Pokémon Cards Are Back—No Binders Needed

In the mid-1990s, the masterminds behind Pokémon were building a powerful trifecta: a handful of role-playing adventures for Nintendo’s Game Boy, a physical card game, and an animated kids’ TV show following the adventures of a tween and his best friend, Pikachu. It was the early days of one of pop culture’s most beloved and enduring franchises, an intoxicating combination of cute, colorful creatures and the jingle-friendly demand to collect everything.

“Gotta catch ’em all” remains a powerful mandate, even as physical media has fallen out of style. As a kid, I kept my Pokémon cards in carefully preserved laminate sleeves. Today, they live on my phone, thanks to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, which lets players collect digital cards and use them to battle, just like they used to with physical cards.

Pocket, released October 30 for iOS and Android, ditches the physical binders and booster packs in favor of a slick, mobile version that can sink its fangs into your wallet faster than you can finish a match. Like Pokémon Go, a hit game that grew into a worldwide phenomenon, Pocket has legs. In its first week, the game was downloaded more than 30 million times. On Monday, it was nominated for Best Mobile Game of 2024 at The Game Awards—a notable distinction given that it’s been available to play for less than a month.

Hype around the game is widespread, from YouTube to X to everyone’s new go-to, Bluesky. In a video on TikTok, Kinda Funny host and producer Blessing Adeoye Jr. calls it “ridiculous” how much he enjoys playing the game, from opening packs to battling. “I’m into it to an extent where I’m like, oh no,” he says in the video. “They got my ass.”

Adeoye says Pocket acts as a jumping-in point that allows players to feel like they’re experiencing the Pokémon card craze from the beginning. Because there are only three pack types available, everyone is collecting the same cards. “It feels special to open a full-art Pikachu or a Mewtwo EX card that comes with a unique animation,” Adeoye tells WIRED. “There’s a shared experience happening currently, which feels like what it felt like as a kid opening up your first Pokémon card packs.”

Getting lots of people into the Poké-fold is, of course, the point of Pocket. Like Go, which used the allure of a pop cultural powerhouse to get people to dip their toes into augmented-reality gaming on their smartphones, Pocket’s appeal lies in taking some part of that ’90s fandom and putting it in your palm. Go wants you to catch your own collection of little monsters; Pocket wants you to replicate the feeling of going to the store, opening a pack, and scoring a rare card. And like those trips to the comics shop, your chances of landing something cool can depend on how much you spend. (The game has reportedly made millions since launch.)

In gaming, this is known as “gacha”—a gameplay mechanic not unlike putting a quarter in a vending machine and hoping for the trinket you want. Coupled with fast-paced matches, where players use their most powerful Pokémon cards in battle, the gacha elements make Pocket undeniably sticky. They’ve also made the game a bit controversial. Some say that it’s more “pay to win” than “free to play” while others claim the quest for more and fancier cards is a little too enticing. Some just think Pikachu sucks in this version. (“Look at his smug little face,” they grouse.)

Pocket definitely has new and lapsed fans talking about collecting Pokémon cards again, but whether or not they’ll keep talking, and playing, remains unknown. A few months after it launched—between August and September 2016—Go lost nearly 20 million players as interest in the game waned. But it’s still kicking, and has dedicated fans. Pocket, which gives plebes a gentler introduction to the Pokéverse, could see a similar drop-off but stick around for years. (A spokesperson for the game didn’t respond to a request for updated download numbers.)

From the start, Pocket is tutorial-heavy, helping you build early confidence through solo matches that steadily grow more difficult, while also feeding you just enough digital booster packs and items to keep you feeling engaged. Opening a booster pack is a tiny celebration that begins when you pick a theme—they’re named after beloved Pokémon: Mewtwo, Charizard, and Pikachu—and then swipe to “tear” open the pack and review cards one by one. Fans are still debating whether or not the pack selection actually matters; some claim that tricks like finding packs with “bent” edges or extra shine will net better rewards, while others are convinced all the packs on offer are identical as soon as you pick the theme.

Pocket is full of specialty cards, whether it’s powerful EX versions of Pokémon that can help in battle and act as the anchor of any good deck, or rare art styles. The game also supports limited “wonder” picks, a mechanic that presents a five-card pack owned by another player. The cards shuffle and you have a 1-in-5 chance of getting the one you actually want.

Every player gets two free packs a day. The game may reward frequent logins and successful matches with items that can give you access to cards sooner, but players can bypass that by shelling out cash. There are hourglasses you can buy that will remove wait times for packs and picks, which you can either get the regular way—by earning them—or outright paying for them.

Why would anyone pay to play something they can technically play for free? Turns out, all this card-trading and game-playing is just as tempting as it’s ever been. On community hubs like Reddit and YouTube, players have mapped out the best card combinations to win matches. Some players show up to these contests with decks stacked so only well-funded opponents stand a chance. Because the game is full of new players, the typical stigmas about paying to win aren’t as prevalent; matches are random, not ranked. It’s unlikely you’ll ever face the same person again, unless you share a code with each other. The game counts wins, but losing (or conceding) doesn’t hurt you either.

Still, if you want to pull off a killer combo or be worshipped for an especially rare card and don’t want to pay, you’re going to spend a lot of time pulling duds and hoping the next draw will be better. “Longest 10 minutes of my life,” joked one player on Reddit with a screenshot of the time left until they could open a new card pack. Another Reddit user broke down how many days it would take to collect every card without paying for what’s currently available and estimated 1,843 days, which is more than five years. That’s not even accounting for how large the card selection might get with future updates.

Players who spend $10 to buy the premium pass get extra card draws and easier access to special cards and cosmetics. Some players are trying to game that too, by purchasing the pass for perks and canceling it as soon as possible. But it’s a fleeting benefit by any metric, one that ultimately feeds into a digital landscape instead of the classic physical collection of days gone by.

Adeoye says that Pokémon’s magic is a combination of the brand’s power and recognizable and lovable character design, wrapped in a concept that works well across a range of mediums and ages. “There’s an inherent appeal to creature collecting, and The Pokémon Company has done an excellent job translating this to different formats—including Pokémon Go, which saw a similar swell in popularity at its launch and continues to have a passionate fanbase.”

There’s strategy involved in Pocket and deck building, but ultimately doing well in the game involves a great deal of chance. Getting good cards, pulling the cards you need when you need them—these things take luck. Pokémon TCG Pocket is masterfully built to pull you in. More cards are on the way before the year ends, and its first big update in January will allow players to trade certain cards. Hundreds more Pokémon characters still exist for the game’s developers to introduce. Pokémon Go proved that fans have an enormous appetite for the franchise. Pokémon TCG Pocket might have what it takes to keep them hungry.