The Pokemon TCG Pocket Wonder Pick system is based on recharging stamina, with players able to pick one card from another player's pack at random, as the five cards are shuffled and arranged face down first. It's a good way to get rare cards or find specific ones that you were hoping for, though obviously you're dependent both on the random cards that other players draw, and then the random one-in-five chance of getting a specific card from that pack.
As a major mechanic in Pokemon TCG Pocket, below we'll explain the Wonder Pick and how it works, as well as look at whether there's any working exploit that players can use to get a specific card, as there's a lot of rumour and hearsay regarding that idea.
How to Wonder Pick in Pokemon TCG Pocket
The Pokemon TCG Pocket Wonder Pick system is how you can get the same cards as friends and other players. Here's how it works:
- From the Main Menu you can choose the Wonder Pick option. You'll be shown the results of recent packs that other players have opened, including your registered friends.
- By spending the gold "Wonder Stamina", you can choose to get one card from another player's card pack.
- The card you get is random, but the cost in Wonder Stamina is based on the highest rarity of the card in that pack (so you pay more for a chance to get any of the Pokemon TCG Pocket rare cards). You pay the higher cost no matter whether you actually pick a rare card or not.
- Potential Wonder Picks hang around for 3 hours before being replaced by another one. You can still choose expired Wonder Picks for a short time afterwards by spending a Rewind Watch, a consumable item, as well as the Wonder Stamina cost.
- Wonder Stamina restores at a rate of 1 Heart per 12 hours. You can restore a certain amount instantly by spending Wonder Hourglasses, which can be redeemed for one hour each.
It's a fairly simple system, but also arguably a pretty ruthless one. When a super rare card is an option, you can find yourself spending the higher costs in the hope that you get it, then find yourself drawing the common or just unhelpful card next to it. And once you've tried a Wonder Pick, you can't repeat that choice. You get one shot at each pack, and then you'll have to try others - so if any of the Pokemon TCG Pocket best cards were in there, you only get one shot.
With that in mind, we recommend being fairly sparing with your Wonder Picks, to save them for the cards you really want, or when you see selections showing up with multiple cards you'd be happy to draw. The slow speed of recharge attached to Wonder Stamina means that you might see a better draw before you get that energy (or the required Hourglasses) to try it.
You should also make as many friends on Pokemon TCG Pocket as possible. You'll always have a random assortment of picks available, but having more friends broadens the pool of options you have at any one time. Plus, after a pick you can send a thanks to the player who generated it, which rewards them with a free Shop Token.
Is there a Wonder Pick exploit?
In early phases of Pokemon TCG Pocket some players were convinced that you could exploit the system by carefully watching the shuffling of the cards in the Wonder Pick and track specific cards. However, we have recorded and slowed footage of the Wonder Pick in the current build and can sadly state that the shuffling animation bears no relation to where the five cards end up.
This means that even if you track the movements of the cards with your eye, they probably won't be the cards you expect. We can also confirm that there is no pattern to the placements of those cards, nor does skipping the animation change anything.
So yes, this is a random draw in every sense of the word. Remember, the game's income depends on this being an unexploitable system and players only getting the card they want one time in five, so the developers would end up losing money if they put in some sort of exploit that players could use to guarantee certain rewards.
How to restore Wonder Stamina and get Wonder Hourglasses
Stamina for the Wonder Pick is restored through Hourglasses and Gold Bars. Here's how you can get them back as fast as possible.
- You can get 12 Wonder Hourglasses and 2 Gold Bars by levelling up.
- You can buy Wonder Hourglasses in the Shop in exchange for Shop Tokens.
- Players get one free Wonder Hourglass per day in the Shop as part of the Daily Gifts package.
- Players can earn Wonder Hourglasses through missions and challenges, such as the Pokemon TCG Pocket Lapras ex event.
- Many of the high-tier Pokemon TCG Pocket Secret Missions have Wonder Hourglasses as rewards.
- And of course, you can buy Gold Bars for real money in the shop.
There's some cards you'll never get this way, like the legendary Pokemon TCG Pocket Mew card. Or if you want to find out if there'll ever be a Pokemon TCG Pocket PC port, check our attached guide!
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