Summary
Pokemon TCG Pocket has been a generous game in many ways, allowing players to grow their collections through free card acquisitions frequently. Tools like the Wonder Pick let players aim for specific cards they desire, offering two free booster packs daily, while Shining Revelry gifts a starter Ex deck without any cost. However, the handling of duplicate cards leaves much to be desired, and improving this aspect could significantly enhance the gaming experience for fans.
The presence of duplicates in booster packs or during activities like the Wonder Pick can be quite annoying. Without a duplicate protection system, it’s possible for players to receive the same card multiple times in a single pack. This lack of control over the cards received, even if they’re rare, can be discouraging. There’s potential for a solution here, though it might seem like wishful thinking.
Pokemon TCG Pocket players express their growing frustration with the current system and the lack of valuable rewards for duplicates. The game currently converts duplicates into Shinedust, intended as the main trading currency in future updates. While Shinedust allows the purchase of card-specific cosmetic effects, it doesn’t truly compensate players for their duplicates. What could work far better is exchanging duplicates for pack points, a far more useful resource that is hard to come by.
Pack points in Pokemon TCG Pocket are scarce, as they are awarded in small increments of just 5 per booster pack, tied to specific sets instead of being account-wide. Accumulating enough for a rare card, which can cost 500 points or more, requires opening a huge number of packs. Allowing players to trade duplicates for pack points would benefit both the economy of the game and players, making duplicates feel like a valuable part of their collection.
Such a system would provide several advantages—diminishing the disappointment of duplicate pulls while boosting the accessibility and value of pack points. Particularly, it could ease the difficulty of collecting coveted cards from challenging sets like Shining Revelry. If players could convert duplicates into points, even lackluster packs would carry potential value.
To successfully implement this, the game could consider adopting a system that adjusts the trade value based on card rarity. For instance:
Card Rarity | Number of Cards Traded | Number of Pack Points Received
— | — | —
Common/1-Diamond | 5 | 3
Uncommon/2-Diamond | 3 | 5
Rare/3-Diamond | 1 | 15
Double Rare/4-Diamond | 1 | 50
Illustration Rare/1-Star | 1 | 50
Special Art/2-Star | 1 | 100
Immersive Rare/3-Star | 1 | 150
Shiny Rare/1-Shiny | 1 | 100
Double Shiny Rare/2-Shiny | 1 | 150
Crown Rare/Crown | 1 | 250
While these numbers are speculative, such a system could make trading duplicates for pack points both rewarding and beneficial, even turning otherwise disappointing card draws into opportunities for growth. Though this idea might not be on the horizon, it’s an elegant solution to make duplicate cards far less frustrating in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
