“MissingNo. Pack” - Pokémon TCG Pocket Player Receives Glitched Pack

A player of Pokémon TCG Pocket experienced a blast from the past when they received a glitched pack:

Digitally Trading Cards

Pokémon TCG Pocket is a digital Trading Card Game (TCG) by Nintendo that launched in October 2024. It's pretty much like the physical Pokémon TCG except you only own your cards within the app and your friend doesn't have to be nearby to be able to duel you.

Actually, this is even a TCG that you can play alone – the app offers CPU fights where you can take as much time as you want, do something else in between, and even if you have to close the app mid-duel, it resumes right where you left off.

Of course, if you prefer to duel real players, you can either do random matches or create a private lobby with a friend, although these matches have a time limit to prevent you from leaving your opponent waiting for too long. Also, the game has a function for trading cards that was added in January 2025, though this feature is currently still pretty restricted.

And while owning the cards digitally might not give you quite the same satisfaction as opening a real pack, it's still a nice, practical app that enables you to play a TCG while being on the move or not having opponents nearby.

Nostalgia Through A Glitch

Now, a Pokémon TCG Pocket player has made a post that caused some loyal Pokémon fans to have feelings of nostalgia: While pulling from the new Space-Time Smackdown set that was recently added to the game, this player got a pack full of glitched cards with graphic errors on them.

Jokingly, they referred to this glitch as a "MissingNo. Pack":

My first MissingNo. pack by u/mole_man1992 in PTCGP

Traditionally, the term MissingNo. refers to an old glitch in Pokémon Red & Blue. Players could encounter an unidentified, pixelated Pokémon, which was unofficially named "MissingNo." because that's how the game announced it to you, by causing a game error.

This glitch became so famous that there were even guides on how to cause it:

1. First, the player views an in-game tutorial on Pokémon capture in Viridian City.
2. Next, they use a Pokémon with the 'Fly' move to quickly travel to Cinnabar Island.
3. Finally, by using a Pokémon with the 'Surf' move, the player moves up and down along the island’s eastern shore until encountering a MissingNo.

Although Nintendo initially warned players about this glitch and stated that "any contact with it (even if you don't catch it) could easily erase your game file or disrupt your graphics", they did not remove it in the 2016 re-release of Pokémon Red & Blue and even referenced it in a 2024 video on the official Pokémon YouTube Channel.

So this glitch in Pokémon TCG Pocket being referred to as the iconic MissingNo. definitely gave loyal Pokémon fans a nice sense of nostalgia.

Did you ever encounter MissingNo. by yourself back in the day? Or any other fun glitches in this long-lasting franchise over the course of the years? Tell us in the comments!