About a decade ago, Lowell moved to Japan for a year or two but is still there, raising a Shiba Inu named Zelda with his wife while missing access to good burritos. He also has a love/hate relationship with Japanese role-playing games.
Lowell began his career reporting on live events such as the Penny Arcade Expo and E3 back in 2012. Over the last couple of years, he carved a niche for himself, covering competitive Pokémon as he transitioned into game criticism full-time.
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Mew EX Deck Guide
Mew EX is here to keep the meta in check
We might’ve spent hours trying to find Mew back in the original Pokémon Red & Blue – even going so far as to search beneath trucks – it isn’t a super difficult card to obtain in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket’s new Mythical Island set. Mew EX is flexible enough to slot into just about any...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Best Mythical Island Cards, Full Pack List
It's time for a Mewstyerious vacation
The first expansion for Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is here in Mythical Island. While it’s a mini-expansion, we hope you saved up some Pack Hourglasses to rip open several cards on your first day. Or maybe you have the most powerful card of all – the one in your wallet – ready to go. Either way,...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Tier List & Best Decks
Now including Mythical Island
One of the most complicated parts of a new card game, digital or otherwise, is knowing which cards to pursue en route to building a competitive deck. For Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, what decks you should run highly depends on which cards you’ve pulled as there are so many. To help you start building to be the...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Celebi EX Deck Guide
Oh no, this Grass fairy is going to be a problem
It was too much to hope that a meta-dominating card wouldn’t be added to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket with its first ever expansion, Mythical Island. From anti-meta cards like Mew EX to some great additions to type archetypes in Vaporeon, nothing compares to Celebi EX and Serperior. Luckily,...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Dragonite Deck Guide
Big orange Barney can totally ruin your opponents’ days.
Dragon types were widely regarded as one of the best types at least until Fairy type came along. Without a Fairy type in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket and no weaknesses to speak of, Dragon types should be back on top, right? Well, not really, but that doesn’t mean Dragon types are...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Alakazam EX Deck Guide
Punish your opponent’s for hoarding energy with this Psychic and Water deck.
Sick of all the EX Pokémon going around in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket? One of the first Psychic types most players met, Abra and its evolution Alakazam is to the rescue. A much less rare card than something like Mewtwo EX, this list is easy to put together and...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Venusaur EX Deck Guide
Believe it or not, trees and plants make up the hardiest decks around.
In other Pokémon games, Grass types generally have poor defenses as they’re weak to far too many types. In Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, each card is only weak to one type of damage, so Grass types have gotten a massive buff, so to speak. This includes the first PokéDex...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Blastoise EX Deck Guide
Bazooka through your opponents with this Water type deck.
To no one’s surprise the original Starting Pokémon trio all come together to make some powerful decks in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket in their EX forms. So, where does everybody’s favorite blue turtle Blastoise stand? While Charizard EX is the best of them, Blastoise EX has...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Mewtwo EX Deck Guide
This deck will cause real-life psychic damage to your opponents
Mewtwo is one of those unforgettable Legendary Pokémon with power and style in equal measure. As you’d expect, Mewtwo is ridiculously overpowered in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. Well, the EX form of Mewtwo is! When Mewtwo EX is combined with other Psychic types, you'll create...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Marowak EX Deck Guide
Get ready to whack your way to victory – if you can flip heads
If Marowak EX is anything to go by, getting hit with a bone combined with a boomerang is detrimental to your lifespan. One of the most unique Pokémon from the original Kanto region and one of the easiest EX cards in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket to obtain, Marowak EX decks might...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Pikachu EX Deck Guide
A shocking way to play
Pikachu isn't allowed to be bad in a Pokémon game, right? We’re pretty sure there’s a division deep within The Pokémon Company that makes sure everyone’s favourite electric rodent is top-tier. Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is no different, with a deck designed around the EX version of Pikachu being one of the very...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Starmie EX Deck Guide
Get your swimsuit – it’s time to splish & splash your way to victory
Starmie isn’t typically a Pokémon that people consider powerful. Everyone’s first crush Misty used it in the anime, but other Water-type Pokémon from Kanto like Blastoise, Lapras, and Vaporeon have generally taken the spotlight. That’s not the case in Pokémon Trading...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Articuno EX Deck Guide
This icy deck only requires two rare Pokémon instead of several to freeze opponents out
Articuno EX is arguably the most potent of the Legendary birds in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, which is a departure from the mainline games as the Ice type is generally worse than the Electric and Fire types of the other birds. While Articuno EX does...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Charizard EX Deck Guide
This deck was made for those that picked Charmander first
In every spinoff Pokémon game, Charizard makes an appearance in some way, shape, or form, and Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket makes sure the Fire-type Pokémon continues to dominate. Charizard EX is one of the most powerful decks in the game, capable of putting out more damage than any...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Which Booster Packs Should You Open?
