Pocket Crystal League
A downloadable game for Windows
Pocket Crystal League (PCL) is a Poke-card game, although completely different to the Official Trading Card Game. The gameplay mechanics were partially inspired by Inscryption, being pretty straightforward and easy to learn.
After choosing a starter deck, your goal is to travel through Kyoumu, challenging each of the Gym Leaders from the eight major cities in the region, building up your team to reach the ultimate goal, the Crystal League. Along the way, you'll be presented with numerous choices to expand your deck, strengthen your cards, give them unique special abilities, and battle other trainers.
The current release includes Generations I-IV (but with corresponding Fairy types). The game may be expanded with more content in the future, but there are currently no plans for any further updates. It is fully playable in its current state.
Balancing can be a bit tricky at times, but I'm satisfied with the current level of difficulty, overall. The game is not supposed to be too easy, but challenging to a degree. Nevertheless, balance updates may happen if/when needed.
This project was done ultimately just for fun, and I'm not getting any kind of revenue or payment from it— please Nintendo, let it be!
I hope you enjoy it, and let me know if you have any issues!
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Gameplay Tips:
- The outskirts of each city, accesible throught the "Not Ready" button before facing a Gym Leader, feature slightly stronger opponents than the road previously leading to it.
- Don't try to rush through each area unless you're attempting a challenge run. Training on the outskirts a few times before challenging a Gym Leader is recommended to build a balanced and versatile deck.
- You don't need to equip all your Berries at all times. Think about how many you need (approximately), and how often you want to be able to draw each type relative to the entire deck. You can set a specific number of berries with the scroll wheel.
- If the current area feels overwhelming in difficulty, you can visit any previous area by using the flight service available in all cities.
- You can level up multiple cards as many times as you want during a single "Level Up" event, as long as you have enough money and have raised the level cap for your cards.
- Don't add Glyphs to all your cards! A card with any amount of Glyphs costs more Berries than a card with none, so try to keep a balanced deck between single-cost cards and cards with Glyphs.
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Keyboard Shortcuts:
- Spacebar: end turn during battle, grab all cards when opening a pack, and skip victory/defeat screen after random battles.
- Tab: sort cards in hand during battle.
- Up arrow key (or W key): hold down to attack with all cards during battle.
- Left/Right arrow keys (or A/D keys): navigate menus (options/deck), and draw cards during battle.
- Up/Down arrow keys (or W/S keys): select number of berries when building deck.
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Mods & Discord:
PCL+ and PCL++ are both standalone mods based on the v1.6 base game (not the latest release). They have a bunch of different features and additions (glyphs, events, cards, etc.), and they also changed some core stuff altogether as well. Because of these changes though, sadly, they can also be somewhat unbalanced (further than the base game), and multiple people have been reporting bugs that can either cause major issues, or even break save files completely. Consider them as a different, alternate version of PCL, with some additions, changes, and some things missing as well (mostly due to the older version they're based on). Other than that, though, the mods can be pretty fun, and worth checking out (although I suggest doing so after playing through vanilla first). I am genuinely honored that people were able to build such cool things from the base game!
Neither the mods nor vanilla are gonna receive any further updates. The mod teams have moved on to work on other things, and so have I. Although, I've said the same thing multiple times and then I go and update the base game again a bunch, so who knows, really.
For more details, please check this post: https://moodytail.itch.io/pocket-crystal-league/devlog/704889/should-you-play-va...
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- Pocket Crystal Discord: https://discord.gg/PEUqB45Hmy
Community-made server for discussion about the game. Non-official, but I'm in there too and I can help with issues, answer questions, or you can just talk to other people, show us your decks and such.
- Pocket Crystal League + (2022): https://github.com/Hyperion-21/pokecards_plus
Community-made PCL expansion (based on PCL v1.6) that adds new cards and features. Now outdated, no longer being worked on, and a little buggy. Save files are separate from vanilla.
- Pocket Crystal League ++ (2023): https://discord.gg/gc2GvSGp5f
Community-made PCL expansion (based on PCL+, from PCL v1.6), with even more new cards and features. Now outdated, no longer being worked on, and with some game-breaking bugs, so please be careful! Save files are separate both from vanilla and PCL+.
