Some Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket players have noticed that a few of their cards appear as flipped in their milestone collections, and flair may be to be blame. The popular mobile game brings the physical card game to the virtual table, giving players the chance to open booster packs, battle other players, and simply collect the cards. For many, the latter is the best part of the game, finding it satisfying to complete their collections from the various sets without having to spend any real-world money.
Reddit user madecker44 was confused, though, when they spotted one card flipped, so only the back was showing in one of the milestone celebrations. Any time a player meets a certain collection milestone, such as collecting 777 cards as in the case of the Redditor, the game shows all the cards they've collected so far with a little fact about the number.
In the Reddit post, madecker44 circled the flipped card, asking the community, "Why is there a backwards card in here?" The answer, it turns out, might have to do with the game mechanic of flair, which adds a visual element to the card such as sparkles or fire surrounding it. User Zabadaboom makes the suggestion, "Could it be the cards you’ve used for flair (so cards you don’t have anymore)?" and other players respond with images and anecdotes that confirm this theory. It seems that using up extra cards to create flair makes the cards no longer show face-up in the collection milestone celebrations.
Pokémon TCG Pocket's Flair Mechanic Leaves Players Wanting
The Backwards Cards Make Fans Dislike The Feature Even More
Flair requires Shinedust and a certain number of copies of the card that's getting the flair. In theory, it gives players something to do with card duplicates, and adds a neat visual aesthetic to the cards when they're displayed in a binder or being played in a battle. The effect is purely cosmetic, and some of the effects make the already cool-looking cards stand out even more.
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However, the flair mechanic has proven to be unpopular with fans since the mobile game's release. For many, finding out that using cards for flair "hides" them from the collection makes the flair mechanic even less appealing. Reddit user lordak16 states, "I didn’t really like flairs before, but now you’ve hammered the final nail." Others agree that this is just another reason to dislike the flair system. Redditor patches_tagoo exclaims that "This is so upsetting!!", noting that they regret "ever messing with the flair system at all" because it messed up their collection number totals.
Our Take: There Are Better Uses For Pokémon TCG Pocket Duplicates
Flair Seems Like A Missed Opportunity
Custom Image by Archie Stevens
Although flair can look cool, I also wish there were some other way to use the extra cards I pull. I like the way the cards look naturally, as I really appreciate the artwork on each, and I feel like adding flair draws attention away from the gorgeous illustrations. Even more annoyingly, purchased flair can only be applied to one card at a time, so if you want to have more than one Pokémon duplicate use the same flair, you have to unlock it for each one.
Like many others, I'm disappointed that there isn't a better use for card duplicates. Plenty of fans have offered up suggestions for more useful mechanics, like the idea by Paul-Squaredon Reddit to be able to trade in duplicate cards for pack points. Luckily, it seems that the developers are listening to player issues and continue making updates to improve the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, so it's possible that the flair system will receive an upgrade at some point in the game's future.
Source: madecker44/Reddit, Zabadaboom/Reddit, Paul-Squared/Reddit, lordak16/Reddit, patches_tagoo/Reddit
Released October 30, 2024
Developer(s) DeNA , Creatures Inc.
Publisher(s) The Pokemon Company
English (US) ·