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Game8's guide to get yourself started on Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket (PTCG Pocket). Don't know where to start? What the symbols in the cards mean? Check out our tips to start collecting, trading and winning!
List of Contents
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
Every day, you can open two booster packs by consuming pack stamina, which accumulates over time. Every 12 hours, players will have enough pack stamina to open 1 pack.
If you avail the Premium Pass, you can open a third Booster Pack per day by adding a separate, extra pack stamina. This will save you Hourglasses and Poke Gold in the long run so it's worth investing on.
If you don't want to wait for the packs to unlock, you can use Pack Hourglasses to skip an hour of waiting per hourglass. Pack Hourglasses can be obtained by completing missions.
Poke Gold is another way to unlock more packs by spending 6 Poke Gold to open 1 Booster Pack or 60 Poke Gold to open 10 Booster Packs. Keep in mind that you can only use 720 Poke Gold per day to open packs.
Poke Gold Farming Guide | What to Use Poke Gold on
Just like any other mobile game, the game will have limited-time events where you can obtain Cards and other accessories.
 Best Pikachu Pack Cards |
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|---|---|
 Best Charizard Pack Cards |
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 Best Mewtwo Pack Cards |
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These are a few of the best cards that you can get from each booster pack if you're planning on building competitive decks.
If you're more interested in just collecting rare cards, each pack contains a similar amount of cards with special illustrations and high rarities.
On top of your daily free Packs, you can participate in daily missions that you can complete for free items like Pack Hourglasses. These missions can range from simply logging in or opening booster packs.
Daily missions everyday at 11 PM PDT so make sure not to miss them!
Pokemon TCG Pocket Gameplay Loop: List of Daily Tasks
Collection Challenges are simply what the label says. If you complete certain groups of Pokemon in a set, you will receive various rewards.
For example, completing the Eeveelutions in Genetic Apex will net you the play mat featuring all the Eeveelutions!
All Missions and Themed Collections
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
| In-game Currency | Obtained via | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Poke Gold | In-game shop using money | Redeem emblems that can be added to player profiles. Can replace the use of Pack Hourglasses by reducting the wait time by 2 hours. |
| Shop Ticket | Complete certain missions or battles; Receive Thanks from players. | Used to obtain cosmetic items and accessories. |
| Emblem Ticket | Obtained by completing Themed Collections or Dex Missions | Redeem emblems that can be added to player profiles. |
| Special Shop Ticket | Obtained by consuming high rarity cards | Redeem special accessories. |
| Advance Ticket | Obtained as a log-in reward. | Currently unknown. |
Although Pokemon TCG Pocket is not a gacha game, it does contain gacha elements.
Similar to Pokemon UNITE and Pokemon Masters EX, you can exchange tickets or spend real-world currency to obtain cards, knick-knacks, and other special accessories to personalize your set-up.
Pack Points are obtained for every Booster Pack you open. This is equivalent to a Spark System where you can spend points to get a certain Chase Card you're looking for. The table below shows how much Pack Points you need to spend to obtain a specific card for each rarity.
| In-Game Rarity | Pack Points Needed |
|---|---|
 |
35 Pack Points |
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70 Pack Points |
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150 Pack Points |
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400 Pack Points |
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500 Pack Points |
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1250 Pack Points |
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1500 Pack Points |
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2500 Pack Points |
Pack Points Explained: How to Craft Rare Cards
Pack Hourglasses decreases the time needed to wait for your next pack by an hour. You need 8 Pack Hourglasses if you want to immediately open another pack after opening one.
Wonder Hourglasses work in a similar manner to Pack Hourglasses but instead of Booster Packs, it is used to refill your Wonder Stamina to open more Wonder Picks.
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
If you have duplicates of a card, these can be exchanged along with certain items to obtain flair. When applied on a card, these will imbue your card with special effects that you can view when sending them out to battle or just viewed from your collection.
How to Get Shinedust and Customize Cards
Outside of your cards, you can also change up your card sleeves, the coin you use, the play mat, and the binders holding your card collection. These can be obtained by completing missions, participating in events, or purchasing from the shop.
All Shop Items (November, 2024)
Use Display Boards to show off your rare cards to your friends! You can customize the backdrops and create style combinations with different backdrops and card illustrations.
Meanwhile, binders are used to showcase a collection of cards. When you want to display a lot of the cards you’ve collected, binders are the way.
For the complete TCG Experience, you can also change up the backs of your cards by using Sleeves, change the the play-zone with a mat and even choose the image on your coin. There are endless combinations you can use to fine-tune your battling experience!
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
In the Social Hub, you will have access to in-game social features where you can interact with other pokemon players! You can view others' card collections through the Community Showcase, add friends to your Friends List, and eventually trade rare cards with fellow users!