- PortMaster Handheld Port (2024): https://portmaster.games/detail.html?name=pocketcrystalleague
Community-made handheld port/mod (based on PCL v2.3.1) with minimal changes (different music tracks and new keyboard shortcuts).
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The entire code is now public!
https://gitlab.com/moodytail/pokecards
Download
Development log
- I really need your help.17 days ago
- Pocket Crystal League v2.3.1.0Jun 18, 2024
- Should you play vanilla, or the mods?Mar 27, 2024
- Pocket Crystal League v2.0.0.0Feb 28, 2024
- Pocket Crystal League v1.8.1.0Nov 30, 2023
- Mod: Pocket Crystal League ++Feb 18, 2023
- Mod: Pocket Crystal League +Jun 22, 2022
- Pocket Crystal League's code is now public!Jun 14, 2022
Comments
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Honestly kind of an iffy game. I mean it has a lot of potential since you can not only collect cards, but upgrade them as well. So this leads to more and more abilities and options as you go. But the game also often leads to a point where you've gotta grind to make progress because you need to upgrade your cards and/or get others which requires a bunch of repeat trips through the same opponents. Like you'll probably be able to get by fine on the regular trainers, but when you hit a gym leader's more upgraded cards, you get overwhelmed as there's not much you can do other than tell it you aren't ready and do another loop. Then repeat as needed.
Dumb question, do you think you could make a Yu-Gi-Oh! version of this game? I dare say that you might have opened up a whole new world of fan-game development.
Hello! Thank you for making this wonderful game, I have sunk so many hours into it. Its been awhile though and I found this video today that made me think of this game again:
Do you allow people to use parts of your code in their own commercial projects? I found a game that looks startlingly similar to yours and I wasnt sure if you knew about it and just wanted you to be aware of it!
Thanks!
I mean, sadly, that's what happens when you make a code public. There's a license attached to it, which requires attribution and non-commercial development... but let's be real, that's not gonna stop anybody, and I'm way too poor to do anything about it legally, hell I can't even afford food right now. I made this game out of love, and that's about it... I didn't get a single cent from it. I wish godspeed to all projects that use my code. No point in holding grudges.
I'm sorry to hear that... you've created something very special that so many people have enjoyed and like me, have spent a lot of hours and have had so much fun with. I can tell that you are a very strong and humble person, I'm sorry times are so tough now. Do you have a ko-fi or patreon or anything?
I appreciate it, just knowing so many people enjoy the game that I put so much effort into making makes me really happy.
I do have a Ko-fi, but I don't mean to pressure or guilt-trip anybody into making a donation, so please don't feel forced. Thank you though for your consideration, it means a lot to me! More than I can explain.
https://ko-fi.com/moodytail
I took advantage of the other guy's thanks to come and thank you too. You are not just a game developer, you are THE game developer. A developer who does not do something just for profit, but for the love and pleasure of knowing that his audience loves his creation and the creator. Keep being the good person that you are, I hope your situation improves. Thank you very much!!!
I Just Downloaded The Game About An Hour Ago And Im Already Lovin It! The Pixel art Is Really Good, The Whole Strategy/Card Game Idea Is Cool, The Weakness System Is A Functioning one (For Once ;-P) And The Story Is Good Built, What I Also Love About The Game Is That Its A Free Game, And I Have Much More To Say But To Make A Long Story Short; 10/10 ⭐. You Did A Fantastic Job, Please Make More Games That Are Similiar To This One. Peace...
Is there a way to add a single berry to the deck? Whenever I select a berry type it adds them all.
Mouse wheel, up/down arrow keys, W/S keys.
Will this game ever be available for mobile?
Somebody made a mod of it for PortMaster, with some music changes and I don't know if anything else is different. I don't know how that works though, I've never used that software, but multiple people have been running it on different hardware. You can ask them in the Discord if you're interested.
Interesting, i never heard of such software,i'll sure check it out. Thanks for the informations!