Mewtwo, Pikachu, or Charizard – I choose…uhh, hang on a second
Never has opening trading card packs been so complicated. In Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, opening either the Genetic Apex Mewtwo, Pikachu, or Charizard booster packs freely will likely set you back on your way to building a full collection and a competitive deck as each one...
Review Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket (Mobile) - A Breezy, Beautiful Take On TCG, Gacha Aside
Ironically, no trading allowed
Digital card games like Marvel Snap have seen a lot of success in recent years with short, satisfying matches that you can finish in a few minutes. The mobile release of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket almost seems like a direct answer to this trend. From uncomplicated card text to simplified rules, it axes much of...
Feature Here's 10 Games We Played At TGS 2024 Coming To Switch
Fantasian! DQ3! Phantom Brave! Sonic, again!
With the Nintendo Switch winding down, the Switch successor still unannounced, and Nintendo itself not typically showing games at the Tokyo Game Show, it can be a little hard to find titles you can play on your favourite hybrid handheld console between massive booths for Monster Hunter Wilds and the...
Hands On Professor Layton & The New World Of Steam - New World, But Feels Like The Old Prof
As puzzling as ever
It has been a while since we’ve seen Professor Layton and his protege Luke. For a while, the mind-bending puzzle series seemed like a Nintendo mainstay - at least on the DS and 3DS. The last game starred Katrielle Layton, the daughter of the titular Professor, and received rather mixed reviews when it came out for 3DS in 2017...
Review The Plucky Squire (Switch) - Enormously Charming, But Not So Plucky On Switch
Needed more time on the drawing board
Two years ago, developer All Possible Futures announced The Plucky Squire with a Nintendo Switch gameplay trailer equal parts charming and stunning. The Plucky Squire takes place in two different worlds: the real 3D world of a young boy’s bedroom and the world of a 2D storybook, between which the protagonist...
Soapbox The Next Pokémon Game Should Rework Old Critters, Not Just Add Dozens More
Gotta not forget 'em all
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell considers how future Pokémon games could do justice to old Pocket Monsters who got lumped in with the also-rans... We’re still a little far out from Pokémon...
Hands On Zelda, But With Mind-Bending Perspective Puzzles - We Take 'Cassette Boy' For A Spin
Giant cube-shaped cat fights and "The Schrödinger System"
BitSummit, held in Kyoto every sweltering hot summer, plays host to an incredible amount of indie developers from across the globe. As you might expect, it can be rather hard to stand out – so much so that it was even difficult for us to curate a list of impressive Switch games down to...
Feature 10 Switch Games We've Played At BitSummit 2024 - Here's What We Thought
The indie darlings of the future, today!
BitSummit 2024 has been and gone, and we've got the details on all of the best games we saw at the sure. If you’re unfamiliar with BitSummit, it’s a gaming convention dedicated to indie developers from around the globe. Taking place in the heart of Kyoto every July, there’s no better place to get a...
Soapbox Game Freak Could Actually Learn A Thing Or Two From Palworld
No, Pikachu doesn’t need an assault rifle
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell locks and loads up the Pokémon-inspired game that's been the talk of the town since it launched on Steam and Xbox Game Pass last week... You...
Soapbox Kieran’s Hatred Of You In Pokémon Scarlet & Violet's DLC Almost Makes It Good
Fumbled PokéBalls
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they've been chewing over. Today, Lowell laments the Scarvi DLC, but finds a diamond in its rough. The following article contains story spoilers for The Teal Mask and The Indigo Disk... Pokémon stories suck...