Social Hub and Multiplayer Features
Just like the current mainline games, you can connect with anyone around the world and add them to your friends list to trade (once it's available), see them in Wonder Pick, and view their displayed showcase! You can add friends by inputting friend codes or by adding players you've interacted with in Wonder Pick, battles, or the Community Showcase.
Trading will not be available on release, but it has been shown that you will be able to some time in the future. This will allow you to trade cards with other players so you can complete your collection faster.
When is Trading Coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket?
Wonder Pick is a separate system available to the player where you can get one of the cards from a booster pack that was opened by another player. It has its own wait time and currency so no need to worry about choosing between opening a Wonder Pick or a Booster Pack.
Also, should you wonder pick from a booster pack obtained by a player playing in another language, you can obtain the card in the language of the player you picked from. These alternate language cards count towards your card dex, so you can enjoy a more varied collection.
How to Get Other Language Cards
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
If you want to practice how your deck and combos work, you can test it out by battling a CPU trainer. Use this chance to hone and swap around cards to make the perfect combos.
Using the cards you gathered, set up some TCG battles with friends. While there's no news of ranked matches yet, you can set up your own tourney with some friends instead!
If you just need to battle to complete certain missions but no time to focus on the game, you can have the CPU battle for you.
Battles in Pokemon TCG Pocket notably lacks Energy Cards, but will feature a new Energy Zone which automatically generates Energy once per turn.
If Energy is not used during the Pokemon Checkup phase between turns, new Energy will not be generated. When Energy is discarded through an attack, retreat cost, or from an effect of a Trainer Card, that Energy is permanently gone.
Cards that accelerate Energy through the effects of Attacks, Abilities, or Trainer Cards work as normal, but take from the Energy Zone instead of the player's hand.
This new mechanic makes it so Trainers will no longer miss their Energy attachments for the turn if they don't draw into it, allowing for a smoother, more consistent gameplay experience.
| Points Needed to Win a Battle | Points for Knocking Out a Pokemon | Points for Knocking Out an ex Pokemon |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | 2 |
You win a battle by scoring three points by knocking out three of your opponent's Pokemon. Some Pokemon, such as Pokemon ex allow you to get an extra point in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
Players will make use of 20-card decks instead of Pokemon TCG's standard 60, which will consist only of Pokemon and Trainer Cards. The notable exclusion of Energy Cards means that battles in Pokemon TCG Pocket does not need them for games.
At the beginning of the game, you draw five cards and place your Active Pokemon and up to three Benched Pokemon onto the field.
If you don't know much about building a deck no need to worry as you can get the game to automatically build a deck for you using parameters and specific cards you wish to use.
Deck Building Guide
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Some deck staples are only obtainable through the shop and not the booster packs. Make sure to purchase cards such as the Potion in the shop before building your deck!
These trainer cards only cost 2 Shop Tickets each, so don't worry about breaking the bank. You can only have two of each card in your deck, so there's no need to purchase more than two of a card you want.
While you're still building up your collection, you can go through solo battles by using rental decks that you can unlock by completing Deck missions. These decks, unfortunately, have a limited number of uses and will not be added to your collection.
| Beginner Guides | ||
|---|---|---|
| Dailies and Challenges | Currencies and Hourglasses | Items and Customization |
| Friends and Wonder Pick | Battle System | Deck Building and Rentals |
| Premium Pass and Missions | New Account Tips | TCG Pocket Basics |
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
Just like any modern day mobile game, Pokemon TCG Pocket also has its own Premium Pass which rewards players with Promo Cards and Accessories like Card Sleeves and Coins. At release, players are able to try the Premium Pass for free for two weeks.
Premium Pass Guide and Features
The Premium Pass will also unlock Premium Missions which will reward you with Pack Hourglasses, Wonder Hourglasses, accessories and Promo Cards. These Promo cards will be available in the Booster Packs themselves so no need to worry if you're F2P.
All Premium Missions and Rewards
Pokemon TCG Pocket is free-to-play, and you can experience all the features in this game and collect all the cards from available booster packs without having to spend any money.
The main difference of the Regular and Premium Pass is the number of packs you can open in a day without needing Hourglasses and the premium mission rewards.
F2P Guide: How to Play Without Spending
Click on the link above to skip to a certain section!
If you want to build strong decks as soon as possible, it's recommended to reset your game until you have the rare cards you want. You'll be given a large amount of Pack Hourglasses after the tutorial and through the beginner missions, which you can use all at once to open about 13 booster packs.
If you're not happy with the cards you got in those 13 packs, delete your account and start again.
Reroll Guide: How to Reroll for the Best Start
Once you have a card collection that you're happy with, you can link your Nintendo Account to prevent losing your cards. Not only will this save your progress, but it will also allow you to play on other platforms.
