One Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket player definitively answered the question of how long it takes to get each card and complete Genetic Apex after spending $1,500 on an otherwise free-to-play game.
Reddit user Weens4Life provided valuable insight into how challenging it is to complete the first of many sets available in Pokémon TCG Pocket, revealing that they opened a whopping 1,741 booster packs on the way to drawing every card in Genetic Apex.
Previous estimates that it would take almost two years to complete the set appear to be exact, although this includes 60 extremely uncommon cards with alternate art, not just the base 226 cards in Genetic Apex. Weens4Life collected this smaller number after spending about $200, they claimed, but they spent between $500 and $700 collecting only the last three cards from the alternate art pool.
However, those who choose the completely free version of the game will have to wait a while. Pokémon TCG Pocket, with its classic mobile game model, flooded players with packs in the early days, but dried up shortly thereafter, providing access to just two packs per day during lulls in events.
Genetic Apex won’t remain the only set for long either, as developer Creatures Inc. has already confirmed that an additional, smaller set of cards will arrive in December, and the database suggests the next full set, likely with another 200+ cards of its own, will arrive in January.
Weens4Life used the Wonder Pick feature to get additional cards for their collection, but since this only gives you a 20% chance of drawing the intended card, it’s not particularly reliable. They completed a collection of 286 cards after amassing a total of 8,582, a stack that included 129 Slowpokes and nine super special uncommon immersive Mewtwos. Not a single god pack was drawn.
This gigantic effort did not cause any regrets for Weens4Life, who concluded that it was worth spending the amount. However, they have made it clear that they will not be doing this again in the future and will only focus on the core set of cards with no alternatives.
Thanks to efforts like these, it’s no surprise that Pokémon TCG Pocket is estimated to have grossed $120 million in just three weeks. In total, after nine days the game was downloaded by 30 million players.
Creatures Inc. has tried to keep interest high by releasing countless events to suit different playstyles, although there is currently only one ongoing that focuses on player-versus-player battles. In this realm, two of the usual suspects, former Charizard and former Mewtwo, currently dominate the meta, although former Pikachu isn’t far behind.
Ryan Dinsdale is a freelance reporter for IGN. He will talk about The Witcher all day long.
