Having spent a lot of the last year playing Pokémon TCG Pocket and gleefully opening packs of lovely digital cards, I don't have many complaints about the game. I do have one, though, and it's starting to eat away at me every time I look at my collection. I'm missing quite a few promo cards, and as it stands, there's no way for me to rectify that right now.
The problem is, the Pokémon propaganda I grew up with has worked too well, and now I feel a deep desire, almost a need, to catch 'em all whenever and wherever possible. Whether it be when I'm replaying Pokémon Yellow for the umpteenth time or crafting new Pokémon TCG Pocket decks, there's nothing that makes me feel much worse than a gap in my Pokédex. Admittedly, I'm not missing a bunch of promo cards, but somehow that almost makes it all the more painful.
Essentially, what I'm asking for - if anyone from The Pokémon Company or DeNA is reading this - is a way to get those missing Pokémon TCG Pocket cards. I'm happy to spend my precious hourglasses on them if need be, but it feels like it's the only thing that's going to keep me in the game for the long run. Like a lot of TCG Pocket players, I'm more in it for the collecting than the battling, and if I can't collect them all, then what's the point?
While I've given Marvel Snap its fair share of criticism over the last couple of years, I have to commend the developer, Second Dinner, for solving a similar problem in its card game. In late 2024, the game introduced the Collector's Vault, giving you access to variant cards you might have missed when they first arrived in the in-game shop. Admittedly, it's still not a perfect system, as it's not always available and it doesn't offer the complete pool of cards you're missing, but it's better than nothing.
Worse still, at the time of writing, you can't trade promo cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket, which means I can't even turn to the community in my hour of need. Speaking of community, it's pretty apparent that I'm not on my own in this disappointment surrounding promo cards and their availability, with multiple Reddit posts complaining about the same issue, with the occasional commenter revealing it's enough to put them off the game. Usually, I'd put some quotes here, but many of them are littered with expletives, so you'll have to use your imagination.
Much of my complaining comes from a place of selfishness; I can own up to that, but as I said earlier, I am a big fan of Pokémon TCG Pocket as a whole, and I'd hate to see this issue ruin what is, for the most part, a great mobile game. For me, it's a fantastic alternative to the real-life Pokémon TCG, which currently has its own issues to contend with, and I'd like to keep collecting. Given that we've already seen DeNA make some big in-game changes, most notably with the trading mechanic, I do trust them, some microtransaction issues aside. However, if I'm going to stick around, I don't want to be punished for dipping out for a week and missing the chance to fill out my Pokédex with new promo cards.
There you have it, my argument for DeNA to introduce a new mechanic in Pokémon TCG Pocket to give me access to those sweet, sweet promo cards missing from my collection. For more great deckbuilders, be sure to check out our list of the best mobile card games while you're here. Or, if you're looking for something else to play while you wait for the Pokémon Legends: Z-A release date, see our guides to the best Switch games and the best mobile games.