A dedicated player of the Pokémon Trading Pocket trading card game spent the maximum amount – approximately $104 per day using the most profitable methods – for almost 12 weeks after launch and eventually exceeded the 50,000 card threshold.
As reported MachineJapanese YouTuber Hajimesyacho shared a never-before-seen milestone of collecting 50,000 cards on the site X/Twitter. Pokémon TCG Pocket makes them available to players in increments such as 100 cards, 1,000 cards and so on, but the 50,000 marker has not been heard of given how much it requires to spend.
Even a player who spent $1,500 to collect the entire first set isn’t even close to that milestone, as Hajimesyacho said he has been spending the maximum amount possible every day since Pokémon TCG Pocket launched on October 30.
While the digital TCG doesn’t technically limit the spending of real money, it does limit the spending of its premium currency: Poké Gold. Players can spend $1,000 on Pokémon TCG Pockets every day, but a maximum of 720 Poké Gold on booster packs, Wonder Picks, and so on.
The most cost-effective standard method of purchasing Poké Gold (outside of infrequent sales and promotions) is to purchase 690 for $99.99. Therefore, using the maximum of 720 Poké Gold means spending just over $104 per day.
Opening packs is the best way to turn this Poké Gold into the most cards possible, with six Poké Gold unlocking one pack containing five cards. So Hajimesyacho opened up to 10,000 packs of Pokémon TCG Pocket booster sets after apparently spending $8,736.
He hasn’t yet uploaded a video of the endeavor or even said whether he plans to do so, nor has Hajimesyacho shown off his specific card collection. However, he probably has multiple copies of the rarest creations, such as gold (crown rarity) and addictive art cards.
Such cases are perhaps unique, but Pokémon TCG Pocket still attracts a lot of money for developers Creatures Inc. and The Pokémon Company, as it was estimated to make $200 million in its first month.
The game follows the standard model of mobile and free-to-play games, showering players with rewards in the first few days before they soon arid up, and spending real money is the only real way to relive those early thrills outside of the occasional set drop like Mythical Island.
For example, completing Genetic Apex’s first card set, which officially includes 226 cards but also includes 60 infrequent cards with alternate art, is estimated to take players about two years without spending money.
Fan complaints about this difficulty intensified when Creatures Inc. it also introduced its long-awaited trading feature, which caused such a stir that it had to post another response.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He will talk about The Witcher all day long.
