Pokemon TCG Pocket, it’s safe to say, has been a runaway success. Since its launch at the tail end of October, it has pulled millions of players into the pack-opening, deck-battling, loop with a steady stream of rad new cards.
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Yet, for all its superb content for the core game, we’ve found ourselves pondering aplenty what might be nice to see added, or in some cases altered, to make for an all-the-more robust experience. And, as the list writers we are, we’ve jotted it all down for your own consideration.
Opt-In Animation Disabling
As lovely as it is to see those flourishes when higher-rarity cards are played in battle, the effect wears itself thin after the hundredth or so time. And we don’t think it’s particularly controversial to say that all those shuffle animations can grate after a while, too Having a way to disable that would make for zippier gameplay.
Now, there’s a dilemma here: how, pray tell, does one do this when online matches are time-synced? Wouldn’t one player still see it? And, if not, then surely there’d be a desynchronization problem?
Our not-at-all tech-savvy advice would be to plug it in as something which both players would need to have disabled in order for it to function. Sure, you’ll get some ticked-off players who grow flustered by all the opponents who haven’t followed their lead, but hey, whatever. Some folks are going to be mad about something no matter what. It’d speed stuff up sometimes, and those among us who play entirely too many rounds will appreciate it whenever it does.
One thing that could easily be done here is an all-purpose animation disable toggle for matches against the CPU. Surely, the computer opponent wouldn’t mind…
Remove Coin Flips When The Target Has Been Knocked Out
What happens when a Pokemon is knocked out from an attack which sports a coin flip mechanic on top of the damage which it deals? You get to watch the coin flip happen; anyway. Will my poor Riolu be forced to fall asleep after being rendered unconscious? Well, er, yes, by default? Why do I need to see something so entirely superfluous at that point? Heck, why does my opponent, for that matter?
So many times, we’ve witnessed players forgetting to flip the coin for several seconds, too. And why wouldn’t they? The Pokemon they’ve targeted is down for the count. File this alongside our other animation-related critiques, except it should be all the simpler to address.
More Match Music Variety
We know, we know. Most players probably don’t bother listening to the game’s music. Who can blame them? It’s fine, but also, it’s always the same thing. Whether you play ten matches or ten thousand, it won’t change, either.
Except, granted, for when you’re playing against the Expert-tier CPU. In which case, you get a remix of the ubiquitous music track. Joy!
So, there are those among us, wild as this might seem to some of our readers, who actually like to hear what’s happening in Pokemon TCG Pocket. And think of the possibilities. Imagine how many iconic Pokemon tracks could be added. Battle themes from the games. How could would that be?
Iconic overworld tracks, too. Opening themes from the anime? Heck yes?
Granted, rights issues might hold this up in many instances. But surely, not all? If it’s remotely possible, we’d be there for it.
A Better Trading System
This one had to be here, right? Few love Pokemon TCG Pocket’s current trading system, and for good reason. Most of us had figured it would be rather restrictive, given the nature of this game as a free-to-play experience. Indeed, it’s plenty restrictive. But it’s also a headache.
It feels distinctly unintuitive. Set aside the elements themselves – the extra “currency” for trading, the steep costs therein – the user interface for it hasn’t clicked for us whatsoever. We’re not sure what a massive overhaul would look like, but we’d be happy to find out.
A More Centralized Flair Application Process
If you make as many decks as we do, and you happen to enjoy adding flair to your cards (which, yes, we realize we’ve advocated for an option to disable in battles – sometimes, we still want to see it!), then you’ve probably thought to yourself at least once, “Do I really feel like applying all of this again?”
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Yes, it only takes a couple of seconds. But it could all be so much snappier if there were a way to have it all automatically applied to any and all newly-constructed decks. If you’ve added the cute “Poke Balls on Poke Ball” flair for the, well, Poke Ball card, wouldn’t it be spiffy for the game to assume you intend to do so in the future, too? You could always swap flairs if it suits your fancy.
A More Robust Single-Player Experience
There’s a world of possibility out there for Pokemon TCG Pocket’s single-player matches, and it’s barely being explored.
Imagine what it’d be like to see battles themed after familiar faces from Pokémon’s sprawling cast. Well, we’ve had the “Blue & Pidgeot Deck” to contend with, so that’s a start. But think of it. Red? Oak? Other protagonists? All those villains? Gym leaders galore?
We’d be lying if we said there’s any real hope for this, but we’d love to see some sort of “campaign” attached, too. As in, like, a little storyline of sorts. Some light exploration. OK, look, we’ll level with you – we’re just bitter that there isn’t been an RPG-esque Pokemon Trading Card game since the Game Boy Color… and even then, the West got one game, while only Japan got its sequel.
…And Nerf Misty
Look, it had to be said before we wrap things up. The Misty card remains comically unbalanced. You look at any other gym leader card, and it’s carefully tailored to specific circumstances. Usually, that means specific Pokemon. Brock adds an Energy to a Golem or Onix. Blaine boosts Magmar’s, Rapidash’s, and Ninetales’ attack by 30. Cynthia does the same for Garchomp and Togekiss, albeit by 50. Koga allows Weezing and Muk to get away from a bad situation.
You’ve got Giovanni, who adds 10 damage to your next attack. Blue, who reduces damage taken by 10, instead. And yeah, Erika heals any Grass Pokemon by 50. So, there are exceptions. But even Erika works as a strong yet supplemental elixir.
Misty can flat-out win games for players on the very first turn. Not even the second, when Energy can ordinarily be first attached! The first! Flip a coin until you get tails. Attach a Water Energy to one of your Water Pokemon for every head. That might mean zero times. It might also mean 20. All you need is three, though, and your Articuno ex will have swept almost any starter opponent. Four, and Palkia ex will have obliterated it.
We’ll be yelling from rooftops about this until it’s fixed. Which, in all likelihood, will never happen. If you adore the card, more power to you – literally – but we really think there’s a somewhat more balanced approach to Misty, and it’d be swell to see it.
- Released
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October 30, 2024
- Publisher(s)
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The Pokemon Company