Image via DeNA and The Pokémon Company
It’s no secret that Pokémon TCG Pocket has a firm hold on me. The game is part of my morning mobile gaming rotation, right alongside Pokémon Sleep and Pokémon Go. I’ve been feverishly opening the new Deluxe Pack MEGA in the hopes of finally catching up on missing cards from the B Series. But this morning, something else caught my attention when I launched the app. DeNA has shared another wave of upcoming changes to Pokémon TCG Pocket, including a rework of the Step-Up Battle system. And I’m not sure how to feel.
On October 7th, Pokémon TCG Pocket shared an in-game news bulletin with the title “About Future Updates.” According to the post, “some content will be reworked toward the end of October 2026.” In other words, the planned changes are coming pretty soon. This update will impact a few major areas of the gameplay experience: Step-Up Battles, Deckbuilding, and paid features like Poke Gold and the Premium Shop. The initial information gives a basic overview of what’s coming, but doesn’t dig into details. So, I’m not entirely sure how to feel just yet. But here’s what we know.
Pokémon TCG Pocket is Changing How Solo Step-Up Battles Work
Of all the pending changes, I think this is the one I’m most nervous about. I’m not a big fan of the PvP scene in games like Pokémon TCG Pocket, because the meta tends to settle in such a way that you can only really win with a few specific strategies. But I do enjoy the solo battles, particularly the new Step-Up Battles that release with each new booster. So I’m a bit nervous to see that DeNA plans to rework this element of the game.
So far, it’s not super clear exactly what’s going to change. The rework will feature “a new type of battling where the difficulty increases as you progress through the stages.” Which is kind of what I thought Step-Up Battles were supposed to do anyway? From the sounds of it, the new battles might be more like a series of matches rather than individual levels you take on as you go? Unclear. But the rework is significant enough that the current slew of Step-Up Battles will no longer be available once it arrives. So, if you’re still working your way through past battles and want to grab the rewards, make sure you put some time into it before the end of the month.
I really enjoy the Step-Up Battles, but I’m open to seeing how they could be better. I know it’s not a favorite feature for many, and something a bit more dynamic or engaging could do well to help address player feedback that there’s not enough to do in the game. With this one, I think we’ll have to wait for more concrete details to really know what to make of the change.
Pokémon TCG Pocket to Add New Community Deck Feature, But Nix Deck Missions
The second major shift is a pretty substantial rework of deck-related features in Pokémon TCG Pocket. First, we’re getting Community Decks, which let you search for and copy decks that other players have shared. For those who struggle with strategy, this is a way to get some viable options based on the knowledge of more seasoned players. But it could have some interesting consequences for an already stagnant meta, if everyone starts using the same few Community Decks in PvP.
Rental Decks are also changing with this update, moving to a model that lets you “rent decks with cards from the latest booster packs and use those decks an unlimited number of times.” Basically, it sounds like the limited nature of Rental Decks is going away, and the pool may become more limited. When this update rolls out, players’ current Theme Deck Lists and Rental Decks will be deleted. Along with that, Deck Missions are going away. I don’t have a lot of commentary on this one, as I have mostly ignored Rental Decks in their current form.
Along with these major changes, some of the discount Poke Gold packages that rolled out at launch will be discontinued and replaced with new sales. In addition, some limited-time premium shop items will expire. You can check out the full details on those changes via the in-game News feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket.
From the sound of it, DeNA is continuing to work on major adjustments to improve the Pokémon TCG Pocket experience. This update is set to roll out at the end of the month, so we should have a better idea of whether they really improve matters soon enough.
Still here? Good.
That means the article did its job! If you’d like to see more of them (and get first crack at what’s next) our Patreon’s the place.
About the Author
Discover more from Bonus Action
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
