How to Link a Pokémon TCGO Account to TCG Live

Now that we know that Pokémon TCG Live is coming to push the original Pokémon TCG Online platform into retirement, knowing how to link a Pokémon TCGO account to TCG Live is the next essential step in your TCG journey. It's how you'll get to keep all of your cards during the transition. This next-generation card battling service is hitting mobile for the first time, opening up even more ways to play on the go. As such, keeping your extensive collection is only fair. Here's how to do it.

Before we dive into the details, you might want to give Pokémon Unite another shot. You won't be playing Pokémon TCG Live on your Nintendo Switch, but you can play both on your smartphone. As such, read up on the latest Pokémon Unite patch notes, familiarize yourself with its growing list of tide-turning Battle Items and Held Items, and learn to use the Pokémon Unite statistics page to learn from the mistakes of a match.

How to Link a Pokémon TCGO Account to Pokémon TCG Live

• Log into Pokémon TCGO and ensure your account is linked to Pokémon Trainer Club.
• Download and install Pokémon TCG Live to your platform of choice
• Launch the game and allow it to update
• On the log-in screen, choose the Pokémon Trainer Club option.
• Sign in using your Pokémon TCGO credentials.
• That's it!

The steps you go through to link a Pokémon TCGO account to Pokémon TCG Live aren't complicated at all. So long as your account is linked to the Pokémon Trainer Club service, logging into the new app with your old account is all you need to do. Every card in your collection will carry over automatically. Almost every card, at least.

Note: You won't be able to log into the original Pokémon TCGO game upon logging into TCG Live with your original account.

What Will and Won't Carry Over When Linking a Pokémon TCGO Account to TCG Live?

• Unopened packs will be converted into the following number of Crystals:
  • One to nine packs = 250 Crystals
  • 10 to 24 pack = 550 Crystals
  • 25 to 49 unopened items = 1,125 Crystals
  • 50 to 124 unopened items = 2,350 Crystals
  • 125+ unopened items = 6,200 Crystals
• Only four copies of the same card will carry over, including:
  • One copy of an ACE SPEC or Prism Star card
  • One copy of each part of a Pokémon V-UNION card
  • 59 copies of a basic Energy card.
• Cards from the HeartGold and SoulSilver sets and before will not be transferred.
• Sets from Sun & Moon through Dragon Majesty as well as the XY Series and the Black & White Series won't be playable at launch but will transfer.
• Many coins, sleeves, and deck boxes will transfer.
• Avatar items, unopened bundles, in-game currency, friends list, and saved deck lists will not be transfered.

One thing worth mentioning right now is that you won't gain access to every single card in your collection when hopping into Pokémon TCG Live. You will eventually, but just not right from the get-go. It's worth mentioning that a lot of this is still subject to change until (and after) the game launches and matures, so don't rule out transferring outright just yet.

When Will Pokémon TCG Live Launch?

The Pokémon TCG Live service is "coming soon." That's all we know for now. The game will enter a soft launch state in Canada in the near future with a PC/Mac Open Beta test launching sometime after that.

When Is Pokémon TCGO Shutting Down?

The original Pokémon TCGO game will shut down whenever it is removed from the Google Play and Apple App Stores. No date has been set for this, but the Pokémon TCGO support page mentions it will happen before the launch of Pokémon TCG Live. That means you'll likely have to go without the game for a little while until the sequel releases. A date will be announced beforehand.