There has always been one game that has captured the attention of Ida B. Wells students. Earlier this year it was Block Blast, however, there’s a new game running rounds called Pokémon TCG Pocket, or simply Pokémon Pocket. The game came out Oct. 30, 2024, collecting 60 million downloads as of Dec. 12, 2024, and is still climbing, according to Pokemon.com.
This is one of the few mobile games the Pokémon company has put out, though past hits like Pokemon Go still have thriving communities heavily invested with the game. The success of their past mobile games indicates possible longevity of Pokémon Pocket.
Pokémon is a brand that branches from the larger company Nintendo. Nintendo originated in Japan in 1996 by selling packs of trading cards with imaginary creatures on them. The original name translates to “Pocket Monsters,” which may be referenced in the name of Pokémon Pocket. It then came to the United States two years later in 1998. From that point it blew up, becoming extremely popular in the U.S. ever since, with the cards hiked up to obscene prices. According to TitleMax, Pokémon is the highest growing media franchise of all time by around 10 billion dollars.
Pokémon Pocket, now available on Android and iOS, tries to replicate the feeling of opening a pack of cards for free, where waiting 12 hours gets you a new pack to open. Each of these packs have individual rarities and unique art on each card from past sets of physical Pokémon cards, along with certain rare cards that have custom art for the game such as immersive cards that play a short animation.
With the cards now opened, it’s possible to make a deck of cards that players can use to battle bots that have their own unique themed decks, or even real people across the world online. These fights can give players rewards that allow them to skip hours of the wait to get new packs of cards. This wait can also be circumvented by just paying for these items with real money.
Recently, the game came out with its second main series of packs called “Space-Time Smackdown” with two types of packs containing specific cards in them based off of the two Pokémons Palkia and Dialga. The two come from the fourth generation of Pokemon. A “generation” is when the Pokemon company releases a batch of new Pokémon based off the new region they reside in, which is the generation this new series is based on.
Pokémon Pocket is a great game you can download on your phone. The game captures that feeling of ripping open a pack of cards, without the price tag attached. This recent series “Space-Time Smackdown” released three months after the original release of the game gives players hope that there will be consistent updates to keep the community strong, like in the past with Pokémon Go.
