Although Pokemon TCG Pocket is massively popular, some players do complain there’s not enough to do in the game. After opening enough packs to collect most currently available cards, players only have a few other options to keep them in the game. There’s always PvP battles or solo battles, along with the steady stream of events with new tasks to complete. Even so, for many players, the appeal of Pokemon TCG Pocket is in the virtual card collection – and that includes spicing up favorite cards using the Flair feature.
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In Pokemon TCG Pocket, Flair is a special effect that players can add to their cards. These effects show up in battle, making that Psyduck or Eevee feel a little extra special. Like anything in a live-service game, however, Flair isn’t free. In most cases, adding Flair to cards requires two things – a certain amount of the Shinedust in-game currency, and several extra cards to “crush.” Much like sending spare Pidgeys to Professor Willow in Pokemon Go to get extra Candies, players can trade in their extra cards to add special effects to those that stay behind.
The price varies depending on the rarity of the Flair players want to equip, but in general, it will cost at least 50 Shinedust and 3 extra copies of the specific card. For some reason, the game also requires that a player retain 2 of that specific card after exchanging extras for Flair. In other words, to add Flair to a Weedle, a trainer needs at least 5 copies of the same Weedle card. 3 will be destroyed in the exchange, leaving behind one Weedle with a little extra sparkle and one extra to fulfill the game’s requirements.
That’s all well and good for those basic cards that just keep popping up – with the Genetic Apex set especially, many players will have the multiples to spare. But what about those more limited-edition cards? As it turns out, Flair works a little differently for Pokemon TCG Pocket’s rarest cards.
Players Can Add Flair to Some Pokemon TCG Pocket Cards Without Needing Spares
As one helpful Pokemon TCG Pocket recently shared via Reddit, certain rare cards have different Flair requirements to account for the fact that players will very likely never wind up with extra copies.
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The card in question for this player’s discovery is the Moltres card recently given to Premium Pass subscribers as part of this month’s reward missions. Because this rare Moltres EX card is a special Promo only available via a limited-time mission, players will only ever have one on hand. While this could have meant no Flair would be available for it, Pokemon TCG Pocket is again winning player hearts by being more generous than that. While the Flair for this rare EX card will cost a pretty penny when it comes to Shinedust, none of the options require a single extra Moltres EX. So, as long as players have enough Shinedust on hand, they can easily add whatever Flair their hearts desire.
It turns out that the Premium reward Moltres EX isn’t the only card with this hidden special ability. Other, similarly rare cards will also let players affix Flair without spending precious – and sometimes impossible to come by – extra copies. The harder-to-acquire cards, such as a typical EX, will only require that players trade in 1 extra, rather than 3. But some, like this Premium Moltres EX, cost 0 additional cards to trade in thanks to their extreme rarity.
Some other examples of cards with Flair that costs only Shinedust include the recent New Year’s gift Pikachu Promo card, as well as past Premium mission cards like full-art Mewtwo. Players don’t have to be Premium Pass subscribers to get ahold of cards rare enough to skip the extra card Flair requirement, as interactive cards like Celebi EX and many holographic full illustration cards including Dedenne, Aerodactyl, and Vaporeon are also included in this bonus perk for the rarest Pokemon TCG Pocket cards.
To check what items are required to attach Flair to a card in Pokemon TCG Pocket, head to the binder and click on a specific card. Then, hit “obtain flair” to see available special effects and the associated cost. If nothing else, going through Flair can be a great way to bide time until that next free booster pack is ready.
