the real Pokemon TCG. This is to make the battles faster and the gameplay more accessible to casual fans. (In contrast, Pokemon’s other official app, Pokemon TCG Live, is a simulator that allows fans to use real cards in an online setting.)

Pocket launched worldwide on October 30th for iOS and Android. It soft-launched on September 26th. A limited demo was also available at Worlds in August 2024.

The app was created in collaboration with Creatures, DeNA, and TPCi.

Pocket Sets

  • Genetic Apex, released October 30th, 2024, featuring 286 cards. Headlined by Mewtwo, Charizard, and Pikachu.
  • Promo-A. These promo cards cannot be found in booster packs. They are available through other means in the app.

Starting the Game

Like picking your first Starter Pokemon in Red & Blue…

The first Genetic Apex booster pack you open will determine several cards you get, so choose wisely!

  • Mewtwo Pack: Bulbasaur & Marowak ex, Bulbasaur full art in Wonder Pick, Sandslash Deck in the Battle Guide Mission
  • Charizard Pack: Charmander & Exeggutor ex, Charmander full art in Wonder Pick, Pinsir Deck in the Battle Guide Mission
  • Pikachu Pack: Squirtle & Arcanine ex, Squirtle full art in Wonder Pick, Rapidash Deck in the Battle Guide Mission

Booster Packs

The app’s primary focus is to collect digital Pokemon cards by opening virtual booster packs.

Each booster pack contains five cards, with the highest rarity card in the back.

Unlike the real Pokemon TCG, each booster pack design features a handful of exclusive cards for that set. For example, you can only find Pikachu ex in the Pikachu booster pack from Genetic Apex.

You can flip packs over to open them from the back.

Card Rarities

Cards from a main set (before secret rares) have rarities of either ◆, ◆◆, ◆◆◆, or ◆◆◆◆. These roughly correspond to Basic Pokemon, Stage 1 Pokemon, Stage 2 Pokemon, and Pokemon ex.

Like the real TCG, secret rare cards are reprints from the main set, but with special artwork that overtakes the entire card (coined “full arts” by fans). Their card numbers extend beyond the last card in the main set. These are the rarest cards.

Secret rares have rarities of either ★, ★★, ★★★, or 🜲. These correspond to a full art Pokemon, a full art Pokemon ex or Supporter card, a full art “immersive” Pokemon ex, and a gold full art card (called a “crown rare”).

Immersive cards allow you to “dive” into the artwork, exploring the background and off-screen scenery. They are essentially video clips that extend the artwork of the card.

Special “promo” cards are also available that cannot be found in booster packs. They are available through other means in the game.

Pack Timers

You can open a free booster pack every 12 hours. When you open a pack, a 12 hour countdown timer starts until you can open the next free one. This equates to two free packs a day.

If you pay for a Premium Pass ($9.99 per month with a two week free trial), you can open a third pack per day. This will start a separate 24 hour countdown timer until you can open the next paid pack.

You can reduce pack opening timers by using two items:

  • Pack Hourglasses reduce the time to open packs by one hour. Rewarded for free as part of Missions.
  • Poké Gold reduces the time to open packs by two hours. Must be purchased with real money from the shop.

You can only cut down the timers by the total hours remaining. If you have 12 hours left, for example, you must use a combination of items to bring it from 12 to 0.

Poké Gold can be purchased for real money:

  • 5x Poke Gold costs $0.99
  • 15x costs $2.99
  • 50x costs $9.99
  • 500x costs $99.99

If you want to open another pack right away, it will cost 6x Poke Gold (around $1). If you want to open 10 booster packs, it will cost 60x Poke Gold (around $12). You can’t use more than 720x Poke Gold per day (120 packs, or $150).

Pack Points

You will earn five Pack Points for every booster pack you open. You can exchange these points for any card in the game, depending on its rarity. This is handy if you can’t pull a certain card:

  • 35 points: a ◆ card.
  • 70 points: a ◆◆ card.
  • 150 points: a ◆◆◆ card.
  • 500 points: a ◆◆◆◆ card.
  • 400 points: a ★ card.
  • 1,250 points: a ★★ card.
  • 1,500 points: a ★★★ card (immersive cards).
  • 2,500 points: a 🜲 card (crown rares).

