POKÉMON COLLECTION

 Dark-type cards are also focused on control, but more status effects, negative qualities and negation of opponent's powers, effectively limiting your foe's options. This is also the deck choice for budget players, who haven't found many rare cards yet and haven't really milked the various Pokemon TCG Pocket currencies for hundreds of pack draws.

 Weezing: It's tanky, it's cheap with a 1 mana attack, it synergises with Koga, and its free ability lets you poison people. There's a strong case for Weezing being the best Dark card in the game.

 Arbok: Comes with a 2 energy attack that prevents your opponent from retreating. If you have the active Pokemon at a disadvantage when you send it out, Arbok all but guarantees it'll end with a defeat. Combine it with Sabrina and Pidgeot for unrivalled board control.

 It's the last of these that's the powerful one, with a 4 energy attack that randomly distributes 200 damage across the foe's board. It takes a while to set up, but once in play, Dragonite can ruin an opponent quickly. For ideas on deck synergy, we have a page on constructing the best Pokemon TCG Pocket Dragonite deck.

 Steel-type cards aren't really a favourite in the meta right now, with not enough of them and few standouts among the few. That'll no doubt change with time as new cards are added to the game, but right now these are the only ones that have potential.

 Mawile: Mawile is an early-game disruptor, as it can be deployed immediately, does 20 damage for 1 energy, and removes 1 energy from the target Pokemon on a successful coin flip.

 Filling the gaps of better decks, Normal-type Pokemon have a few worthy additions that can be included if you're looking to support another deck you're working on.

 Kangaskhan: A big tank with a 1 energy attack that does somewhere between 0 and 60 damage, Kangaskhan is a good first card to hold the active spot while you set up other Pokemon and fill your hand.

 Meowth/Persian: Meowth lets you draw a card every time it attacks, which can be great in the early game, while Persian has a 50% chance to force the opponent to discard a card every time it attacks. If you get them to discard something important, it can ruin their chances of winning.

 Poke Ball: I've never seen a deck that didn't have the maximum amount of Poke Ball cards, and I don't expect to. Drawing basic Pokemon is an essential quality in both the early and late game.

 Potion: When all else fails, recovery is no bad thing. A 20HP heal isn't much, but depending on the attack hitting you, it can be the difference between life and death.

 There are nearly a dozen Supporter cards in Pokemon right now, and unlike items, you can only use one per turn, and they're often a little more situational, playing off specific cards or gameplay elements. Still, these ones remain very potent:

 Professor's Research: Another card as essential as the Poke Ball, drawing two cards for free… that's a no brainer. Fill your deck with the maximum two the moment you start making one.

 Misty: Misty is a supremely chance-based card who can be devastating. You flip a coin and if it's heads, you give 1 energy to a water Pokemon you have out, and get to flip the coin again! That carries on until you get a tails, meaning Misty might do nothing, or you might give 15 energy to a card on turn one. Risky as it is, it's always worth it in Water decks.

 Sabrina: Sabrina forces the opponent to switch out their active Pokemon for one of their benched ones. A good control card that can buy you time to set up strategies, or bring back a damaged Pokemon into play so you can finish it off.

 Koga: Koga's specific to Dark type decks, but it allows you to bring back a Muk or Weezing to your hand, effectively resetting it as a card. A cheap retreat option that also restores it to full health, in essence.

 Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is one of the best surprises of this year. It is an extraordinary free mobile experience that takes the TCG based on the Pokemon series and transforms it into a bite-sized, highly stylish version. While the mobile title is quite impressive already at launch, Pokemon TCG Pocket still needs trading to be perfect.

 It is a bit ironic that a card game that has the literal word “trading” in its title lacks that right now. In fact, it emphasizes the battling side of the card game more than the actual trading aspect. Fortunately, we already know that trading is coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket at some point. The questions now are when will that happen and what will it look like?

 Trading has always been a key aspect of the Pokemon series, both in the mainline games and the card version. It is one of the best ways to connect players together in a multiplayer format. After all, everyone benefits from being able to trade in a mobile game like this. You might have cards I need while I might have cards that you need.

