Pokemon Go Just Got A TCG Set and It’s Stunning

The Pokemon Trading Card Game expansion, which was just released, is full of stunning cards that are inspired by Pokemon Go.

Since the height of Poke-mania in the early aughts, Pokemon has remained a multimedia behemoth, but with the release of Pokemon Go in 2016, it has experienced a resurgence. The mobile game was an immediate success because it blends geolocation and augmented reality to allow players all around the world to discover wild creatures together.

Pokemon Go has continued to thrive since its release. Now, six years after the mobile game’s debut, the Pokemon Trading Card Game has released its first Pokemon Go-themed card expansion, and it’s spectacular.

The Pokemon Go TCG set is a beautiful collection that lovingly pays homage to Niantic’s spin-off game. What stands out most is how successfully the set translates the essence of the mobile game into trading cards, both aesthetically and mechanically.

The card design is also quite lovely. The hand-drawn cards are still beautiful, but the expansion adds several photorealistic cards depicting Pokemon in real-world situations, reminiscent of Pokemon Go’s augmented reality elements. These cards are not only distinct from other Pokemon TCG sets in terms of aesthetics, but they also depict a variety of themes, ranging from a Charizard soaring majestically through a cityscape to a Snorlax hilariously preventing someone’s entryway.

The new Ditto card, however, is the most creative. The shapeshifting Ditto usually appears in the wild as a different Pokemon and only reveals its real form after being captured in Pokemon Go. The new Ditto card also employs this method.

Ditto appears in the bottom right corner of certain Pokemon cards in the set. The Ditto card is hidden beneath a sticker on the top layer of these cards, which you can remove by peeling back the corner. It’s an ingenious method to replicate the surprise of finding a Ditto in Pokemon Go.

I’m not an expert on the metagame ramifications of the new Pokemon and Trainer cards as a casual Pokemon TCG enthusiast who has only dabbled in the card game. The Pokemon Go set, however, is one of the most beautiful TCG expansions in recent memory as collectibles. Card sets are released at such a fast pace that it’s difficult for casual fans to keep up with them, but the Pokemon Go expansion is well worth seeking out, even if you haven’t felt the desire to buy Pokemon cards in a long time.

The Pokemon Go TCG set is now available in stores and on the Pokémon Center website. The official Pokemon TCG website has more information about the collection, as well as a complete list of new cards.