Pokemon TCG Pocket's Eevee Grove Expansion Has Convinced My Partner to Play
My girlfriend, on the other hand, stopped playing the game shortly after it came out. I was hoping that I could keep her engaged as my trading card buddy -- we met through playing Pokemon Go on the same college campus, and I pulled out my physical card collection during one of our first dates (I know, very romantic).
Alas, I've had no such luck when it comes to hooking her on Pokemon TCG Pocket, which launched in October 2024 as another way for fans of the franchise to get their collecting fix (especially those who've invested in the real-life cards). She'll still get excited when I let her rip open one of the game's virtual packs on my phone, but I haven't been able to convince her of the joys of consistently opening her own packs.
Now, developer DeNA is releasing its ultimate weapon: the Eevee Grove card packs. This expansion set is going to do gangbusters, because I'm using it to drag my partner back to the game (and you can, too).
If you told me you thought this little guy isn't cute, I'd call you a liar.
DeNA/Screenshot by CNET
Eevee is a powerful marketing tool
Pikachu might be the face of Pokemon, but Eevee is the electric rat's right-hand man. The adorable fox-dog-thing has universal appeal.
They're cute, they're intrinsically tied to Pokemon's evolution mechanics, and they turn into so many different monsters that people love. Eevee can change into cool Pokemon like Jolteon and Umbreon, or they can become something more elegant, like Sylveon or Glaceon.
My girlfriend's favorite Pokemon is Ralts, but she loves Eevee nonetheless -- so I've convinced her to open some packs and use up her wonder picks, at least for now.
I already have her chasing the holographic Sylveon card. Only when she pulls it will I tell her about the even more rare full art versions, in order to keep the chase alive. It's hard to say if I'll be able to keep her momentum up as the set loses its novelty and luster, but I'm happy to share this small part of my daily routine with my partner until she falls off the game again.
The release window of the Eevee Grove expansion doesn't seem like a coincidence at all, considering how many people the Eevee-themed Prismatic Evolutions set converted into physical Pokemon trading card collectors.
That was a very expensive set to pull from, mostly because it was getting bought up by scalpers at an absurd pace. But you can't scalp digital trading cards, which means Pokemon TCG Pocket's Eevee Grove expansion might be an appealing alternative for casual fans.
There's a whole Eeveelution rainbow included in this set.
DeNA/Screenshot by CNET
What is included in the Eevee Grove card set?
Eevee Grove includes 69 base set cards for you to pull, including the Eeveelutions and some of their Generation One friends. There are 38 additional full art and secret rare cards for the luckiest players to stumble across.
The card list primarily focuses on Eevee and its evolution rainbow. Several Eevee evolutions have multiple full art card variants in this set. Out of the master set's 107-card total, a whopping 29 cards are dedicated to the Eevee evolution lines and its associated items.
There are also Pokemon Ex cards for Snorlax, Primarina and Dragonite, if you're looking for different options for your deck.
The Eevee Grove expansion continues the trend of including special shiny Pokemon cards. These secret, rare alternate art cards have been included in every set since Shining Revelry. The latest expansion includes shiny full-art cards for Articuno Ex, Zapdos Ex, Moltres Ex and Gallade Ex.
There are also shiny variants for Ralts, Kirlia and Gardevoir, so if my partner pulls every Sylveon, I think I know what to set her loose on next.
Pokemon TCG Pocket's Eevee Grove expansion set update is available for free now on iPhone and Android devices. Next time you log in, you can spend your free packs and hourglasses to chase the Eeveelutions to your heart's content.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNET
9 hours ago
- CNET
Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for July 26 #510
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Today's NYT Strands puzzle features some pretty long answers, and they didn't all come immediately to mind, even when I learned the theme. If you need hints and answers, read on. I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far Hint for today's Strands puzzle Today's Strands theme is: It's been a while. If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Get together. Clue words to unlock in-game hints Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work: ROSE, ROSES, GATE, SCONE, TEAM, TAME, TEEM, SCENE, GREET, NOSE, THEN, MUST, BARE, BEAR, BEARS, BARM, BALM, BALMS Answers for today's Strands puzzle These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: MEET, MUSTER, GATHER, CONVENE, ASSEMBLE, CONGREGATE Today's Strands spangram The completed NYT Strands puzzle for July 26, 2025, #510. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Today's Strands spangram is REUNION. To find it, look for the R that's four letters down on the far-left row, and wind over.
