Flair cosmetics system in TCG Pocket

Pokémon TCG Pocket offers flair cosmetics to apply to your cards, giving them a fresh look both on display boards and in battle. To do that, you need Shinedust and duplicates.

Shinedust and how to obtain them

Shinedust is the base currency to craft a flair, in addition to duplicates of the card. To acquire Shinedust:

• open a duplicate of a card you already have one of
• level up (50 shinedust per level-up)
• collect achievements on your profile
• obtain rewards from various events

Every time you get a duplicate of one of your cards, you receive Shinedust based on its rarity. Here's how much shinedust you get by getting a 2nd copy of a card you already have:

How to craft and apply a flair?

To craft a flair, it happens in the My Cards menu. You need duplicates of a card beyond the first 2 copies and Shinedust to make it happen, depending on the rarity of the card (see the exchange rates below)

To apply a flair to your card, you can do it when editing your Deck or making a binder (only Cosmetic flair).

Think through before you do it: flairs cannot be refunded.

General rules

There are two types of flair:

• Cosmetic flairs are only craftable for ◊ and some promotional cards. They're a constant effect on the card when used in binders and display boards. When used in battles, they are visible whenever you swap the flaired card in or out during battle and when you attack with the flaired card.
• Battle flairs only apply to Pokémon cards played in a deck. ◊ rarity Pokémon get at least one, while ☆ Pokémon exclusively get battle flairs. Battle flairs only show up when a flaired card enters the field or gets swapped in/out of a position.

There are four stages of flairs. For ◊ rarity cards, you need to unlock the lower recipes in order before you can get the most expensive ones. The first type of cosmetic flair is Sparkles Flair:Gold (Cosmetic) for most cards, but can be different for certain type of Pokémon (such as Ultra Beasts). The next three flairs are ordered based on the very first pack you opened when you started the game.

For ☆ rarity cards, you don't have to unlock recipes in a specific order and can go straight for the most expensive one. The first type of battle flair is Tiny Twinkles Flair: Yellow (Battle) for most cards, but can be different for certain type of Pokémon (such as Ultra Beasts).

You can also trade shinedust and duplicates of ☆ rarity cards for special shop tickets.

Exceptions

• Trainer Cards of ☆☆ Rarity do not have Flairs available.
• Promo cards have different tiers in how their flairs are managed, depending on their rarity (which is not displayed ingame).
• Pokémon that you can obtain only 1-of (Mew, Premium Pass Pikachu...) don't need a duplicate for the recipe.
• Promo cards cannot be exchanged for Special Shop Tickets.

Exchange rate

Cosmetic & Battle flairs

Battle flairs

Special Shop Tickets

*Duplicates after the first two copies of a card. For instance, to craft a flair for a card, you need a total 5 of them: 2 initial copies + 3 duplicates. This is done so you don't lose your complete playset of cards by creating a cosmetics.

Other questions

If I flair a card before obtaining the total required for a mission, will it slow down my progress? Should I wait until I have enough copies of a card to complete a mission before flairing it?

• Context: Some missions require you to collect cards, for instance "Collect 5 type Pokémon", "Collect 5 Charizard".
• Answer: Don't worry, the game doesn't use the number of cards you currently own that fits the requirements but all you've ever gotten so far. So you can flair one of your  type Pokémon or Charizard without losing progress!