God Packs

When selecting any booster pack to open, there is a 0.05% chance it will be a “Rare Pack,” which is colloquially known as a “God Pack.” These packs will give you five cards with a ☆ rarity or higher. The pull rates in God Packs are as follows:

  • A ★ card: 40% chance.
  • A ★★ card: 50% chance.
  • A ★★★ card: 5% chance.
  • A 🜲 card: 5% chance.

Wonder Pick

The Wonder Pick feature allows you to get a copy of a random card from another player’s recently opened booster pack. (They won’t lose that card.) You can browse through recently opened packs to see all the cards that were pulled from them.

Using Wonder Pick on a pack will cost between one to five Wonder Stamina depending on the rarest card found in that pack:

  • 1x Wonder Stamina for a pack with a ◆◆ card as the rarest card.
  • 2x Wonder Stamina for a pack with a ◆◆◆ card as the rarest card.
  • 3x Wonder Stamina for a pack with a ◆◆◆◆ card or ★ card as the rarest card.
  • 4x Wonder Stamina for a pack with a ★★ card as the rarest card.
  • (Packs with ★★★ or 🜲 cards are not available through Wonder Pick.)

Upon selecting the pack you want, all five of its card will be flipped over and shuffled. You can then select one card, meaning you will have a 20% chance of pulling the rarest card in that pack.

Each Wonder Stamina takes 12 hours to regenerate, meaning it will take 60 hours to get five Wonder Stamina. However, you can use Wonder Hourglasses to reduce the timer by one hour.

After performing a Wonder Pick, you can Send Thanks to the player whose pack you chose and they’ll receive Shop Tickets.

Trading

You will be able to trade cards with other players, but the feature won’t be available at launch. Details have not been released yet. Some of the trailers imply you can only trade a card for another card of the same rarity.

Battling

Players will construct 20-card decks instead of 60. You can’t have more than two copies of a card in your deck.

Decks will consist of Pokemon, Items, and Supporter cards. There are no Energy cards.

You can store 15 decks in the app. The game can automatically construct decks for you based on the cards you have. It can also conduct your battles for you with auto-battles.

At the start of a game, you draw five cards and put down your Active Pokemon and up to three Benched Pokemon.

There are no Prize cards. The first player to win three points wins the match (one point for a regular Pokemon, two for a Pokemon ex).

When it’s your turn, an Energy will be generated in your Energy Zone. You will also be able to see the Energy that will be generated during your next turn. The Energy Zone only holds one Energy at a time. If a card lets you attach another Energy, such as Meltan, that Energy will appear in your Energy Zone for usage.

The generated Energy are based on the types of Pokemon in your deck.

The player going first can’t draw a card on their first turn or use an Energy. You can use a Supporter card. You can’t have more than 10 cards in your hand.

Pokemon all have +20 Weaknesses, similar to the Diamond & Pearl era. There are no Resistances.

Most cards have simpler effects, as Pocket‘s gameplay is meant to be speedier and more accessible to casual fans.

Ranked Mode

A Ranked Mode is not available yet.

Missions

Missions are “tasks” or “goals” you can complete to earn various rewards. Earning these rewards ultimately allows you to open more booster packs and build more decks.

Mission Rewards

  • Pack Hourglass: Reduces the time to open booster packs by one hour.
  • Wonder Hourglass: Reduces the time to Wonder Pick by one hour.
  • Premium Ticket: Exchange for promo cards or TCG accessories in the shop. Exclusive to Premium Missions, which require a paid Premium Pass.
  • Emblem Ticket: Exchange for set-specific emblems, or “icons,” that appear on your user profile.
  • Shinedust: Exchange for card flairs. Flairs are visual effects that you can apply to individual cards, allowing you to customize the look of your cards.
  • Shop Tickets: Earned from completing Step-Up Battles and certain missions. You use them to buy TCG accessories and items in the shop.

Step-Up Battles

Step-Up Battles are solo matches fought against the computer. They are a way to learn the game and earn rewards. You challenge the computer with your own deck.

The computer fights you with its own preconstructed decks. For Genetic Apex, you can battle against four difficulty levels: seven Beginner decks, seven Intermediate decks, seven Advance decks, and six Expert decks.

