With all games that involve gacha mechanics or loot boxes, there comes an element of conspiracy theory about how to pick the best possible options, and Pokémon TCG Pocket is no different!
In TCG Pocket you can currently pick between three different Pokémon Genetic Apex Booster Packs: Mewtwo, Charizard and Pikachu. Each of these boosters has own pull rates, exclusive cards and Immersive Cards.
When you make your choice of which Booster Pack you want to open, you are then greeted by a carousel of Booster Packs. And this is where the theories and conspiracies kick in, does it actually matter which Booster Pack you pick from the carousel?
The theories online are rampant, with the biggest theory being that you should check each Booster Pack for a curled foil section on the top of the pack that is noticeable from the side.
It has been alleged by a variety of creators and players that these packs are more likely to give rarer cards, or even be God Packs (an extremely rare pack made entirely of special cards). Some people are so convinced by this theory that Polygon reached out to the Pokémon Company International for comment, and received this reply:
“While Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket draws inspiration from the experience of opening physical Pokémon TCG booster packs, we are unable to share specifics at this time”
With TPCi not confirming or denying the conspiracy, people have begun to deep dive into the Booster Pack mechanisms to discover if which pack you pick truly matters and the answer is….
It does not. Bent booster packs are just the same as every other booster pack.
In fact, a Youtube known as RustyWolf has done a deep dive into the coding behind the game, and it appears that the cards you get are actually set as soon as you choose which Booster Pack you want to open (Charizard, Mewtwo or Pikachu), rather than when choosing from the carousel.
His video shows that when he clicks ‘open’ on his desired Booster Pack, the pack selection is immediately shown in the code, and does not change as he rotates the carousel wheel to select which pack he will open.
So while it may be fun to try to hunt out that elusive bent corner Booster Pack, it doesn’t appear that currently it makes any difference to what it contains. Of course this may change in the future, but for now, open with wild abandon and know you’ll get the same results no matter what.
