Shiny hype has driven the Pokémon franchise for the past decade with special variants of fan favorites serving as an incentive to play the main video game series, spin-off mobile games, and the TCG. Pokemon TCG Pocket hasn’t held back with a set dedicated to Shiny cards already released and numerous Shiny cards included in recent expansions. However, instead of celebrating the number of ways to get these special cards, players are begging developers to stop.
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Shiny saturation has become a significant issue for Pokémon fans in recent years. From the mechanic dominating recent video game releases, to the over-abundance of Shiny pulls in both the Physical and Digital TCG space, these once-rare cards have become a burden to players.
Unfortunately, the inclusion of Shiny cards in the Pokemon TCG Pocket expansions typically means fewer illustrated rare cards, more turbulent pull rates, and fewer playable cards. The frustration over the continued inclusion of Shiny cards outside of special sets has hit a boiling point with trainers.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Fans Are Done With Shinies
TCG Pocket players have taken to multiple social media posts, venting frustration with the number of Shiny cards in recent expansions. Wisdom of Sea and Sky has taken some particularly hard feedback from frustrated trainers.
In a post shared by Godzly covering the new card list, one player commented, “Will they stop with the F***ing shinies?! They don’t even look good! Other than that… set looks awesome…”
The set has already received scrutiny for an alleged art tracing of a Ho-oh fanart, and the additional irritation over the inclusion of new Shiny cards hasn’t helped TCG Pocket‘s upcoming debut.
In another post shared by UniteVids also discussing the set, another player commented, “doing an ex of the least noticeable shiny eeveelutions lol.” Wisdom of Sea and Sky has an unsual number of Eeveelutions considering that Eevee Grove, focused entirely on the Kanto Normal-type, released just last month. However, Wisdom of Sea and Sky includes a standard Shiny Eevee card, as well as Shiny Glaceon ex and Leafeon ex cards. It also adds Shiny Vapreon, Flareon, and Jolteon standard cards.
In response to the initial reveal for Wisdom of Sea and Sky, which debuts on July 30, 2025, another player has commented, “Having shiny Pokémon in every set kinda making the shiny Pokémon not as special to collect anymore no?”
This has been one of the bigger talking points in recent years. With Shiny Pokemon now a staple of the series, many fans have started to lose interest. The special variant Pokemon were once considered an extremely rare event. Those who chose to hunt them typically did so as a tedious endgame project.
Now, Pokemon Go has made getting Shinies as easy as paying for an event ticket, while Pokemon TCG Pocket offers them to anyone who can open enough packs. Pokemon Scarlet & Violet made Shiny hunting a core mechanic, focusing on it so heavily that the endgame is primarily designed to wander open spaces looking for Shinies.
One player responded to the comment shared on the Wisdom of Sea and Sky announcement post, adding, “That’s not the issue with shiny cards, the issue is they dilute the pool (when I get a rare pack there’s like a 50% chance I get a shiny). And they’re shinies from a different expansion. If I WANT that card I’d pull from THAT expansion. Make the shiny cards of that same expansion.”
The combination of Shiny over-saturation and the way it impacts other parts of gameplay makes these trophy pulls less exciting. Pokemon TCG Pocket isn’t the only part of the Pokemon franchise struggling with the issue, but its specific impact on the mobile game has not been sitting well with players.
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Image courtesy of Focus Features.
