Mid-January in Pokémon TCG Pocket has that "check the app again" energy. You open it for a quick daily, then notice the Deluxe Pack ex set is back, and suddenly you're doing mental math on timers and pulls. If you missed it the first time, it's hard not to feel tempted—especially when you've been browsing things like Pokemon TCG Pocket Items for sale and thinking, "Alright, maybe I can actually catch up this time" before the window closes on January 29.

The Deluxe Pack ex rerun and the real pressure

The rerun itself is simple: it's in, it's limited, and it's aimed straight at collectors. January 15 to January 29 sounds generous until you realise how fast two weeks goes when you're juggling work, school, and whatever else. People are chasing specific ex hits, not just "good cards," and that changes the mood. You'll see it in community chats—more decklists, more "how many packs did it take you," and more salt when someone pulls the card you've been hunting for days. The timing matters too. With the next expansion creeping up, it feels like the game's nudging everyone to spend now, then spend again later.

The Heliolisk and Buneary challenge grind

The challenge event with Heliolisk and Buneary is the other half of the chaos, and honestly it's the better deal if you're trying to be smart. It's not just busywork. You get free card selections, shop vouchers, and challenge tokens, and those tokens add up quicker than folks expect if you stay consistent. The sneaky value is in the printed promos and marker variants. If you're the kind of player who likes a "clean" collection page, those little markers matter. They're bragging rights, sure, but they also stop your binder from looking like everyone else's.

What players are arguing about right now

The rerun has also kicked up the same old debate: how should re-released cards count in the collection dex. Veterans don't want their progress watered down, and newer players don't want to feel like they'll never catch up. Both sides have a point. The devs want the game to feel welcoming, but they also can't keep dangling old sets without thinking through the long-term collection logic. If you're planning pulls, the practical approach is boring but effective: prioritise what you'll actually play, then chase the flex cards if you've still got resources left.

How to make the most of the next two weeks

If you're trying to squeeze value out of this stretch, do your dailies, clear the event milestones, and only then decide how deep to go on the rerun packs. Plenty of players burn everything early and end up stuck when the next meta shift lands. If you're short on currency and don't want to wait around, some people top up through RSVSR because it's a straightforward way to grab what you need and get back to actually playing, not just staring at timers and empty pack buttons.