Some things are like fireworks in youth, which become memories once they burn out; some things are like the Pokémon trading card game pocket version, which can make you over 30, hide in bed late at night and open a pack of virtual cards in front of the screen, and your heartbeat will speed up, like your confession before the college entrance examination is nodded.
This is a mobile game, a serious mobile game, not a serious chess and card battle, nor is it a required love cultivation for socially anxious teenagers. It is a patch for an adult’s childhood, which is to put a bunch of Pikachu, Charizard, and Mewtwo into your somewhat empty life, reactivating your hormones and collection addiction.
The first version of the game is called “The Strongest Gene”, which sounds like a title about a man’s dream. You open the app and three card packs are placed in front of you: Charizard, Pikachu, and Mewtwo. One has strong explosive power, one is fast, and one is brainpower. This is not Pokémon, it is clearly a virtual portrayal of the three major templates of “fighting, picking up girls, and doing business”. Which one do you choose? You are who you are.
There is a very interesting thing about this game. It does not emphasize “fighting” but “collecting”. You have to wait for a card pack for 12 hours, just like when you were a teenager waiting for a girl to get out of school and gave her a strawberry-flavored chewing gum. You can also spend some money to buy an hourglass and open the card pack in seconds. Don’t ask if it is worth it. You will find that there is actually no clear causal relationship between worth and speed. What is important is “the moment you draw that card”, you feel that you are still fucking alive.
Cards have rarity, from one diamond to four diamonds, from one star to four stars. It is not an Einstein formula, but when you look at the flashing card face of Charizard EX, Mewtwo EX, and Pikachu EX, the sense of accomplishment in your heart is like you finally trained your abdominal muscles in the gym for six months and sent a selfie to your ex-girlfriend.
Charizard EX is too violent, suitable for fighting with those stupid people who like to play grass-attribute decks; Pikachu EX is like those hypocritical but clever girls, with two energy points, it can deal 90 damage and shock you; Mewtwo EX is more like a brainy man in the philosophy department, with an abacus in his mind and a knife in his hand, and a 150 Psydrive can directly send the opponent back home.
In addition to Pokémon cards, there are also trainer cards. There are no field cards, which is comfortable, so that the rules don’t have to be as complicated as the stock market. This game is not a game that emphasizes rules, but a physical feeling of “acquaintance society”. You are not winning your opponent, but confirming that your desire is still alive in the process of collecting cards.
Even better is the “Get Card Challenge” page – you can see what others have drawn from the card pack. Does it feel like you are browsing your friends circle and saw that your brother just changed to a convertible Porsche? Excitement, dissatisfaction, and placing an order to open the pack, these three steps are almost conditioned reflexes. You can also collect cards from other language versions, such as Charizard in the German version and Pikachu in the Japanese version. You can’t understand them, but you think “I’m awesome, I’m popular all over the world”.
The visual performance is also fierce. When you open the pack, you can see the card flip 360 degrees and 720 degrees, with flashes, fragments, and background music, making it feel like being hit by a “JACKPOT” in front of a slot machine in Las Vegas. One card can make you hold your breath for five seconds. This experience is more real than the numerical stimulation brought by many mobile games.
Let’s talk about the Treabar platform. Those who do deposits are more reliable than most men you know. Three minutes to arrive, 24-hour customer service, global support, is she like the girlfriend of your dreams? And there are discounts, up to 22%. As you recharge, you think: This is the real investment and financial management, which is both stable and rewarding – the reward is a kind of happiness that you can’t even imagine.
So this game is not for children in the final analysis, but for adults who still have Pikachu and Charizard in their hearts. They wear formal suits to negotiate contracts during the day, but at night they click on the card packs on the screen, hoping to find themselves squatting at the door of the convenience store on the corner, flipping through the card books one by one with a schoolbag on their backs when a certain card is flipped.
The game is just a carrier, and the cards are props. What really matters is your willingness to invest seriously and be willing to have a heartbeat for what you like.
This is the charm of trading cards, and it is also a rare and unknown climax in life.