Pokémon TCG Pocket Launches Early

Pokémon TCG Pocket, originally slated to be released on October 31st, is out now and available to download from the App Store. The free-to-play game from The Pokémon Company recreates the company’s trading cards as a mobile experience, with a focus on collecting and casual battling.

According to the game’s release notes:

  • You can open packs every day to get cards!
    Collect cards every day! You can open two booster packs every day at no cost to collect Pokémon cards featuring heartwarming illustrations from the past as well as all-new cards exclusive to this game.

  • New Pokémon cards!
    Immersive cards, a brand-new kind of card, make their debut here! With new illustrations that have a 3D feel, immersive cards will make you feel like you’ve leapt into the world of the card’s illustration!

  • Show off your collection!
    You can use binders or display boards to showcase your cards and share them with the world!

  • Casual battles—alone or with friends!
    You can enjoy casual battles during quick breaks in your day!

I’ve played through the game’s tutorial, which walks players through how to retrieve packs of cards, explains missions, and tours other parts of the game’s interface. The highlight of the game is the cards themselves, which look beautiful on the iPhone’s screen. Battling is locked at first, as are a few other areas, which I think makes sense given the depth of areas and features that are available to explore initially.

It’s worth noting that there have been many reports on Reddit of the game crashing on launch. I haven’t experienced that, but I know, for example, Brendon Bigley has.

It’s too early to judge whether The Pokémon Company will have a hit on their hands with Pokémon TCG Pocket, but I like what I’ve seen a lot. The game offers a premium subscription and in-game currency, but my early sense is that there’s plenty to do for free, too. If The Pokémon Company can get the game stabilized quickly, I expect it will become a big hit.

Pokémon TCG Pocket is free to download on the App Store and offers In-App Purchases for a premium subscription and in-game currency.

Join

Access Extra Content and Perks

Founded in 2015, Club MacStories has delivered exclusive content every week for nearly a decade.

What started with weekly and monthly email newsletters has blossomed into a family of memberships designed every MacStories fan.

Learn more here and from our Club FAQs.

Club MacStories: Weekly and monthly newsletters via email and the web that are brimming with apps, tips, automation workflows, longform writing, early access to the MacStories Unwind podcast, periodic giveaways, and more;

Club MacStories+: Everything that Club MacStories offers, plus an active Discord community, advanced search and custom RSS features for exploring the Club’s entire back catalog, bonus columns, and dozens of app discounts;

Club Premier: All of the above and AppStories+, an extended version of our flagship podcast that’s delivered early, ad-free, and in high-bitrate audio.

John is MacStories’ Managing Editor, has been writing about Apple and apps since joining the team in 2015, and today, runs the site alongside Federico.

John also co-hosts four MacStories podcasts: AppStories, which covers the world of apps, MacStories Unwind, which explores the fun differences between American and Italian culture and recommends media to listeners, Ruminate, a show about the weird web and unusual snacks, and NPC: Next Portable Console, a show about the games we take with us.

@johnvoorhees
@johnvoorhees
@[email protected]
@johnvoorhees.bsky.social
[email protected]