Summary
Pokemon TCG Pocket’s latest set, called Shining Revelry and featuring shiny critters as well as many new cards, came out today alongside missions for players to gain enough rewards to open a bunch of packs for free. Although some players have raised concerns regarding the viability of cards like the new Charizard Ex, given the Genetic Apex version’s raw power, Shining Revelry does have several chase cards for fans to get. For example,Pokemon TCG Pocket’s new Crown card is Poke Ball, which is arguably a great choice due to how widely used the card is. Yet, the set’s new promo is already causing controversy.
Promo cards inPokemon TCG Pockethave always been problematic, as they not only promote FOMO to a degree, but they are currently not tradeable, nor is there a system in place to earn past ones. One can effectively miss out on special cards this way and then become locked from getting them, though the game will make changes to trading, and promos will eventually become tradeable. Still, it will be hard to justify trading the Shining Revelry promo, a shiny Mewtwo Ex, considering it can only be purchased with real money - an inevitable feature considering the game’s gacha model.
Pokemon TCG Pocket is Shooting Itself In The Foot With Its Shining Revelry Promo
The only current promo for Shining Revelry is a shiny version ofPokemon TCG Pocket’s Mewtwo Exfrom Genetic Apex, in its full art version. This card is only available by purchasing a bundle that goes for over $20, and considering it’s the main selling point of said bundle, it’s extremely unlikely it will ever be obtainable for free. Considering that other promos for the game were locked behind the Premium Pass, it was only a matter of time before this happened.
However, one could argue that cards like the full-art promo Pikachu from thePremium Pass inPokemon TCG Pocketcould (and still can) be obtained with the free trial of 14 days, which is also enough to collect some other goodies. While this is true, it cements the idea that the game was never a stranger to the concept of paid promo cards, with the difference being that shiny Mewtwo Ex can only and exclusively be obtained by spending money - no free trials or anything. This is a pretty powerful card that can still be played in good decks, so it’s a rather prized possession if it’s shiny.
Shiny Mewtwo Ex Could Pave The Way For More P2W Cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket
One could even argue that this paves the way for pay-to-win content, though, in a way, the game already has that built into its pack-opening methods. In fact, players can spend money on Poke Gold to buy booster packs, which will eventually add a lot of cards to their collection and thus speed up the process of building good decks. None of this guarantees any specific good cards, though, whereas the new bundle does get players a Mewtwo Ex to use in theirmetaPokemon TCG Pocketdecks.
With Pack Points inPokemon TCG Pocketbeing a contentious point with fans due to their availability, or lack thereof, and difficulty in getting specific cards, it doesn’t seem too absurd to think the game will eventually add the ability to buy specific cards for Poke Gold, for example. An exclusive, paid-onlypromo card inPokemon TCG Pocketis a dangerous slippery slope, and given the poor reputation of several gacha games for predatory monetization, it may be best off if it’s the first and last of its kind. As of now, not much is known about possible future plans for promos, but this choice is already controversial, no matter how predictable it may have been in hindsight.
