There were quite a few “surprise hits” at the end of 2024 that some people truly didn’t see coming. For example, a certain Marvel “team shooter” racked up so much success that it’s releasing a physical comic book later this year. That’s pretty cool. Then, there’s Pokemon TCG Pocket, a game that allows people to play the beloved card game on their phones and collect all manner of cards to build the perfect deck. It’s free-to-play and addicting, and people have already spent a TON of money on it, much to the joy of The Pokemon Company. However, said company isn’t above rewarding people for their loyalty, especially after crossing certain milestones.
As noted by IGN and other sites, if you log into the game today, you’ll receive a special message noting that over 40 billion cards have been collected by players since the game’s launch in late October.
“To celebrate achieving 40 billion cards acquired in total by players around the world, we are giving you a promo card.”
That promo card is a special Pokedex card that has some brand-new art featuring Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. Eagle-eyed players of the Pokemon TCG Pocket title will note that this promo card had been “known about” for a while but wasn’t accessible. It’s one of nine different promo cards that the company has given out slowly as the game rolled out its launch. Now, all nine are out in the wilds, and that’s important, as it could mean that another batch is on the way.
One thing to note is that while there are “40 billion cards owned by players,” that doesn’t mean that there are 40 billion individual cards within the game. The mobile title only has a limited amount of cards available currently, but The Pokemon Company has teased and proven that more cards are coming throughout 2025. The “Mythical Island” expansion happened not too long ago, and it brought in some key Johto Pokemon for people to enjoy.
Other features that the game will get as the year rolls on include trading, which fans have been asking for since launch. It will start small but be built up after testing is handled with real players. It’s clear that The Pokemon Company knows it has a hit with its free-to-play title, which is just the latest in a long line of successes on the mobile front.
So, if you haven’t already, log into the game and get your free card!