See all the Step-Up decks for Genetic Apex here along with their rewards.

You will earn rewards for defeating the computer the first time you play against each deck. You can also earn rewards for completing certain tasks against these decks, such as Knocking Out their Pokemon with a Water-type Pokemon, doing 100 or more damage, winning the battle with no Points lost, etc.

Daily Missions

Every day you can complete a set of Daily Missions. Upon completing three of the five, you will earn 4x Pack Hourglasses:

  • Log in
  • Open 1 booster pack
  • Open 2 booster packs
  • Wonder pick 1 time
  • Participate in 1 battle

After claiming your reward, you won’t be able to complete another set of Daily Missions until the following day at 6 AM UTC / 2 AM EST.

Beginner Missions

These missions are available when you start the game. They are designed to teach you the basics of the app. Once their rewards are collected, Beginner Missions disappear forever and are replaced by Advanced Missions.

There are five Beginner Missions that each offer a reward:

  • Wonder Pick 1 time: 24x Pack Hourglass, 12x Wonder Hourglass
  • Reach player level 3: 24x Pack Hourglass
  • Open 4 booster packs: 24x Pack Hourglass
  • Participate in 1 solo battle: 24x Pack Hourglass
  • Collect 50 cards: 24x Pack Hourglass

Completing multiple Beginner Missions also offers these rewards:

  • Complete 1 Beginner Mission: 24x Wonder Hourglass
  • Complete 3 Beginner Missions: 24x Wonder Hourglass
  • Complete 5 Beginner Missions: 24x Wonder Hourglass

Advanced Missions

Advanced Missions are only unlocked after completing all the Beginner Missions. They are designed to teach you how to build decks and use other advanced features of the app.

There are currently 12 Advanced Missions. They do not grant individual rewards:

  • Edit a deck
  • Send 1 thanks
  • Send 5 thanks
  • Register 1 friend
  • Register 3 friends
  • Apply card sleeves to a deck
  • Apply a playmat to a deck
  • Win 3 solo battles
  • Obtain flair 1 time
  • Obtain flair 2 times
  • Reach player level 6
  • Link your Nintendo Account

Instead, you’ll only receive rewards after completing multiple Advanced Missions:

  • Complete 3 Advanced Missions: 250x Shinedust
  • Complete 6 Advanced Missions: 500x Shinedust
  • Complete 9 Advanced Missions: 120x Pack Hourglass

Once all their rewards are collected, Advanced Missions will disappear forever.

Battle Guide Missions

The “Battle Guide” is a tutorial that teaches you how to battle in Pocket. The first time you complete each mission, you will earn a reward:

Beginners

  • Mission 00: Let’s start battling! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 01: Prepare for battle! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 02: Use an attack! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 03: Attach Energy! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 04: Play Pokémon from your hand! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 05: End your turn! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass.
  • Mission 06: Evolve your Pokémon! Rewards 2x Pack Hourglass and either a Pinsir Deck (if you opened the Charizard pack first), a Sandslash Deck (if opened the Mewtwo pack first), or a Rapidash Deck (if you opened the Pikachu pack first)

Beginners Decks Awarded

Pinsir Deck

2x Paras
2x Parasect
2x Exeggcute
1x Scyther
1x Pinsir
2x Cottonee
1x Whimsicott
2x Rattata
1x Raticate
1x Jigglypuff
1x Farfetch’d
2x Poke Ball
2x Professor’s Research [Professor Oak]

Sandslash Deck

2x Sandshrew
1x Sandslash
2x Cubone
1x Hitmonchan
2x Mienfoo
1x Mienshao
1x Onix
1x Pidgey
2x Rattata
1x Raticate
1x Jigglypuff
1x Farfetch’d
2x Poke Ball

Rapidash Deck

2x Growlithe
2x Ponyta
1x Rapidash
1x Magmar
1x Heatmor
2x Sizzlipede
1x Centiskorch
1x Pidgey
2x Rattata
1x Raticate
1x Jigglypuff
2x Poke Ball
2x Professor’s Research [Professor Oak]

Dex Missions

Dex Missions offer Emblem Tickets for collecting a certain number of cards from a specific set.

