Even in 2026, Pokemon TCG Pocket players are still scratching their heads over the Deluxe Pack: ex booster pack. The limited-time pack landed in late 2025 as a way to help trainers catch up on cards they may have missed during the game's first year, with a mix of older staples, alternate art cards, and a few fresh additions. On paper, that sounds like an absolute win. In practice, though, the way these cards are logged has left the community feeling a bit lost.
The Pitch vs. The Reality
The Deluxe Pack's elevator pitch is simple: one booster, lots of cards, limited window. That's the good stuff. But the execution is where things go sideways. The team behind Pocket did release a statement to clarify how the Deluxe booster works, but it was pretty bare bones. Instead of clearing the air, the explanation left plenty of trainers with more questions than answers.
How Deluxe Dex Tracking Works
There are 353 slots to fill in the Deluxe collection, not including one-star cards and beyond. Most of those slots correspond to cards that have already been available in other packs during Pokemon TCG Pocket's first year. But here's the kicker: even if a player already pulled a card from its original set, the Deluxe slot stays empty until that same card is pulled from a Deluxe pack.
That might sound annoying, but the real frustration goes deeper. When a card is pulled from the Deluxe booster, it only fills the Deluxe Dex. It does not fill the Dex for the expansion where that card originally debuted. In other words, the game treats the Deluxe collection as its own self-contained checklist.
The Growlithe Example
Still confused? That's fair. Picture a standard Growlithe from Genetic Apex, a card that has been in Pocket since launch. That same Growlithe can also be pulled from a Deluxe pack. If a player never managed to pull Growlithe from Genetic Apex but finds one in a Deluxe booster, the Growlithe shows up in the Deluxe Dex. The Genetic Apex Dex, however, still shows an empty slot.
It's like buying a missing puzzle piece and being told it belongs to a different puzzle. The card is in the collection, but the original set doesn't acknowledge it. No dice for completionists.
Why Players Feel Shortchanged
For many trainers, this makes the Deluxe Pack feel largely pointless. The value of a catch-up pack should be convenience—fewer swaps between different boosters, one place to grab a bunch of missing cards. But if those catches don't fill the original Dex slots, the pack doesn't do the job it was designed to do.
It's a classic case of one step forward, two steps back. A player might be missing ten Genetic Apex cards and pull five of them from a Deluxe booster, only to realize those five slots are still empty in Genetic Apex. Sure, the Deluxe Dex looks fuller, and the player technically owns the cards. But a completionist who wants to see every set completed won't be satisfied.
Here's a quick breakdown:
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Card pulled from Genetic Apex pack: fills Genetic Apex Dex slot, not Deluxe Dex.
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Card pulled from Deluxe pack: fills Deluxe Dex slot, not original set Dex.
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New Deluxe exclusive cards: only exist in the Deluxe Dex.
| Situation | Does It Fill Genetic Apex Dex? | Does It Fill Deluxe Dex? |
|---|---|---|
| Growlithe pulled from Genetic Apex | Yes | No |
| Growlithe pulled from Deluxe Pack | No | Yes |
What the Developers Said
After seeing players ask questions about the Deluxe booster, the team issued a statement. The gist? Deluxe cards will be added to the Deluxe Dex, but their spots will remain empty in other sets. That's confirmed. But the statement didn't really address why the system works that way or whether it might change. For a feature meant to simplify catch-up, it feels unnecessarily tangled.
Final Thoughts
The Deluxe Pack: ex booster has a lot of potential on the surface. A limited-time booster filled with past cards, alternates, and a few new ones is a solid idea. But if the pack doesn't help players complete the original sets they're chasing, then it's missing the mark for a big chunk of the community. Some players will still open it for the alternate arts or the Deluxe Dex itself, but plenty of others are likely to give it a hard pass and stick to the packs they actually need.
Until the system changes, the Deluxe Pack remains a head-scratcher. Great concept, messy execution, and a collection screen that leaves too many blank spaces for comfort. 🤔