Unsurprisingly, Pokemon TCG Pocket has taken the world by storm, with more than $120 million spent on the game in its first three weeks. Even though its premise is pretty basic – open packs, collect cards, battle with them – there are a variety of reasons to enjoy it. Some like to battle, others are on the hunt for their favorite Pokemon. For me, it’s the reignition of a feeling I’ve not felt on a regular basis for more than 20 years: filling a sticker album.
Sure, the app’s attempts to replicate how it feels to physically open a pack of Pokemon cards have also played a big part in getting and keeping me interested. The same applies to the feeling I get when I check my collection to admire the cards I’ve collected so far. However, it’s the ability to see the gaps between those cards that has awoken the sticker collector in me.
Pokemon Pocket Is My Virtual Sticker Book
Need, Got, Got, Need, Got…
When admiring your Pokemon Pocket collection, there’s a toggle at the top of the screen which, when turned on, shows your cards in order and includes gaps for cards that are still missing. It looks a lot like an incomplete sticker album, and that’s the thing that has hit me right in the nostalgia harder than anything else in Pokemon Pocket.
I’m 34 years old, I have a Sonic sleeve tattoo, and I wore Hylian Shield cufflinks to my wedding. What I’m getting at here is I still love pretty much everything I loved as a child and I’m not afraid to show it. However, for some reason, sticker albums are where I drew the line.
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Sticker albums played a huge part in my childhood, arguably even more than Pokemon cards since they were so much cheaper. I still get the urge to pick up a few packs and their corresponding book every now and again. With disposable income, I can afford a lot more stickers than I could as a kid, which is a dangerous prospect and likely why I’ve avoided acting on my instincts.
No One’s Judging Me For Playing Pokemon Pocket
I Mean, They Probably Are, But I Don’t Have To Look Them In The Eye So It’s Fine
But something always stops me. Despite rarely feeling this way with anything else I’ve held onto since I was a kid, any time I reach for a sticker album I’m plagued with thoughts of what the cashier might think. It’s a rare instance of my brain telling me I’ve outgrown this kind of thing. Really wish it had kicked in to tell me that when I bought Sonic Forces.
Before you ask, yes, I have tried the “Oh, these are for my son/daughter” schtick, and even though I have a son now, it still doesn’t make me feel any better.
With Pokemon Pocket, I don’t need to buy a sticker album, nor the stickers to fill it with. Everything is right here on my phone. The annoying part of my brain that kicks in to let me know sticker albums are for kids hasn’t piped up yet either, probably because I’m not walking it to the shop to ask the person behind the counter for five packs of the Panini Premier League stickers, please. No, not those ones, left a bit, bit more, yeah, that one… cheers.
Confirmation of when trading will be rolled out in Pokemon Pocket means this sticker album wave I’m riding is only going to get better. Something else missing from sticker collecting as an adult is trading your swaps with friends. Since all of that will be handled inside the app, come January, I’ll have another way to fill the gaps in my collection, not to mention a potential return to being screwed over by people more knowledgeable than me. At least no one can fool me into trading my Blastoise for a fake Aerodactyl this time.
The only thing that’s missing is the address you could send your swaps to in return for the last few stickers you needed to finish your collection. Pokemon Pocket is good, but there are some elements of classic sticker albums it will never be able to replicate.
Experience the fun of collecting Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) cards with Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, an upcoming game for iOS and Android devices from Creatures Inc., the original developers of the Pokémon TCG, and DeNA Co., Ltd.
- Released
- October 30, 2024