For example, registering 50 cards from Genetic Apex unlocks 3x Emblem Tickets for that set.

Genetic Apex currently has 13 Dex Missions.

Themed Collections

These missions are completed upon collecting cards that share a certain theme. They reward Emblem Tickets.

There are multiple Themed Collections programmed for each set. For example, Genetic Apex has 26 Themed Collections, including Pokemon from Viridian Forest, Starter Pokemon, Legendary Pokemon, and more.

For example, if you collect a Moltres card, a Zapdos card, and an Articuno card from Genetic Apex, you will have completed the set’s “Legendary Flight” collection. This will yield 17x Emblem Tickets for the set.

Deck Missions

The developers have programmed multiple theme decks into the game that use cards from a specific set.

For example, if you collect a Venusaur ex from Genetic Apex, the game will unlock the “Venusaur ex Deck” for you to rent. You will be able to use it 10 times before it expires. Each theme deck requires one to three cards to unlock it for rental, depending on the deck.

If you collect all 20 cards from any deck, the game will unlock that theme deck for you to use from then on.

Genetic Apex has 24 Deck Missions to unlock 12 different theme decks.

Premium Missions

All players can complete Premium Missions, but only players with a Premium Pass can collect their rewards. You can get a Premium Pass either purchasing it or using the two week trial.

There are currently 30 Premium Missions:

  • Log in: Premium Ticket x1
  • Collect 11 Grass-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Fire-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Water-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Lightning-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Psychic-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Fighting-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Darkness-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 11 Metal-type cards: Premium Ticket x2
  • Collect 77 cards: Pack Hourglass x2
  • Collect 88 cards: Wonder Hourglass x2
  • Collect 99 cards: Pack Hourglass x2
  • Collect 111 cards: Wonder Hourglass x2
  • Collect 50 ◆ cards: Pack Hourglass x2
  • Collect 20 ◆◆ cards: Wonder Hourglass x2
  • Wonder pick 1 time: Premium Ticket x2
  • Wonder pick 3 times: Premium Ticket x2
  • Wonder pick 5 times: Premium Ticket x2
  • Wonder pick 7 times: Pack Hourglass x2
  • Wonder pick 10 times: Wonder Hourglass x1
  • Wonder pick 12 times: Wonder Hourglass x2
  • Wonder pick 15 times: Wonder Hourglass x2
  • Open 2 booster packs: Premium Ticket x1
  • Open 4 booster packs: Premium Ticket x1
  • Open 6 booster packs: Premium Ticket x1
  • Open 8 booster packs: Premium Ticket x1
  • Open 10 booster packs: Premium Ticket x1
  • Open 15 booster packs: Pack Hourglass x1
  • Open 20 booster packs: Pack Hourglass x1
  • Open 30 booster packs: Pack Hourglass x2

Achievements

By accomplishing certain overall tasks, such as opening a certain number of booster packs, you will automatically earn trophies and Shinedust. The trophies will appear on your profile for other players to see.

Achievement 30x Shinydust
(Bronze Trophy)		 50x Shinydust
(Silver Trophy)		 70x Shinydust
(Gold Trophy)		 100x Shinydust
(Platinum Trophy)
Open x booster packs 100 packs 250 packs 500 packs 1,000 packs
Wonder Pick x times 100 times 250 times 500 times 1,000 times
Register x cards in the Card Dex 500 cards 1,000 cards 2,000 cards 5,000 cards
Collect a total of x cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 2,000 cards 5,000 cards
Collect x Grass cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Fire cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Water cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Lightning cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Psychic cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Fighting cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Darkness cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Metal cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Dragon cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Colorless cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Supporter cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Collect x Item cards 500 cards 1,000 cards 5,000 cards 10,000 cards
Win x Versus battles 100 battles 500 battles 1,000 battles 10,000 battles
Win x Solo battles 100 battles 500 battles 1,000 battles 10,000 battles

Flair

Flair are special visual effects that appear over your cards.

As you collect cards, you will start to get duplicates. You will be awarded Shinedust for these duplicates depending on their rarities.

For example, a ◆ card will reward 10 Shinedust while a 🜲 card will reward 3600 Shinedust. Shinedust can also be earned through Missions. You will amass a lot of Shinedust as you play.