Hi, the only changes I made for the port (not a mod) are bgm music swaps and adding Q and E and keyboard options for scrolling through cards. Everything else is untouched. It's had 1,970 downloads since publishing :)
https://portmaster.games/detail.html?name=pocketcrystalleague
Cool! I added the link to the list up there. Thank you!
Oh whoa, thank you!
First, I would like to congratulate everyone involved in creating this game, which is so well-made and satisfying to play, with stunning pixel art.
Second, this game has a huge potential to be widely recognized by the Pokémon community and beyond. It's probably a matter of publicity and improving the game more and more to gain more recognition (in my opinion, this game should be more recognized for its level of quality that pleases Pokémon fans or anyone else).
Third, I have a few suggestions for implementing in the game. It's up to you to add them or get inspired and modify them (if you want more suggestions, I can comment here or on Discord. And I apologize for the long text):
Game Modes*------------------------------------------
Hard: Increases the difficulty of opponents and imposes additional restrictions, such as lower rewards and higher upgrade costs. Hard mode is unlocked after completing the game's normal mode.
Extreme: Same as Hard, but adds strict challenges and additional rules, such as deck restrictions and specific victory conditions. Hardcore mode is unlocked after completing Hard mode.
Random: After each victory, your cards and items are randomly swapped. The player chooses whether the swap occurs every turn or after each battle or both. If possible, create the Random mode difficulty option, making it fun and more challenging for those who want it. Random mode is unlocked after completing the Normal game mode. Completing Normal Random difficulty unlocks Hard and then Extreme Random mode.
Challenge: Complete predefined challenges to earn special rewards, achievements, both, or even unlock something by completing challenges. Includes an interface to view and select challenges. Challenge mode is unlocked after completing Normal game mode.
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Minigames*--------------------------------------------
Casino Slots: Casino Slots: Players encounter three casino slots that display random symbols (e.g. items, berries, or Pokémon) when triggered.
Rewards: If two identical symbols appear, the player receives double the corresponding reward; If three identical symbols appear, the player gets tripled. For Pokémon, if three of the same type appear, the player can choose a Pokémon with boosted stats. Adjust the odds to ensure the minigame is exciting but not overly rewarding. Consider using a probability table to set the odds for each outcome. When a Pokémon is selected, show a preview of the boosted stats, including the chance of encountering a Shiny Pokémon, a Pokémon with a random ability, or both together if they are very lucky.
Dice rolling: Show specific rewards for each face of the die (e.g. different colored Berries, specific Pokémon). Allow the player to roll up to two dice simultaneously and choose whether to accept the rewards based on the results. Each die has a 1/6 chance of landing on each face; if they land on the same number, the reward is doubled for Pokémon that are boosted. Include a chance for rewards to be powered-up Pokémon, Pokémon with abilities, or Shinies.
Achievement Wall*--------------------------------------
Create a visually appealing wall that displays achievements as pieces, icons, or badges on a board. Each unlocked achievement can be displayed with a corresponding image or icon. When the player hovers over an unlocked achievement, display a small tooltip that details what was done to earn it. For achievements that have not been unlocked, display a question mark icon (“?”) and provide a description on hover explaining what needs to be done to unlock it.
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I hope you enjoyed it, I wish you much success with this project, don’t give up! (sorry for any spelling mistakes, I’m using Google Translate)
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Thank you for playing, and I'm glad you enjoyed the game!
I like many of these ideas actually, thank you. The game is not receiving any further updates, but if it ever does, I'll keep these suggestions in mind.
Have a nice day 🐾
Hi first of all. idk what happened but the game cant be opened and just left a messages.
___________________________________________
############################################################################################
ERROR in
action number 1
of Create Event
for object ob_main:
ds_map_find_value argument 1 invalid reference to (ds_map) - requested -1 max is 2
at gml_Script_sc_data_load
############################################################################################
gml_Script_sc_data_load (line -1)
gml_Object_ob_main_Create_0
can you help in some ways?
That's a corrupted savefile. Are you playing PCL+ or PCL++, or maybe a self-compiled version directly from the code by any chance?
