Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has today received its next major update and first full set since launch as the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl-themed Space Time Smackdown expansion is now available.
This set, which comes in two booster packs themed after Dialga and Palkia, includes a total of 207 cards and is therefore significantly smaller than Genetic Apex’s 286. That being said, 52 of these are the alternate art, Star and Crown rarity cards, and as Genetic Apex had 60 of these, there is a higher percentage of rare pieces to collect.
Space Time Smackdown’s official card count therefore comes to 155, as alternate arts aren’t included in the overall collection number. Included in this count are 10 ex Pokémon: Yanmega, Infernape, Palkia, Pacharisu, Mismagius, Gallade, Weavile, Darkrai, Dialga, and Lickilicky.
Every Pokémon type therefore has a new ex Pokémon with the exception of Dragon, and the Darkness type gained two.
Space Time Smackdown’s biggest addition is perhaps in the introduction of Pokémon Tool cards, however. These are items which can be attached to the active Pokémon to give it extra benefits in battle, and three have arrived in the new set.
These include Giant Cape, which gives the Pokémon an extra 20 Hit Points; the Rocky Helmet, which does 20 HP to the opponent’s Pokémon whenever the active trainer takes damage; and the Lum Berry, which removes conditions such as Poison from the Pokémon.
Battles
As is the case with every new set release, the addition of Space Time Smackdown has brought new Solo Battles to Pokémon TCG Pocket. Eight new battles are available in the Intermediate tier, nine are available in the Advanced tier, and eight are available in the Expert tier, though none have been added to the simplest Beginner tier.
These focus on Pokémon introduced in the set such as Dialga ex and Palkia ex but also the likes of Togekiss, Bastiodon, Glacion, Magmortar, Magnezone, Rampardos, Tortrerra, and more.
As for multiplayer, it’s too early to tell exactly what will shake up the meta but many of the Space Time Smackdown cards have great potential to. Infernape ex, for example, can do 140 damage for just two Fire Energy, and while it discards both of these on impact, this is still an incredibly powerful and quick move that can one hit knock out all but the strongest ex Pokémon.
Palkia ex also poses a threat given its resemblance to Mewtwo ex. It similarly does 150 damage for four Energy, though also does 20 damage to each benched Pokémon at the cost of losing 3 total Energy. Weavile ex, meanwhile, has a single one Energy attack that does 30 damage or 70 if the defending Pokémon has damage. Perhaps the biggest boost will come to Steel type decks though, as Dialga ex and a wealth of other cards join the likes of Melmetal and Bisharp which are already available.
Missions and Rewards
Myriad new missions have joined Pokémon TCG Pocket alongside Space Time Smackdown too, though these are relatively similar in structure to what players are used to. Collecting signature cards will unlock rental decks as usual, for example, while piecing together the entire set slowly but surely will unlock Dialga and Palkia icons.
Museum missions have returned too, including two for collecting each 1 Star card and another two for collecting each full art 2 Star card. The final secret mission is called Champion of the Sinnoh Region and is awarded for collecting the full art Cynthia card alongside 1 Star cards of her four key Pokémon: Gastrodon, Lucario, Spiritomb, and Garchomp.
Missions, as usual, award Pack Hourglasses, Wonder Hourglasses, Emblem Tickets for the shop, and more, though notably none of the controversial Trading Tokens. Developer Creatures Inc. did give players a free 500 of these to celebrate trading’s addition to the game though.
Rewards can be used to unlock some new items in the shop too, including Dialga and Palkia album covers and the Lovely Hearts backdrop. A new Poké Gold bundle has replaced the previous Gardevoir one too, this time focusing on Cynthia.
Trading
Creatures Inc. still hasn’t commented on the controversial trading update since its release yesterday, with its social media accounts and the game itself only really focusing on Space Time Smackdown. The aforementioned “Trade Feature Celebration Gift” did arrive with 500 Trade Tokens and 120 Trade Hourglasses (the former of which is enough to trade a single ex Pokémon), but the developer has otherwise remained quiet on fan complaints.
Trade Tokens are at the centre of the controversy, as these are required for trading any card at 3 Diamonds or higher. 120 Trade Tokens are required to trade a 3 Diamond card, 400 are required to trade a 1 Star card, and 500 are required to trade a 4 Diamond card, meaning an ex Pokémon.
They can only be obtained by essentially selling cards. Players can delete from their collection a 3 Diamond card for 25 Trade Tokens, a 1 Star card for 100, a 4 Diamond card for 125, a 2 Star card for 300, a 3 Star immersive card for 300, and a Crown gold card for 1500. Cards of lower rarities are worthless, though require no Trade Tokens to trade either.
This means players must sell, for example, five ex Pokémon before they can trade one ex Pokémon, or five 1 Star card (the rarest available to trade) before they can trade one 1 Star card. What’s more, selling one Crown rarity card, which are the rarest in the game and may not be obtained even after months of playing, will only net players enough tokens to trade three ex Pokémon.
Fans have called it “hilariously toxic” and a “monumental failure,” and lamented that a “safe way for the community to connect more” was sacrificed for something “so laborious.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
