In Pokémon TCG Pocket, players will be crafting cards with their extra Pack Points, but there is one feature that that system is missing to optimize it. Currently, the process can be a little frustrating and is in need of a few key changes to make it go smoother. Hopefully, as the game continues to grow and change, the interface will also continue to improve.

With new promo cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket and more new cards on the way soon, players trying to collect all the Pokémon cards are going to have a hard time doing so. While players will continue to have access to the Generation Apex booster packs when the new set releases, it will make it even more imperative to be able to know at a glance what cards you have. This can be improved significantly with just a UI change.

Buying Cards With Pack Points Needs A UI Change

A Simple Solution To A Frustrating Problem

Pack Points Menu in Pokemon TCG Pocket

Currently, when you are crafting cards with Pack Points in Pokémon TCG Pocket, players cannot see if they currently own the card or not from the menu. They can scroll through all of the cards available, and it will tell players if can afford to buy the card. However, it does not tell them if they already own the card or not.

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This could all be fixed with a simple UI change to make things easier to see. It could be as simple as graying out cards that players don’t own, or putting a small circular number in the corner of each card that tells them how many of that card they own. The last thing players want to do is accidentally waste Pack Points on cards they own, or waste time going back and forth between menus to avoid that fate.

Checking Pokémon TCG Pocket Card Ownership Is Too Complicated

Players Should Enjoy The Game, Not Waste Time In Menus

There are a couple of ways to check what cards players own if you are in the Pack Points menu at the moment. The main way, which is easier, is to select a card individually and look for the "Owned" box underneath the name with a number next to it. That tells players how many copies of each card they have, but it is small, fairly out of the way, and still requires checking each individual card. If players select the magnifying glass to see the card better, they can also see if they have the card or not if the card does not appear.

There are a few main problems with this:

  1. The magnifying glass should just allow players to view the card to see if it’s something they even want, regardless of whether they own the card or not.
  2. The "Owned" section on the card selection is small enough that it can be missed by players for a long time.
  3. Players should be able to tell at a glance which cards they are missing.

Otherwise, the other main way to check on the status of a card in your collection, players will have to go back to the card collection to see what cards they already have, memorize it, and return to the Pack Points screen to pick out their card. It’s clunky and complicated, and players will not likely want to keep doing that back-and-forth action all the time just to get that last card for their electric-type deck.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Can Take Cues From Other TCGs

Other TCG Apps Make The Process Easier

Other apps for TCGs, while they are not a game simulation in the same way this app is, have easier methods of showing players what cards are in their collection or not. Another issue with the Pokémon TCG Pocket app is that there is no good way of checking what cards are not in the collection in general.

The default collection screen only shows cards that are already in the collection, with no indication as to what is missing or how many cards are in between each one on the menu. Players must purposely turn the switch on to see missing cards, and then select them to see what they are. A solution would be to allow players to go directly to the Pack Points screen to buy those cards when they select the missing cards or to put a “Buy With Pack Points” option underneath the card description.

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However, there is a solution that can be seen in other TCG apps, most notably Lorcana. The catalog is much easier to navigate, and the system could be used here. All cards are automatically shown, allowing players to see what they are and do at a glance without having to do a lot of extra clicking and scrolling. Players can also see if they own the card or not through a banner in the corner telling them how many they own. If they don’t own it, that banner is simply not present.

That banner is what could be employed in the Pack Points menu. There are already gray banners in the collection menu telling players how many cards they own, but the improvement of being able to see what cards are not owned and know what they are/do is a big one. Players could still select the card to see what booster packs they can be found in, but that would make card ownership much easier to track in Pokémon TCG Pocket.

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Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket
Digital Card Game
Systems
Released
October 30, 2024

Developer(s)
DeNA, Creatures Inc.
Publisher(s)
The Pokemon Company
Franchise
Pokemon
Platform(s)
Mobile