If you're just playing the regular vanilla version, then please join the Discord and report what happened prior to the issue, please. I'll look into it.
hello, i've only played the game once and then runned into the same bug. i play the regular version. is there a solution to this problem? i don't have discord but i'll make an account if necessary.
It's a corrupted savefile and/or configuration file.
https://moodytail.itch.io/pocket-crystal-league/devlog/384929/workaround-data-st...
Delete config.sav from this folder. If that doesn't fix it, delete the rest of the files in that folder as well.
it works again! thanks!
The game force-sold almost all of my cards simultaneously and autosaved, ruining a save file after months of play. This is a sad time :( I have no idea what instantly sells all your cards, but I sure have never sold a card on purpose!
This is a feature in the modded version. The mods have been discontinued a long time ago.
Do you know what triggers this behaviour in the mods?
Nevermind, saw it in the changelog you posted. Thanks, will try your version, didn't realize what I was playing was the modded one.
fantastic game!! I’ve only ran into one design issue so far, which is when i’m able to beat a gym leader through RNG, but get stuck on the next level’s trainers (this is especially bad at the level 5 power spike) Is it possible to add a flyback button to all areas in a zone, and not just the area right before the gym leader? Thanks for all you’ve done!
This Game Is So Good
my computer won't let me open the file to play, I love inscription and want to try this game too.
Just started playing on v2.2.0.0 and as much fun as the game is, it feels like there are some.. major imbalances (and some minor annoyances).
For starters, it might just be me, but it feels like the game has a MASSIVE first turn advantage. When going first as the player, you can basically just pass, see what the opponent plays (without fear of taking damage, since they can't attack on turn 1), and then draw whatever you think you'll need to counter whatever they played. There's absolutely no incentive to commit to anything as the starting player on turn 1.
And then whenever you're forced to go second, there's an almost immediate sense of urgency; if you play nothing, you risk taking massive damage, but even if you do play something, you can't actually attack, you're just mitigating potential damage. The CPU can then easily respond to whatever you've played. You're basically on the back foot from the start of the match.
As for my minor complaints, of course, it's about the Tribute and Evolve events. At the beginning of the game, Tribute doesn't seem to do anything (visually). It seems there's some hidden "potential" mechanic, that makes it so the Pokemon receiving the tribute will have boosted stats when it levels up, or something? The description doesn't really explain anything, and at level 1, usually neither Pokemon's stats will visibly change.
Evolve appears to be similarly useless at lower levels. Some Pokemon don't even gain any stats at all when evolving at level 1 (or 2!). This seems counterintuitive, considering the cost of evolution, compared to levelling up (and of course, how evolution works in the games)
In both cases, there's no indication of which stats will increase (unlike when leveling up, which clearly displays how their stats will be modified), or even IF they will increase at all. This hidden "potential" stat, related to Tributes, seems a bit too nebulous for a game that doesn't seem to have any written guides or a wiki?
Overall, I love the concept, but the execution leaves much to be desired. I hope some of these issues will be resolved in a future update.
I found this game pretty recently and it is sooo much fun. I dont know what the typical update schedule looks like but i am looking forward to it!!
It seems like fighting Ian (the first gym leader) after beating Mewtwo again on the same save file causes the game to crash
The mods have been discontinued a long time ago.
Above the download link for PCL++ it says v1.6 but the file I downloaded says v2.3
That's the mod's internal version, separate from the base version. Both mods are based on the v1.6 version of the game.
Gotcha
I might be stupid, but im not sure what this star means on my weedle. None of my other pokemon have it and i wasnt paying attention when i got it. Awesome game btw.
Shiny ⭐
Oh wow, I am kind of stupid for not figuring that out sooner. Thanks.
Ansioso para as proximas atualizações desse maravilhoso jogo, já zerei de varias formas esse jogo KKKKKKK foi uma semana inteira de muita jogatina, realmente conseguiram pegar a essencia do inscryption.
Could you add compatible to MacOS
is there any way to play this game on a Acer Chromebook R 13??
Poderia por modo ONLINE em seria perfeito nota 10 !!!
