Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, or Pokémon TCG Pocket for short, is a digital collectible card game for iOS and Android. It is free to download, and every 12 hours you can open one booster pack without paying. As of 20 October 2026 the current expansion is Deluxe Pack: Mega, and the next set, Dual Fusion, arrives on 28 October 2026. This guide covers how collecting works, what Premium Pass adds, what the new series changes and how to trade with friends.
What Pokémon TCG Pocket is and what is free
The game is developed by Creatures Inc. (©DeNA) and launched on 30 October 2024. The publisher calls it free-to-start, with optional in-app purchases. Here is what you get without paying:
- A booster pack every 12 hours, so two packs a day.
- Pack hourglasses from rewards, which shorten the wait for your next pack.
- Wonder Pick, explained below.
You can also cut the wait with Poké Gold, the premium currency bought with real money. You can hold a maximum of 3,600 Poké Gold at once.
How collecting works: rarity, pack points and Wonder Pick
Rarity is shown by symbols. The most common cards have one to four diamonds, rarer ones one to three stars, and the rarest a crown. Different booster packs in the same expansion contain different cards. Genetic Apex, for example, was split into Charizard, Pikachu and Mewtwo packs, so you pick the pack based on the cards you want.
Every pack you open gives you pack points. You exchange them for selected cards, so you can eventually get a specific card without relying on luck.
Wonder Pick lets you take one card from packs that other players opened. It costs wonder stamina, which recovers at one unit per 12 hours. When building a deck, remember you can include no more than two cards with the same name.
Premium Pass and Poké Gold
Premium Pass is a monthly subscription. The official guide from November 2024 lists it at 9.99 USD or the equivalent in your local currency. It gives you an extra pack every 24 hours plus Premium Missions.
Besides buying in the app, there is an official TCG Pocket web store. Premium Pass and Poké Gold are optional, and you can play without them.
Current expansion: Deluxe Pack: Mega and Dual Fusion
Deluxe Pack: Mega has been live since 29 September 2026. Packs hold 4 cards, and each one is guaranteed to contain one Pokémon ex. The set reissues cards from the Mega Rising through Ruler of the Skies expansions, including every four diamond card, and adds parallel foils and new illustrations.
The next expansion, Dual Fusion, releases on Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 18:00 PDT. It debuts dual-type Pokémon: Mega Mewtwo X ex (Psychic/Fighting) and Mega Greninja ex (Water/Darkness).
What changes with the new series
A new series starts at the end of October 2026, and the producer letter from 15 October 2026 lists these changes. The developers say the content is still in development and may change:
- New packs roughly every 6 weeks instead of roughly every 4.
- Special Pack: First Partners, using special pack stamina that refills once a week.
- Community Decks, plus rental decks available from a pack’s release, with no usage limit and also in versus battles.
- Limited-time battle events and one star promo cards from weekly missions.
- Better trading and sharing: you can see which cards a partner is missing from their dex.
Dual Fusion and second anniversary events
| Event | Dates |
|---|---|
| 2nd anniversary (ticket for a pack with a guaranteed two star card) | 29 Oct – 14 Dec 2026 |
| PROMO Reissue | 29 Oct – 12 Nov 2026 |
| Handy card collection missions | 29 Oct 2026 – 26 Jan 2027 |
| Dual Fusion Emblem Event | 5 – 15 Nov 2026 |
| Bonus Week | 13 – 20 Nov 2026 |
| Promo Pack C Series Vol. 1 | 17 Nov – 1 Dec 2026 |
| Dual Fusion rental decks | until 15 Dec 2026 |
Dates come from the official Dual Fusion announcement. We follow new announcements in our Pokémon news.
How to trade in TCG Pocket, step by step
You can trade only with friends, and trading unlocks 14 days after you start playing. The process:
- Add the player as a friend.
- Open Social Hub > Trade and choose the card you are offering.
- Both cards must share the same rarity. Flair trades for flair, gold border for gold border.
- Before you confirm, the game shows how much shinedust the trade costs. The amount depends on the card’s rarity.
- Confirm the trade. You can have only one trade in progress at a time.
The full rules are in game under Social Hub > Trade >? > About trade rules, and the list of tradable cards under Detailed trade list. If you cancel a trade, you get your trade stamina and cards back.
Your wishlist holds up to 40 cards, and you can show three of them on your profile. Trade history keeps your last 30 trades over 90 days. The complete rules are in the official Trading FAQ.
Device requirements and languages
Recommended specs according to official support:
- iOS: iPhone X or later, iOS/iPadOS 15 or later, 3 GB RAM.
- Android: Android 7.0 or later, Vulkan support, 64-bit, 3 GB RAM, a GPU at the level of Snapdragon 845 or similar.
The in-game day resets at 6:00 UTC. The game is available in Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Traditional Chinese and Korean.
If battles appeal to you more than collecting, take a look at Pokémon Champions. And if you also play outdoors, we explain Pokémon GO events.
Join our Discord to find players to add as friends and trade cards with: GamersTogether Discord.
FAQ
Yes, it is free-to-start. You open one free booster pack every 12 hours, and in-app purchases are optional.
On Wednesday 28 October 2026 at 18:00 PDT. It brings the dual-type Pokémon Mega Mewtwo X ex and Mega Greninja ex.
Trading unlocks 14 days after you start playing and works only with friends. Both cards also need to share the same rarity.
At 6:00 UTC, when the new in-game day begins.
Information verified on 20 October 2026. More guides are in our Pokémon guides, and the official site is tcgpocket.pokemon.com.