About a decade ago, Lowell moved to Japan for a year or two but is still there, raising a Shiba Inu named Zelda with his wife while missing access to good burritos. He also has a love/hate relationship with Japanese role-playing games.
Lowell began his career reporting on live events such as the Penny Arcade Expo and E3 back in 2012. Over the last couple of years, he carved a niche for himself, covering competitive Pokémon as he transitioned into game criticism full-time.
Opinion One Year On, Every Positive 'Pokémon TCG Pocket' Update Still Comes With A Catch
A flip-flopping Magikarp
About a year ago, I reviewed Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket here at Nintendo Life, awarding it a respectable 7/10, largely because collecting ‘mons from that initial set of packs felt kinetic and exciting. Sure, there was far too much monetisation in the form of multiple different currencies, and the battles lacked a...
Feature Zelda, Layton, Mega Man - 10 Games We Played At TGS 2025 Coming To Switch 1 & 2
Evil Residents, Stories of Monster Hunters, Quests for Dragons, and more!
With the release of Switch 2, fans of their handheld hybrids will be relieved to hear that, compared to last year, there were many more Nintendo games to play at the Tokyo Game Show. This time around, the massive displays put up by the likes of Capcom and Square Enix had a...
Hands On Resident Evil Requiem Switch 2 Footage - A Surprisingly Tense Port
Spooky fun in the palms of your hands
[video: warned: It's Resident Evil, so there are some grisly, head-bitey bits in this video After so many years of performance issues on the original Switch, I haven’t quite gotten used to the fact that most games on Switch 2 hit a stable 60fps and that modern third-party blockbusters run on it well. As such,...
Review Pokémon Friends (Switch) – Pretty Plushies, Puzzling Pricing
A PokéPuzzle a day keeps the Nurse Joy away
It seems like every Pokémon Direct spends more than half its runtime detailing updates for or announcing casual Pokémon spin-offs. From Pokémon Café ReMix to Pokémon Sleep, we’ve gotten so many Pokémon-themed experiences that any new announce
Round Up 10 Switch 1 & 2 Games We Played BitSummit 2025 - Here's What We Thought
So many Bits to Summit, and not enough time
BitSummit has once again come and gone, and unlike last year where it was a bit difficult to find indie developers committing to a Nintendo Switch release well before the Switch 2 was announced, we found a renewed enthusiasm for Nintendo as we pursued the two floors BitSummit took over in Kyoto’s Miyako...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Tier List & Best Decks
The best decks for competitive TCG Pocket
One of the most complicated parts of a new card game, digital or otherwise, is knowing which cards to pursue en route to building a competitive deck. For Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, what decks you should run highly depends on which cards you’ve pulled as there are so many. To help you start...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Palkia EX Deck Guide
Big Pink Palkia is better than you think.
While much of the hype surrounding the Space-Time Smackdown set of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is centered around Dialga EX, you’re going to have a bad time if you ignore the power Palkia EX brings to the table — especially when you consider cards like Misty and newcomer Manaphy. It may not look...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Lucario Deck Guide
Big punches equals big wins.
One of the standout counter decks in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket hasn’t been, fittingly, Fighting type decks featuring a combination of Hitmonlee and Marshadow alongside a variety of other iconic Pokémon like Aerodactyl EX and Marowak EX. With the release of Lucario in the Space-Time Smackdown expansion,...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Gyarados EX Deck Guide
We slept on this powerful deck.
Gyarados is one of the most iconic non-Legendary Pokémon, going from the weak Magikarp to an absolute wrecking ball of a Water and Flying type. While the Genetic Apex version of Gyarados left much to be desired, we slept on the Gyarados EX released with the Mythical Island mini-expansion. Despite Pikachu EX, it...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Dialga EX Deck Guide
Choo Choo! All aboard the Dialga train.
Despite being only a few months old, energy generating cards have dominated Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. Moltres EX, Misty, and Gardevoir have been meta-staples since the beginning, and with the addition of the Space-Time Smackdown expansion we have another engine on our hands, and this time it’s a...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Darkrai EX Deck Guide
Edgelords and former emo kids rejoice!
A fan-favourite Darkness-type Pokémon is here to (hopefully) end the reign of Mewtwo EX. That’s right — Darkrai EX has arrived in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket with the Space-Time Smackdown expansion, and with it comes hope for a more stable meta. Darkrai EX can’t do it all on its own, however...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Space-Time Smackdown - Best Cards, Full Pack List
The WWE of Pokemon card sets.
