I’ve never had more mixed feelings about a Pokemon TCG expansion before. On the one hand, the Pokemon Go set is a wonderful celebration of what a phenomenon the mobile game has been over the last six years. On the other hand, the sheer amount of off-theme art and mechanics make it feel like two expansions stuffed together, and one of them has nothing to do with Pokemon Go. The incongruity of Pokemon Go and Sword & Shield features has the unfortunate effect of highlighting how much bloat the TCG has accumulated throughout this generation. As good as the Pokemon Go-themed cards and products are, I could have done without the rest of it.