I just downloaded the game and it won't let me run the installer, any help? :S
Is there any way to make the number 13 look more clearly like a 13 instead of an 18? I know my vision isn't the best but my eyes cannot help but see 18 every time when there's the 1 in front of the 3, specifically when it's in the prediction of damage the my card will do. The pixels don't seem to visually touch the same way to my brain in other places when it comes to the number 13, maybe because the outline is darker in the prediction text? Maybe my brain is just dumb.
you are absolutely not dumb, I see the same thing
Meanwhile I'm good with colours, supposedly, and I'm struggling to see the difference between the four pixels of blue/green on the Pokemon cards (to see what they need) in battle.
Is there a better way to sort/find cards in my collection that I'm not aware of? I have so many that it's hard to find specific names, types, or upgraded/tributed cards I have. A big example is when I go to tribute and I'm trying to find something I have the most duplicates of and then having to try finding them again afterwards to sell them since they're useless after using them for tribute.
the update totally screwed my deck comp ;_;
Any plans to add a tribute mechanic during the match ( tribute a pokemon of the same energy with a berry of the same energy for a pokemon with 2 energies )
are you play ygo too much?
perphaps
what is a star for? Stats are the same. Or it is just cosmetic reskin?
they are supposed to be shiny versions
just tried to download and it said invalid upload, i cant believe i tried to download the base game as you were uploading a new patch lmao
saw this game on youtube and thought i would check it out
The tribute function is confusing. I can't tell what it does.
You sacrifice all potential of one Pokemon to boost the potential of another (max of 3 upgrades per card). The tributed card effectively because useless and may as well be sold while the upgraded card gains more stats than another copy of it would at fewer or no hearts.
So say I tribute three different copies of my numerous Magikarp collection to upgrade my Togekiss over the course of finding 3 tribute opportunities. My level 10 Togekiss with 3 hearts currently has 23 HP, 15 ATK, and 7 DEF while my other level 10 Togekiss with 0 hearts has 16 HP, 11 ATK, and 5 DEF.
You may not see a difference in level 1 pokemon but it increases the stats it gains as it grows, similar to being a later stage evolution in an evolutionary line (e.g. Charizard vs Charmander).
any plans to linux users?
Hey I love this game content but I dont have a computer, are there any plans for mobile (android preferred)?
Hey, just wanted to say I loved the game! Cool idea to take inspiration from inscription for this. I do have one question though; are pokemon with branching evolutions meant to be randomly chosen on evo? I ask as I've evolved like 30 Eevee and ALL of them have been Vaporeon so far, so not sure if I'm missing something here.
You can click multiple times on the evolution button to cycle through all their evolutions!
OH! I WAS missing something! Thank you so much!
I've tried using that cycle button, but does it not work for Pokemon with other forms like Cherrim or Ninjask?
Cherrim's form is tied to its special ability, just like in the main games. Shedinja is also a special card that is separate from Ninjask.
in the PCL++ its impossible to remove data, including rogelite mode and all, basically i cant lose or start a new game... In my roguelite save I have negative lives (-3 lives)
Yup. I'm sorry, but as stated here in the page, the mods are outdated, discontinued, and pretty buggy. I recommend playing the regular version first, then trying out the mods afterwards.
oh i see, sorry man. btw very good game :3
Hi can you consider adding macOS support too?
Pls i want to play with my friend
You ever consider adding gamepad support (if it doesn’t have it already)?
This is a fantastic effort for a fangame.
Heya, super fun idea.
UX anecdotye: I can not for the life of me stop pressing the green end turn button before manually attacking.. perhaps you could consider improving this by greying out the button if they player hasnt attacked, or adding a warning/confirm popup if they try to end turn without attacking or just making the pokemon atttack. ( I havent run into a situation yet where I wouldnt want to attack every turn).
this is a really cool idea and genuinely fun, Nintendo should hire you
are there any plans for a web version? this looks super fun and i would love to try it out but im on a chromebook and cant download exe files
why i can't G-max toxicity, everytime i try it turn into weak 1hp/1atk meltan
I've been told the ++ mod has a few bugs, but I don't really know if they'll get worked on or not, since it's been a while (I am not one of the mod developers, just vanilla).