This cover was made using Canva and Bitmoji, the pictures in this post were taken directly from the game by me.
Even though I haven't talked about Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket in a couple of days, I have to admit that it's the only game I've spent a couple of minutes on every day in my adult life. The reason? Although it has undeniable flaws, it's a solid mobile experience that almost perfectly mimics the consumerist desire to collect physical cards, along with a percentage system for getting the cards we want that's quite questionable, but at the same time, ironically, ends up making the weight of getting a "good" one feel greater.
And with only three sets of cards released to date (Genetic Apex, Mythical Island, and Space Time Smackdown)... Of which I've only been able to complete one, it's clear that Game Freak and The Pocket Monster Company have hit the nail on the head to keep us hooked.
However, one of the almost essential functions that the game lacked since its release was precisely the possibility that players would have to exchange those cards that they have repeated, a fundamental piece of collecting in real life, and a way to considerably facilitate the search for certain cards, either because we need a specific creature to complete a set, or because we simply have preferences for some designs of our favorite Pokémon over others.
And although Nintendo had made it quite clear from the beginning that this mode would eventually be released worldwide, it was quite obvious that it would be presented with many limitations, since collecting could not be made too easy for its players, and there are a couple of pay-to-win details that the title will never abandon.
Unfortunately, having low expectations was of no use, since the trading system in Pokémon TCGP ended up being much worse than I expected, and, at least the first impressions, have left me with little desire to continue trying.
The problem? Beyond the limiting nature of trading itself, Pokémon TCGP seems to actively make every transaction an extremely cumbersome task, not only because we are forced to trade only with our friends, and because its interface omits essential information such as which cards we are missing (and which ones the person we are trading with has), but also because we can only transfer one card at a time and these cards will cost us trading points (and clocks) strategically created to slow down our progress.
To make matters worse, the trading points system is unbalanced, requiring us to burn a disproportionate amount of cards in order to request a "valuable" one in exchange, and omitting the possibility of getting rid of those "simpler" cards.
In the best of scenarios, trades only flow when we have a large number of duplicate special cards, and, in addition, we have a friend who is in the same situation, and who coincidentally has duplicates of those we need.
On the bright side, this cumbersome nature serves to nicely mimic the lack of polish of physical card trading, limits the possibilities of cheating to complete a collection quickly, and almost completely eliminates the possibility of having a black market for buying and selling cards.
There is a lot of room for refinement and I feel that with time a balance can be found where trading is more comfortable for users without totally breaking the balance of the game, Pokémon TCGP is still an enjoyable experience and I am already looking forward to seeing what the next expansion or set will bring.
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