I'm ashamed to admit this... but as an avid Pokémon fan, I had no idea that the new Pokémon TCG Pocket app even existed! I'm lucky that my sister is also an OG trainer and we happened to cross paths dropping our children off at school on the new game's launch day. She showed me the handful of cards she had collected and how the app organized them into a card Pokédex. She showed me how each card could be seen in full screen and even manipulated in virtual 3D. But the cherry on top of this Poké-Sundae was that I recognized the artwork from many of the original runs of the cards. I was immediately struck with that nostalgia rush and started downloading the game on my phone.
I've been a Pokémon TCG collector since the beginning of the game. I have a picture of some of my middle school friends and I standing with our band director in a mall...and in my hands is my first booster pack of Pokémon cards. My parents had kindly banned Pokémon cards in my home. As a child, I thought this was obviously a dumb rule and that my parents were simply trying to make sure I never had any fun or got to enjoy this new popular hobby with my friends. BUT, now as I've grown up and now have children of my own, and my children have the same hyper-addictive/obsessive personality traits I had growing up, I now fully understand my parent's decision. I had (and still do) jumped from obsession to obsession through my childhood. I collected Hot Wheels, countless Legos, baseball and hockey cards, Yo-Yo's, and Tech Deck finger skateboards over the years. I had jumped onboard with every childhood craze that came along because I wanted so desperately to fit in. It's a terrible fact that at a time in our lives that being weird and quirky is ok, we fight with all our might to fit in. But when we grow up, and adopt conforming more to what's expected of us, we finally learn to ignore the opinions of others and just be comfortable with our natural weirdness. As a teen, I bragged about my Converse All-Stars (that I still think are incredibly uncomfortable) because they were the popular shoe for my age group. Now, I proudly attend events where I get to wear a kilt and a sword in public and I don't bat an eye . But, I digress...
I think back on that old picture, and the journey of collecting, trading, playing, and making new friends that that tiny pack of cards started for me. It's really astounding to try to make sense of. Something so tiny and insignificant ended up having a nearly 30 year impact on my life and now my children's lives as well. To this day, I still get excited when I can spare five dollars at the store and get to grab a new booster pack to bring home and open with my kids. It's truly a special part of who I am as an adult. But, my ever-expanding collection of tiny pieces of cardstock with cartoon monsters on them has begun to morph in my mind. What once was just pride in finding rare cards or the thrill of opening a crisp new booster pack, now has an increasing price tag attached to it. And, as the world gets more and more complicated and costly, justifying spending my hard-earned paycheck on cards is harder and harder to do...and that brings us back to the present day and the new Pokémon TCG Pocket app.
I logged in as soon as I got home from dropping my children off, and began to explore the app. I opened my first digital booster pack and was greeted with the same rush and excitement I would have when opening a foil booster pack from the store. I anxiously watched my first five cards slide into view...they were just how I remembered them. I was even able to pull the physical copies of some of the cards from my old binders to compare the artwork. I couldn't help but get the giggles as my childhood cards seemed to keep appearing the more I played through the tutorial. Before I knew it, I had unlocked the AI battle system and was playing the Pokémon TCG on a simulated tabletop. The memories and strategies all started to jump out of my memories. The cards I used to depend on to win my duels, the "lucky coin" I kept in my Velcro wallet that I wouldn't let anyone else touch (so I wouldn't ruin the coin's mojo). I sat at my desk smiling until my cheeks began to ache as I played. I reached a point where I had achieved level 6 and had unlocked nearly 130 cards before I made myself shut it off for the day. As I laid down to get some sleep (I'm currently working overnights) I couldn't shut off the memories that the Pokémon TCG Pocket app had brought back to me. I turned on YouTube in the background and started a Pokémon lore playlist to try to continue this warm, nostalgic joy I was feeling as I went to sleep.
The Pokémon TCG Pocket app is only 2 days old as of this moment, and I'm already excited to log back in with my children before they go to school again and see what cards we each get. I haven't felt this kind of excitement since the first time I gave packs of cards to each of my children and we got so sit on my living room floor and open them together. I can't recommend enough giving this new Pokémon game a try. So far, I've been able to get so much nostalgic joy out of it. Now, there are microtransactions in the game, but they aren't pushed in your face. At this time I'm not sure how far I'll be able to go before I potentially hit a paywall, if one exists. There may be an amendment to this post in the future if I hit any big stops. But, as of now, it's progressing well and has been giving me plenty of content without asking me for a penny. If you enjoy the Pokémon franchise (OG trainer all the way to First-Timer) and have ever had any interest in the TCG, give this a try before you start investing money into physical cards. If the collecting and battling side of the TCG don't seem like your thing, at least you'll only have invested time in a free app instead of endless dollars into a physical collection. I'd particularly recommend this to parents that want to give their children a shot to be bit by the Pokémon TCG bug. I'm sure this could join the ranks of Pokémon GO as a way to enjoy that old Pokémon feeling with a whole new audience or generation. So, charge up your phone, and get collecting...and as always, game on!
コメント