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for July 25 #509
Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles. Today's NYT Strands puzzle is a mix of easy words to find and unscramble and one whopping long one. But if you know the theme, that word is easy to decipher. If you need hints and answers, read on. I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story. If you're looking for today's Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET's NYT puzzle hints page. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far Hint for today's Strands puzzle Today's Strands theme is: Step to it! If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Boogie shoes. Clue words to unlock in-game hints Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle's theme. If you're stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work: HOGS, RICE, RICER, MUSE, CHAT, CHATS, GRAM, PANT, COAT, COATS, PARS, CARS, LASS, CLASS, CLASSY Answers for today's Strands puzzle These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers: MUSIC, COSTUME, RECITAL, TEACHER, CHOREOGRAPHY Today's Strands spangram The completed NYT Strands puzzle for July 25, 2025, #509. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Today's Strands spangram is DANCECLASS. To find it, start with the D that's five letters down on the far-left row, and wind up and over.
CNET
a day ago
- CNET
One of the Rarest Pokemon in History Is Coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket
No honest person can resist the attraction of Pokemon Gold. That's why Pokemon TCG Pocket's Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion set is going all in on generation two when it arrives on July 29. This set will be one of the game's larger offerings, featuring more than 200 cards. I'm sure that has the most ravenous collectors breathing a sigh of relief, since the past two expansions -- Eevee Grove and Extradimensional Crisis -- have both had smaller complimentary card lists to build on Celestial Guardians' generation seven theme. Read more: Every Free Pokemon Code and In-Game Item From Pokemon Presents July 2025 Though the full card list isn't available yet, we know Wisdom of Sea and Sky's chase cards will be generation two's legendary birds Ho-Oh and Lugia, while the addition of Umbreon and Espeon Ex variants will add more options for Eevee decks. Generation two starters and baby Pokemon like Togepi and Pichu are also prominently featured in the base set, which is a fun nod to the series' introduction of pocket monster breeding. Most importantly of all, the new set introduces one of the most important -- and rarest -- Pokemon ever. Gold and Silver's elusive raging sea monster was the first shiny Pokemon most trainers ever saw, changing forever how a number of players (including myself) would interact with the series. Red Gyarados is a generation two icon. It's the first shiny Pokemon most young trainers ever saw in-game. DeNA/Screenshot by CNET The hunt for the red Gyarados begins In the remote northern areas of the Johto region, you can find the Lake of Rage. This is the home of one of the rarest Pokemon alive: a Gyarados that's become a local legend with its different hue and particularly bad anger issues. The red Gyarados was the perfect addition to generation two: It served as an implicit explanation of shiny Pokemon, which were a new feature in the mainline Pokemon games, while also giving players a special, powerful monster to add to their team. It's a formative moment for anyone who picks up and plays Pokemon for the first time, and it's one of the best hooks to explain the appeal of the franchise nearly 30 years after its introduction. Pokemon TCG Pocket's initial generation two set paying homage to the red raging sea beast makes a ton of sense in this regard, and it's indicative of thoughtful set design from developer DeNA. Red Gyarados doesn't look like it'll be all that powerful in the mobile game, but the beautiful (and bombastically glittery) card art will endear it to many trading card collectors. If you miss out on one of the generation two starter Pokemon in the new expansion pack, the new trading system will make it easier than ever to swap with a friend. DeNA/Screenshot by CNET Pokemon TCG Pocket's trading system gets overhauled Say bye-bye to your trade tokens, because the mobile trading card game is getting a complete trading system overhaul soon. The changes to player trading will arrive July 29, launching concurrently with the Wisdom of Sea and Sky expansion set. As trade tokens are phased out of the game, you'll have the opportunity to convert this obsolete currency into pack hourglasses and stardust. This trade-in will be available for one year, so there's no rush to dump your tokens immediately -- just don't forget to get your value's worth. You'll still need to spend in-game currency to make a trade, but now you just have to spend stardust -- this is what you spend to unlock flairs that activate when you play your Pokemon in battle. Whereas there were very few ways to earn trade tokens, you earn stardust every time you open a card pack, making this a much more accessible resource. Since you'll need more stardust than ever to consistently trade with your friends, developer DeNA is doubling the amount you gain when you pull cards you already have. The mechanic of extra cards being consumed during a trade is also being done away with completely. It was silly that trading put you at a card deficit, so now you'll be able to make one-to-one swaps with other players. A wishlist is being added so you can indicate which cards you want to trade for with purely online friends. Since there's no way to chat with other players in Pokemon TCG Pocket, this will create a way to communicate before sending a trade offer. You can add up to 20 cards to your wishlist at a time. There will still be restrictions on trading that stymie how much I utilize the feature -- the highest rarity cards you can trade are one-star full arts, and new set expansions still have a temporary trade ban applied to them until they've been out for a couple of weeks. It's nice to see DeNA take steps toward making this feature more useful, though, because the original iteration of player trading was so costly and restrictive that it didn't feel worthwhile to engage with it.
