Pokemon Go TCG Expansion Is A Great Set, But Not A Great Pokemon Go Set
I’ve never had more mixed feelings about a Pokemon TCG expansion before. On the one hand, the Pokemon Go set is a wonderful celebration of what a phenomenon the mobile game has been over the last six years. On the other hand, the sheer amount of off-theme art and mechanics make it feel like two expansions stuffed together, and one of them has nothing to do with Pokemon Go. The incongruity of Pokemon Go and Sword & Shield features has the unfortunate effect of highlighting how much bloat the TCG has accumulated throughout this generation. As good as the Pokemon Go-themed cards and products are, I could have done without the rest of it.
In terms of presentation, this expansion nails the look right on the shelf. Almost every boxed product in this mini-set is wrapped in the iconic green fields and blue skies that greet you every time you launch Pokemon Go. The best themed boxes are the Team collections, which include a Team Instinct, Mystic, or Valor pin and a Full Art Trainer Card of either Spark, Blanche, or Candela. As a die-hard member of Team Valor, the Candela collection is the first TCG product I’ve considered keeping in the box. Those collections are the best example of what this expansion has to offer.
Related: Before The MCU, Pokemon Had Its Own Multiverse
The set includes 88 new cards - less than half of the number of cards in a typical Sword & Shield expansion - and there’s plenty of great Pokemon Go references to find. Among the Trainer Cards are Egg Incubators, Lure Modules, and PokeStops, as well as the aforementioned team leaders and Professor Willow. It’s just the basics unfortunately, and you won’t find things like Poffins, Raid Passes, Incense, Star Pieces, or any of the Team Go Rocket leaders, but all of
Read more on thegamer.com
