Summary
- Space-Time Smackdown update adds new packs with 140 cards, shaking up the Pokemon TCG Pocket gameplay.
- Genetic Apex booster packs are still available but buried in a secondary page, confusing players.
- Confusion arises as newer expansion booster packs overshadow older ones, suggesting a clearer set selection may be needed.
Pokemon TCG Pocket is ending the first month of the year on a high note with the release of the Space-Time Smackdown update, which introduces two new packs for players to open themed around Gen 4 Pokemon and both Dialga and Palkia. The new A2 set is filled with great cards, and unlike Mythical Island’s smaller size, Space-Time Smackdown offers a total of 140 new cards for players to collect and build decks with. As much as the set seems popular among fans of the game so far, it may seem like the end of an era for Pokemon TCG Pocket at first glance – but it’s actually not.
Each new set in Pokemon TCG Pocket so far has been different to a degree, with the size of each expansion determining how many different booster packs there are. For example, Genetic Apex’s 226 cards and 60 secret rares put it in a spot where it made perfect sense to have three different booster packs themed around three of the most iconic Pokemon of all time, let alone Gen 1. Space-Time Smackdown is the perfect middle ground between the first and second sets, but it comes with a strange choice: the Genetic Apex booster packs are no longer visible, making it seem like they are unavailable when they are not.
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Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Genetic Apex Set is Not Gone, Just Buried
Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Genetic Apex set is possibly going to be the most popular of the three currently available in the long run simply because Gen 1 critters have a nostalgic feel for many players. Regardless, it is the biggest set in the game, and one that both new players and those who started on day 1 may still want to open booster packs from in the coming months. However, it is now buried in a secondary page, to the point one may think it has been removed entirely from the game.
To access Genetic Apex packs, players have to click on the “Select other Booster Packs” button in the bottom right corner of the screen whenever they click on any pack from Space-Time Smackdown or Mythical Island. In fact, the home page for the game no longer features Genetic Apex booster packs, and now only shows one for Mythical Island and the two new packs for the latest expansion with Dialga and Palkia on them. This is a strange choice, considering that with Mythical Island, Genetic Apex packs were all displayed under the Mewtwo pack that was available on the home screen alongside the Mew pack for Mythical Island.
Why Space-Time Smackdown Drops The Ball With Its Treatment of Genetic Apex
With Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s new expansion, it would have made sense to have three booster packs on the home page, featuring the Mewtwo pack from Genetic Apex, Mew from Mythical Island, and probably Dialga from Space-Time Smackdown due to Dialga coming first in terms of game versions for Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. Instead, players can only see Mythical Island and Space-Time Smackdown, and it can be hard to notice the older Genetic Apex boosters are still there, just tucked away.
With how many Pack Points some players will have accumulated by now since Genetic Apex’s release, and with how many regular cards or secret rares one may still be missing, it can be a shock not to see the set’s boosters anymore. The game arguably doesn’t do a good job of letting players know they are still there, which is a shame. If anything, reading the in-game news article about Space-Time Smackdown’s release, it may seem like Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s next expansion will reintroduce older cards, and by not seeing Genetic Apex boosters one may think they are gone for now even if the cards will come back in some other way.
It’s understandable that, in the long run, not all Pokemon TCG Pocket booster packs will be visible on the home page. However, it may be a good idea to make it clearer that all expansions are available with a banner image or in some other way, and including a “set selection” screen before a “pack selection” screen may be a good way to do it.
