A brand new, official, completely free Pokémon game just dropped and you can download it… right now.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has just dropped on both the Apple App Store and the Google Play store, and players are already referring to it as a Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links-inspired take on the Pokémon TCG.
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is completely free to play, but it does have some microtransactions baked in. Nothing is truly free after all, but hey - at least it’s cheaper than actually buying real Pokémon cards.
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According to early players, all of the cards are free and can be collected through daily logins, but special cosmetic items can seemingly only be purchased using real-life money.
If you’re curious about some of the gameplay features and how microtransaction-heavy the game actually is, I highly recommend this write-up on the game from Eurogamer’s Lottie Lynn.
That Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Links comparison seems to be pretty apt if Lynn’s explanation of the gameplay is anything to go by though, as she explains that the game has “been streamlined to shorten matches” and that “Energy Cards now auto-generate rather than being pulled from the deck”.
However, keep in mind that Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is only currently available in select territories.
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It also seems that some territories that do have access to the game won’t be able to access it for a few more hours, so keep refreshing your storefront of choice if you’re feeling super keen.
If you want to check if it is available in your region first though, the folks over at Game8 have made a list of all territories it’s releasing in.
And of course, yes, this is a mobile-exclusive title. It’s hard to say if the game will see a release on something like the Nintendo Switch or even on PC, as Nintendo doesn’t usually re-release their mobile titles on other platforms, but don’t hold your breath.