Opening up card packs is the progenitor of loot boxes, so we can all recognize that occasionally icky feeling while playing Pokémon TCG Pocket. Keeping track of all the game’s numerous currencies certainly doesn’t help in that regard either.

In Pokemon TCG Pocket, Pack Points are a card-crafting currency. You earn them passively by engaging with the game’s main card-acquisition features. These points can then be spent in an exclusive shop to purchase any non-promotional card you want—even ultra-rare ones like the Crown Rarity Pokemon.

Typically, digital card games treat pack opening and card collecting as a means to an end for deck building and battling – but Pokemon TCG Pocket celebrates the act. It acknowledges that obtaining cards can be just as enjoyable and satisfying as the battles themselves, and in doing so, it's able to carve out its own successful niche.