How Pokémon TCG Pocket Rekindled My Passion for Competitive Card Games (and Late-Night Phone Rants)

I have a serious love-hate relationship with Pokémon TCG Pocket. Hands down, it’s become my favorite mobile game released this year. It beautifully takes the essence of the physical trading card game and transforms it into this captivating virtual collectathon. Yet, it’s also brought out a side of me I thought had long since vanished after turning 21—a more intense and angrier version, with a strong dislike for random opponents across the globe.

Pokémon TCG Pocket keeps me awake until 2 AM regularly, a time I’d normally prefer to avoid staying up until. I often drift off to sleep feeling irritated and wake up still haunted by that frustration. I find myself sipping coffee on a bright morning contemplating Mewtwo EX decks, and grumbling over how players using them seem to have an unfair advantage. But these feelings aren’t due to a bad game. Quite the contrary, only a truly remarkable game can evoke such deep emotional involvement.

Not too long ago, we discussed the need for the game to introduce some form of competitive ranked matches, a way to test your skills against other Pokémon trainers worldwide. Since then, although it’s not exactly what we hoped for, the game introduced features that still sparked competitive excitement. It started with a simple PvP mode rewarding victories and, more recently, a similar mode demanding a string of wins. This last addition has been particularly engaging for me.

It’s an ideal setup to showcase the ups and downs of the game’s current meta, while also motivating the community to craft the best deck possible before new cards shake things up once more. It’s almost like a tribute to the dominant decks of version 1.0, if you will. The voracious Charizard EX deck, the menacing Mewtwo EX deck, or the ruthless Starmie / Articuno EX with Misty deck. Lately, there’s been a fresh basic PvP event alongside the Mythical Island pack. This means all these notorious combos, along with the current Deck of the Month: Celebi EX, are back and causing headaches.

The developers truly deserve the acclaim they’re receiving. Sure, the Pokémon IP and trading card game’s widespread popularity helps, but they’ve created a game that captivates players of all skill levels. Plus, they cleverly insert small events to keep those with specific interests engaged. That’s why I believe so many players are still eagerly opening packs—it’s addictively enjoyable.

With new cards on the horizon, I can confidently admit that this game has hooked me completely. I jumped on the premium pass free trial when it first launched (another brilliant move, I must say), and I don’t see myself canceling that subscription anytime soon. To me, it’s money well spent. After all, how else am I going to collect the cards needed to challenge top-tier decks while battling in a dimly lit room in the early morning hours?