Should you open Charizard, Mewtwo, or Pikachu Genetic Apex pack in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Pokémon TCG Pocket is a dream for card collectors, offering a fully simulated booster pack opening experience with plenty of rare cards to snap up and use in battles.

The first expansion set is called Genetic Apex and it’s important to choose which packs you open carefully if you’re concerned about finding particular hits. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences, looking at whether you should opt for Charizard, Pikachu, or Mewtwo packs.

What are the best packs in Pokémon TCG Pocket?

Other than the pack artwork, one of the main differences between Genetic Apex booster packs is the list of exclusive cards they offer. In the game, this can be seen as a scrolling pop-up in the booster pack screen, highlighting the best exclusive cards.

Additionally, the first booster pack you open will influence which full-art card you get from your first Wonder Pick during the tutorial stages of the game. Mewtwo packs lead to Bulbasaur, Charizard leads to Charmander, and Pikachu leads to Squirtle.

Picking the Pikachu pack when you open up the game for the first time won’t lock you out of picking up the others at any point. You can open all three Genetic Apex booster packs, providing you wait for the timer to tick over or you stock up on currency instead.

Additionally, you can grab any of the full-art starter cards mentioned above at any point during the game. Grabbing Squirtle as a Wonder Pick doesn’t mean you’ll never see the full-art Bulbasaur or Charizard during your gameplay, for example.

While all three booster packs contain functional and beautiful cards, the table below shows the top picks. This is by no means an exclusive list, but these cards stand out as being competitively viable and worthwhile for collectors.

Note the rarity symbols to the side of each card: You can pick an Eevee from wherever (we pulled one from a Mewtwo pack, for example). But the star-rarity, full-art Eevee is tied to the Pikachu booster pack specifically.

This means you’re much more likely to be able to build your dream deck without needing to focus on one booster pack exclusively. It’s also great news for players who don’t want to spend anything to get their hands on useful cards, since the only thing that’s rare is the art, not the power itself.

In terms of competitive viability, the booster packs are roughly equal in value, with the Pikachu pack standing out slightly as the worst of the bunch. It’s not drastically bad, but the cards from the Mewtwo and Charizard booster packs have more value in terms of deck-building and matchups.

While cards in the Pikachu booster pack do have some powerful attacks and could be used in some interesting decks with the right builds, they don’t stack up to the potential damage output of Mewtwo ex or the tankiness of Charizard ex. They’re good, but not as great.

If you’re an art collector who’s hoping to pad your digital binder with specific versions of your favorite cards, you need to be mindful of which booster packs you open to avoid wasting your currency. There’s no way to refund currency in Pokémon TCG Pocket, so all pack purchases are final.

For those who are planning to play Pokémon TCG Pocket purely as a collector and pick up rare cards, it does not matter which booster packs you open. Go with whichever one offers the most interesting art and rare card exclusives.

Some rarities are much harder to track down than others. Double stars have a 0.5 percent chance of being pulled from a standard pack, while quadruple diamond cards have a 1.666 percent chance of being pulled from a regular booster pack.

If you’re hoping to build solid decks and play against other Pocket users online, it’s worth starting with the Charizard and Mewtwo booster packs before picking up the Pikachu booster pack. If you choose to reroll your account, focus on Mewtwo in particular to grab the core essentials.

The rental decks associated with Charizard ex and Mewtwo ex can hold their own in most matchups, giving players an easy way to hit the ground running on their first day of play. Rental decks are limited-use decks that come pre-built, giving players a chance to experiment with new playstyles.

Additionally, the version exclusives for Mewtwo and Charizard packs hold a lot of potential for creative deck builds. Key cards to look out for include Lapras, Articuno ex, Gardevoir, and Erika, as these cards can make a real difference in competitive matchups.

Don’t sleep on the Trainer cards in Genetic Apex, though. Giovanni is tied to the Mewtwo booster pack, Brock is tied to the Pikachu pack, and Erika is tied to the Charizard pack. Out of all the Trainers in the game, Erika, Misty, and Sabrina are the most valuable for competitive decks.

If you want to read more about the first Pokémon TCG Pocket expansion set to help you pick your first booster pack, make sure to read our full card list.

There are 286 cards to collect in Genetic Apex, meaning there’s plenty of ways to customize your deck to suit your personal playstyle, and the competitive meta is already evolving as more and more players join the community.