In order to get a particular card with a Flair, you will need to exchange 1) duplicate(s) of that card and 2) a certain number of Shinedust. The amounts needed depend on the rarity of that card.

If you want more copies of a card with a Flair, the amount of Shinedust required will increase.

Cosmetic Flairs

Cosmetic flairs can only be applied to ◆ through ◆◆◆◆ cards and promos with non-3D art.

Cosmetic flairs are always on the card no matter where it appears, such as in binders, on display boards, and during battles.

The “Sparkles Flair: Gold” (to the right) will be the first Flair available for these cards. After that, more Flairs will be unlocked as you go.

Rarity Duplicates Required 1st Card’s Flair Cost 2nd Card’s Flair Cost 3rd Card’s Flair Cost 4th Card’s Flair Cost
◆ 3x 50x Shinedust 75x Shinedust 150x Shinedust 225x Shinedust
◆◆ 2x 80x Shinedust 120x Shinedust 240x Shinedust 360x Shinedust
◆◆◆ 1x 360x Shinedust 540x Shinedust 1080x Shinedust 1,620x Shinedust
◆◆◆◆ 1x 720x Shinedust 1,080x Shinedust 2,160x Shinedust 3,420x Shinedust
Promo Pokemon 1x 50x Shinedust 75x Shinedust 150x Shinedust 225x Shinedust

Battle Flairs

These Flairs only appear when you first play the card to the field during a battle.

All Battle Flairs are immediately available for these cards. However, they cost more Shinedust.

Rarity Duplicates Required 1st Card’s Flair Cost 2nd Card’s Flair Cost 3rd Card’s Flair Cost 4th Card’s Flair Cost
★ 1x 500x Shinedust 750x Shinedust 1,500x Shinedust 2,250x Shinedust
★★ (Pokemon only) 1x 1,800x Shinedust 2,700x Shinedust 5,400x Shinedust 8,100x Shinedust
★★★ 1x 4,000x Shinedust 6,000x Shinedust 12,000x Shinedust 18,000x Shinedust
🜲 1x 20,000x Shinedust 30,000x Shinedust 60,000x Shinedust 90,000x Shinedust
Promo 0x 500x Shinedust 750x Shinedust 1,500x Shinedust 2,250x Shinedust

Gallery of Cosmetic Flairs

Gallery of Battle Flairs

Shop

You can use Shop Tickets to purchase items like Pack Hourglasses, Wonder Hourglasses, some of the TCG accessories listed below, and promo cards. You get Shop Tickets from completing Missions.

You can use Special Shop Tickets to purchase some of the other TCG accessories listed below. These Special Shop Tickets are created by consuming rare cards in My Cards.

The Shop is also where you can purchase the Premium Pass and Poké Gold for real money.

The Premium Pass costs $9.99/month. Poké Gold costs:

  • 5x costs $0.99
  • 15x costs $2.99
  • 50x costs $9.99
  • 500x costs $99.99

TCG Accessories & Profile Customization

The app offers virtual TCG accessories, including coins, sleeves, playmats, display boards, and binders.

Some items are available by default. Others can be purchased through the in-game Shop with the use of Shop Tickets and Special Shop Tickets.

Coins

Sleeves

Playmats

Display Boards

Binder Covers

Profile Icons

These are the default icons available:

These are earned by completing certain Genetic Apex Collections:

These are earned by collecting at least one of each card from Genetic Apex:

Emblems

You can get these Emblems by using Emblem Tickets from Genetic Apex. The tickets are rewarded when completing Dex Missions and Themed Collections.

You can also get the Legendary Birds emblem by collecting the rainbow-colored border versions of Articuno ex, Zapdos ex, and Moltres ex from Genetic Apex.

Background

Pocket appears to be Pokemon’s response to Marvel Snap and Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links. Both virtual card apps have generated a stunning amount of downloads and revenue. It appears The Pokemon Company wants to capture some of that market.

Some fans were skeptical when this app was first announced. You’re supposed to collect digital cards, not real ones? You have to pay for virtual packs? The game features watered-down Pokemon TCG battles?

However, this news story explains why the app may prove to be incredibly popular.

Pre-Release News Stories

Trailers