How to Link Accounts
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Once you start, you can choose a pack where you can get the standard 1◆ card of a Kanto Starter of your choice. The Mewtwo pack contains Bulbasaur, the Charizard pack contains Charmander, and the Pikachu pack contains Squirtle.
A 1★ full art version of your chosen starter will also be given to you during the Wonder Pick tutorial.
You can customize your profile by tapping on your icon on the top screen. You can change your username and icon, view your battle record, show off your card collection, and display emblems and achievements on your profile for everyone to see!
How to Change Profile Icon and Settings
| Rewards for Leveling Up | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Pack Hourglass
x12 |
 Wonder Hourglass
x12 |
 Rewind Watch
x1 |
 Poke Gold
x1 |
You can receive Hourglasses, a Rewind Watch, and Poke Gold whenever you level up. You can gain EXP by opening booster packs, participating in either solo or random versus battles, and getting Wonder Picks.
If you are having trouble keeping track of the multiple functions available in Pokemon TCG Pocket, check out our guide for a comprehensive debrief of the game's UI.
Pokemon TCG Pocket UI Explained
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| Pokemon TCG Card Parts | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Stage | Can be clasified Basic, Stage 1, and Stage 2 Cards. Make sure to have the proper pre-evolutions as listed on the top-left area of the card. NOTE: Certain cards can be Basic despite having a pre-evolution. These can be played as is. |
| Species | The Pokemon's Species can be found on top. It is currently unknown if Owner Pokemon will be added into the game. |
| Special Rules | The only special rule available which are ex cards. These cards are more powerful than their non-ex counterparts but come at the cost of giving your opponent an extra point when defeated. |
| Hit Points (HP) | This is how much damage your card can take before they get knocked-out. KO'd Pokemon need to be put into the discard pile along with ll the Energy equipped to them. |
| Type | The Pokemon's current type where damage dealt and received is affected by Weakness and Resistances. |
| Moves | You main method of damage to KO opponent's Pokemon. These need Energy to be used first. |
| Weakness | Damage modifier that can increase the damage dealt onto your Active Pokemon. |
| Retreat | Amount of Energy you need to discard from your active Pokemon before you can swap them out to another one at your Bench. |
| Rarity | Denoted by either a ★, ◆, or ♛. With ★ being rarer than ◆ cards, and ♛ as the rarest. |
| In-Game Rarity | Equivalent Rarity in Physical TCG |
|---|---|
|
Common |
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Uncommon |
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Rare |
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Double Rare and Ultra Rare |
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Illustration Rare |
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Special Illustration Rare |
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N/A |
| ♛ (Crown Rare) |
Hyper Rare |
Each card will have their own rarities and will usually have an equivalent rarity in the physical TCG. The exception to this is the 3 Star Cards due to their immersive views that you can view when interacted with.
Crown Rares (♛) are the rarest type of card available and will feature golden full art cards and gold crown icons.
Card Rarity Guide
Theories have emerged that you can tell which booster pack has a rare card based on the crease on the upper right corner of the pack, but it is also likely that the cards you pull are fixed since you could skip the pack opening sequence.
While our findings are still inconclusive, our attempts indicate a pattern toward higher rarity cards being found in the bent packs. However, further testing is still needed to make any solid conclusions.
Bent Corner Packs: Is There a Way to Identify Rare Packs?
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Points | The amount of "health" a Trainer has. The main goal would be to gain three points while preventing your opponent from hitting that mark. |
| Turn | Refers to which player on the field will have the opportunity to make their play. |
| Evolution | A card you play on top of a Basic Pokemon card or on top of another Evolution card to make it stronger. |
| Draw | Refers to the mandatory action in certain phases where each player will draw a card from their Deck. You will lose once your run out of cards in your deck and cannot draw any more at the beginning of your turn. |
| Bench | The place for your Pokemon that are in play but are not actively fighting. They come out and fight if the Active Pokemon retreats or is Knocked Out. |
| Pokemon Cards | The primary cards that players use to deal damage against enemies. Knock your opponent's Pokemon out to gain points. |
| Trainer Cards | Special cards with unique effects. Effects can differ, ranging from searching your deck for specific cards or drawing cards, amongst other effects. |
| In Play | Cards that the players have drawn from their Deck and have been placed on the field. Cards in your deck and discard pile are not considered to be in play. |
| Retreat | When you switch your Active Pokemon with one of your Benched Pokemon. To retreat, you must discard Energy from the retreating Pokemon equal to the Retreat Cost of the Pokemon. You can only retreat once per turn. |
| Status Conditions | When your Pokemon are either Asleep, Burned, Confused, Paralyzed, or Poisoned. |
| Energy Zone | Exclusive to TCG Pocket, this is where you can get Energy so your Pokemon can perform their attacks. |
| Discard Pile | This is where you place your card once they have been used or Knocked out by your opponent. |
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 Missions |
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