Pokemon TCG Pocket is the new kid on the block when it comes to Pokemon games, offering players the opportunity to collect cards using their phones and use those cards to battle other opponents. As is the case with any new Pokemon game, there are a few tips and tricks worth considering to help you get the most out of this casual mobile battler.

While TCG Pocket bears a lot of similarities to the overarching Pokemon TCG, it does have a few differences that you’ll want to be aware of, whether you’re a Pokemon veteran or just getting started on your card-collecting journey. So without further ado, here are some Pokemon TCG Pocket tips and tricks to help you get started.

Pokemon TCG Pocket tips and tricks

Don’t forget to do your daily missions

If you’re opening up Pokemon TCG Pocket every day to crack open those daily booster packs, you might as well complete your daily missions as well. These are simple objectives such as logging in, opening packs, or completing a battle that once complete, will bag you some Pack Hourglasses to use.

Use your Pack Hourglasses

Your Pack Hourglasses have one use in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and that’s that they allow you to open additional booster packs early. It costs one Pack Hourglass per hour left until your next opening, and considering these can’t be spent on anything else, you might as well use them to bolster your current card collection.

Ultimately, the more cards you have, the more options you have when building decks to take into battle. You’ll also unlock additional rewards from Collection Challenges as you pad out your Pokedex!

Later down the line as Pokemon TCG Pocket introduces new packs to open, it may be worth saving your Pack Hourglasses for these if your current collections are near complete. Though, right now while cards and meta decks are relatively limited, you might as well spend away.

Try the Premium Pass free trial

Though it is quite well hidden, there is actually a two week free trial for Pokemon TCG Pocket’s Premium Pass for new users, and I recommend making the most of that. If you do try it out and don’t fancy paying for it at any point, just remember to cancel the subscription from your App Store or Google Play account as soon as possible so that you do not get charged at a later date.

The Premium Pass offers players a third booster pack to open each day, as well as Premium Missions to complete. These are additional objectives available under your ‘Missions’ tab that can provide you with extra XP, Pack Hourglass’, Wonder Hourglass’, and Premium Tickets.

Premium Tickets are a currency exclusive to Premium Pass users, and can be spent in the ‘Limited Time / Events’ store page on exclusive promotional cards and items. At the time of writing, a full-art Pikachu card and various Mewtwo accessories are available to purchase.

I wouldn’t recommend paying for the Premium Pass unless you’re a dedicated collector with some cash to spare each month, but it’s definitely worth trying to free trial and temporarily reaping its additional rewards as you start building decks.

Add friends and use your Wonder Picks

Wonder Picks give you the chance to bag yourself a card that was received in another player's booster pack opening. By selecting the Wonder Picks tab in the main menu, you’ll be whisked away to a page in which you can scroll through other players card pulls and spend your Wonder Stamina on receiving a random card of theirs. This is not removed from their collection.

This is also why adding friends is important, as there’s a chance that their opened packs might appear as Wonder Picks. Additionally, there are special Wonder Picks on occasion that can provide rare cards or rewards, such as more Wonder Stamina or Shop Tickets.

Make sure you check on these each day after opening your booster packs. You might get lucky and bag yourself a rare card as a result, or at the least, hopefully acquire a card you don’t already have.

Craft Cards

You can craft cards you don’t already own if you need them to complete your collection or fill out a deck that you’re building in Pokemon TCG Pocket. This is done using Pack Points, which are earned by opening booster packs; the points you receive will depend on the rarity of the cards you receive.

If you select a booster pack from the main menu, your pack points will appear in the lower right-hand corner of the next screen. Select them to see exactly what you can spend your Pack Points on creating.

The most common of cards will cost 35 Pack Points to craft, while more popular, rare cards - such as Venusaur ex - will set you back 500 Pack Points. These points can take a while to stack up, but it is one way of ensuring you get the card you want and completing the Pokedex.

Take part in battles, and use Rental Decks if you don’t like your own

If you’re collecting Pokemon cards, then you might as well use them, and that’s where Pokemon TCG Pocket’s battling system comes in. The format in TCG Pocket is much shorter than your usual TCG game, with slightly different rules that its tutorials will walk you through.

The solo, AI battles are worth completing where possible. You can automate your battle if you’re confident in your deck, and each victory against your opponent will grant you Shinedust, Pack Hourglass’, and Shop Tickets. They’ll each have individual objectives too, such as knocking out an opponent with a Lightning-type attack, and so forth. Completing these gets you additional Shop Tickets.

When you’re done with the AI battles, you can move onto online battles against other players. These don’t quite reap the same rewards (they provide EXP only), but if you fancy putting your skills to the test, give it a whirl. Pokemon TCG Pocket also allows players to use Rental Decks — decks for hire that have a limited number of uses — if you haven’t quite crafted a deck that you’re happy with just yet.

Don’t neglect Trainer Cards

Trainer Cards, while not necessarily featuring your favorite Pokemon, are very important when it comes to battling in Pokemon TCG Pocket. The Poke Ball allows you to pick a Pokemon of your choosing from your deck, which is vital if you’re in need of a specific ‘mon you’re yet to draw.

Similarly, Potions can heal your Pokemon mid-battle, and other Trainer Cards can provide useful perks. For example, Professor’s Research will let you draw two additional cards, while Giovanni lets you deal additional damage during that turn.

Trainer Cards are split into two types primarily: Items, which you can use as many of as you’d like each round, and Supporters, which you can only use once per round. Decide which ones to build into your deck, and which ones to use, carefully!

For more on Pokemon, take a look at our list of the best Pokemon spin-off games, as well as how Weaknesses and Resistances work in Pokemon TCG Pocket.