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
an hour ago
- CNET
Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answer and Help for July 28 #512
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 fun one. It makes me want to spend more time outside working on my garden. 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: Inch by inch, row by row. If that doesn't help you, here's a clue: Green thumb. 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: SOLE, ROLE, DATE, PONE, SLEEP, SLEEPS, ROIL, LOSS, THEN, PENS, RIPE, BLEED, ROUT, ROUTED, DENT, VEST 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: GROW, SEED, RIPEN, SPROUT, BLOSSOM, HARVEST Today's Strands spangram The completed NYT Strands puzzle for July 28, 2025, #512. NYT/Screenshot by CNET Today's Strands spangram is VEGETABLEGARDEN. To find it, look for the V that's six letters down on the far-left row, and wind over, up, and down.
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Today's NYT Strands Hints, Answers 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 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. Solve the daily Crossword
CNET
10 hours ago
- CNET
For Switch or PC Gamers, This Is the Best Affordable Pro Controller You Can Get
If you haven't upgraded your controller to a more pro-level button-masher like the Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 or the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro, odds are it's because they're so expensive. That's a perfectly valid reason, especially if you consider yourself a more casual gamer. As a reviewer, I'm privileged to get to test many of them, which is the only way I ever would've been able to use one myself. But what if I told you that you could get quite nearly everything one of those $150-$200 controllers offers for $70? Say hello to the Gulikit KK3 Max. Design and hardware Jason Cockerham/CNET The KK3 Max feels great to hold. At 662 grams, it's nearly twice the weight of the Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller, but it doesn't feel heavy or get tiresome during longer play sessions. The comfortable grips help with that, and you can leave the back paddles off to shave some more grams off if you need to. The weight is pretty evenly distributed, so it feels well balanced. It comes in black, white and a sort of retro color that gives me Super Nintendo vibes. The Hall Effect joysticks and triggers are a welcome feature, as are the two-stage trigger stops that toggle between the Hall Effect analog and digital microswitch triggers. I almost always used the microswitch triggers, and I really like them. Jason Cockerham/CNET Much like on the Elite Wireless, there are four spots for paddles on the back. Gulikit gives you two different style paddles. There are four standard flat paddles and two half-moon-shaped paddles for the top two spots. At first, installing the paddles might feel tough, but the setup is by design. Once you've done it a couple of times, you'll get used to it. The controller doesn't fit into the included plastic carrying case with the paddles on, but the company assured me that taking the paddles off every time you put it in the case won't be a problem. They also offer free replacement paddles within the first year. On the front, the face buttons are all nice and clicky, and I prefer them over the (still great) microswitches on the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro. Gulikit designed the KK3 Max primarily as a Switch controller, so the face buttons are laid out in Nintendo's "backward" configuration. Thankfully, the company also includes extra button caps with the correct layout so you can flip them around for use with other consoles. This also means you get the "+," "–," home, and capture buttons as well. Jason Cockerham/CNET Beneath the Gulikit logo, there's a settings button and an APG button for macros that hardcore gamers might find quite useful. The D-pad is surprisingly nice, but some folks might be disappointed that it's not an 8-way configuration. I personally don't mind, and you can technically enable 8-way directions in the software, but I switched back after the first few minutes and never looked back. Next to the USB-C charging port up top, there's a button to switch connection modes and one to switch between players. The KK3 Max works with Android, iOS, PC and Switch, so if you don't also need Xbox or PlayStation, you're pretty well covered. The 2.4GHz dongle delivers up to 1,000Hz polling rates, which is a pro-level wireless connection. There are also two vibration motors in the grips, but though Gulikit says the intensity and vibration modes are adjustable, I couldn't tell a difference between the settings. Jason Cockerham/CNET Battery life isn't the best, topping out at just under 30 hours with the lights and additional features off and 15 hours with everything on. That's not the worst battery life I've seen, but it's definitely on the lower end. The only real frustration I have with the hardware is the RGB lighting. There's a light ring around each stick, which is customizable, and you can turn them off. However, you can't turn off or even dim the light behind the logo. In a dark room with only the beautiful glow of your monitor, this is extremely distracting. I actually put a piece of black electrical tape over it because it bugged me so much. Software Jason Cockerham/CNET As great as the KK3 Max's hardware is, the software is where things get messy. For starters, there's no dedicated app for PC or mobile. For firmware updates, you have to download the update package from Gulikit's very bare-bones website and copy the upgrade file directly to the wireless receiver on your PC. The company provides instructions on how to do this, but it's a bit tedious and really shouldn't be the case for a controller like this. Jason Cockerham/CNET It's the same situation for remapping the buttons. The only way to do it via software is with Gulikit's web app, which is also bare-bones. In all fairness, I never had any issues with it, but less technically minded folks might find it all a bit intimidating. It's also possible to remap all the buttons and enable the extra features on the controller itself, but much like on the CRKD Neo S, this is a tedious process that'll test your patience. You either have to memorize or look up all the necessary button combinations every time you need to change something. The price makes it all worth it Jason Cockerham/CNET With all the great features and performance of the KK3 Max, I was shocked to find it's typically only about $70 on Amazon, and you can often find it cheaper. Even the full retail price of $80 is still fantastic. The lack of Xbox and PlayStation support might be a deal-breaker for some, but there are plenty of other great pro controller options for those. For everyone else, there's no better pro controller for the money than the KK3 Max. There are even cheaper versions, like the KK3 Pro that ditches some software features and the four flat paddles for around $50, and the base KK3 that just gives you the great basics for around $40.