Have you completed the Genetic Apex and Mythical Island sets in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket? No? Well, bad news for you then: the next two packs are here! Space-Time Smackdown features Pokémon Diamond & Pearl's box art legendaries Dialga and Palkia, but don't just play favourites; which pack should you focus...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Mew EX Deck Guide
Mew EX is here to keep the meta in check
We might’ve spent hours trying to find Mew back in the original Pokémon Red & Blue – even going so far as to search beneath trucks – it isn’t a super difficult card to obtain in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket’s Mythical Island set. Mew EX is flexible enough to slot into just about any deck,...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Best Mythical Island Cards, Full Pack List
It's time for a Mewstyerious vacation
The first expansion for Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is here in Mythical Island. While it’s a mini-expansion, we hope you saved up some Pack Hourglasses to rip open several cards on your first day. Or maybe you have the most powerful card of all – the one in your wallet – ready to go. Either way,...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Celebi EX Deck Guide
Oh no, this Grass fairy is going to be a problem
It was too much to hope that a meta-dominating card wouldn’t be added to Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket with its first expansion, Mythical Island. From anti-meta cards like Mew EX to some great additions to type archetypes in Vaporeon, Celebi EX and Serperior had people running scared when they...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Dragonite Deck Guide
Big orange Barney can totally ruin your opponents’ days.
Dragon types were widely regarded as one of the best types at least until Fairy type came along. Without a Fairy type in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket and no weaknesses to speak of, Dragon types should be back on top, right? Well, not really, but that doesn’t mean Dragon types are...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Alakazam EX Deck Guide
Punish your opponent’s for hoarding energy with this Psychic and Water deck.
Sick of all the EX Pokémon going around in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket? One of the first Psychic types most players met, Abra and its evolution Alakazam is to the rescue. A much less rare card than something like Mewtwo EX, this list is easy to put together and...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Venusaur EX Deck Guide
Believe it or not, trees and plants make up the hardiest decks around.
In other Pokémon games, Grass types generally have poor defenses as they’re weak to far too many types. In Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, each card is only weak to one type of damage, so Grass types have gotten a massive buff, so to speak. This includes the first PokéDex...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Blastoise EX Deck Guide
Bazooka through your opponents with this Water type deck.
To no one’s surprise the original Starting Pokémon trio all come together to make some powerful decks in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket in their EX forms. So, where does everybody’s favorite blue turtle Blastoise stand? While Charizard EX is the best of them, Blastoise EX has...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Mewtwo EX Deck Guide
This deck will cause real-life psychic damage to your opponents
Mewtwo is one of those unforgettable Legendary Pokémon with power and style in equal measure. As you’d expect, Mewtwo is ridiculously overpowered in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket. Well, the EX form of Mewtwo is! When Mewtwo EX is combined with other Psychic types, you'll create...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Marowak EX Deck Guide
Get ready to whack your way to victory – if you can flip heads
If Marowak EX is anything to go by, getting hit with a bone combined with a boomerang is detrimental to your lifespan. One of the most unique Pokémon from the original Kanto region and one of the easiest EX cards in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket to obtain, Marowak EX decks might...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Pikachu EX Deck Guide
A shocking way to play
Pikachu isn't allowed to be bad in a Pokémon game, right? We’re pretty sure there’s a division deep within The Pokémon Company that makes sure everyone’s favourite electric rodent is top-tier. Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is no different, with a deck designed around the EX version of Pikachu being one of the very...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Starmie EX Deck Guide
Get your swimsuit – it’s time to splish & splash your way to victory
Starmie isn’t typically a Pokémon that people consider powerful. Everyone’s first crush Misty used it in the anime, but other Water-type Pokémon from Kanto like Blastoise, Lapras, and Vaporeon have generally taken the spotlight. That’s not the case in Pokémon Trading...
Guide Pokémon TCG Pocket: Articuno EX Deck Guide
This icy deck only requires two rare Pokémon instead of several to freeze opponents out
Articuno EX is arguably the most potent of the Legendary birds in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, which is a departure from the mainline games as the Ice type is generally worse than the Electric and Fire types of the other birds. While Articuno EX does...