Pokemon TCG

 Card booster packs are completely randomized. You might get a gorgeous Articuno EX card but you run a Fire-based deck, so that is useless to you. Instead, you might want a card like Charizard or Moltres EX. Trading would allow you to instantly be able to offer your Articuno EX for a card that is more suitable to your particular deck.

 This feature should work in a safe manner, though. I see two ways it could work. The first would be to allow friends only to trade with one another while both are online at the same time. You could show off your cards to each other in real-time, and maybe even be able to message or react in the trade window.

 This method would require some failsafes, such as multiple checks to confirm you want to trade so you aren’t scammed. This is also why it should be restricted to only friends. On the other hand, the other method I would like to see is the Pokemon TCG Pocket equivalent of the GTS. A global trading network for the mobile title would be fantastic.

 People could put up cards they want to get rid of and note what card they are looking for. It would have to be rather specific, though, down to the rarities and the like. But perhaps there could also be a way to send a personalized offer to the person. Maybe you don’t have the card they want but you have a similarly valuable one. Perhaps then the person could consider the trade. However, if you have the exact card, you can initiate the trade automatically.

 This would be a neat way for everyone to get the cards they need. It would also the make the game less pay-to-win, so to speak. I don’t think Pokemon TCG Pocket is in any way a pay-to-win experience. However, there is no arguing that the more money you spend on packs, the more chances you have at finding the best cards.

 Adding this global trading system would let the community balance out some. Everyone would have the chance to get the cards they need and want. It would also be great in the event the title ever removes certain expansion packs, which, hopefully, does not happen.

 As for when Pokemon TCG Pocket trading should release, it has to happen sooner than later. The game came out at the tail end of October 2024. That leaves roughly two months left in the year for it to release. I think it is imperative that trading comes to Pokemon TCG Pocket before the year ends. The arrival of trading would greatly reinvigorate the community and be the possible addition for the already highly successful experience.

 Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Venusaur event is in full swing and fans are grinding for the rare cards, resulting in some poor Gen 1 ‘Mons taking flack for constantly being pulled.

 The Venusaur event in Pokemon Pocket involves taking on several Grass-type decks, all for the chance of pulling cards from the Promo Packs. These packs feature five new cards, including Haunter, Jigglypuff, Onix, Greninja, and Venusaur.

 The Venusaur card is the rarest promo during the event and fans are feverishly hunting for it. This means a lot of ire has been thrown at the other cards, with users on the PTCGP Reddit showing disdain towards Onix, as its face keeps appearing during their Venusaur search.

 “10 Onix, 6 Haunter, 5 Jigglypuf, 5 Greninja, 0 Venosaur,” one user wrote, while another said, “I have four Onix, three Haunters, and a Greninja. I never want to see that ugly ass Onix ever again.”

 The current drop rates for the Venusaur event Promo pack put Venusaur at 12.66%, Greninja at 15.82%, and the other three at 23.84%. This pull rate isn’t actually that bad, especially compared to some of the rarer Genetic Apex cards.

 Onix is taking a lot of heat from fans, even though Haunter and Jigglypuff have the same drop rate. This could well be due to the ugly artwork, which fans have mocked for its suggestive appearance.

 Pokemon Pocket fans are well-known for their superstition regarding random chance. The hatred towards the Misty card is born from a belief that it’s unfair, even though it’s just coin flips. Anyone who sees the same card repeatedly is going to think it’s on purpose, even though it’s all by chance.

 The cards appearing in the first Promo pack are under a ton of scrutiny, considering how big Pokemon Pocket has been since launch. A lot of people are grinding to get that big plant-covered frog, so anything that gets in the way will take unnecessary flak.

 Get more from Pokémon TCG Live when you use the in-game Battle Pass. Starting with Scarlet & Violet—Surging Sparks, there will only be a single Battle Pass with 75 tiers to unlock—no exchanging for Crystals necessary! With the Battle Pass, you can complete quests to earn experience and unlock new tiers by playing Ranked or Casual matches. Each Battle Pass is accessible only until the next expansion releases.