Its not exactly flashy or complicated, but its obscenely efficient
While the more-experienced player will play Venerable Monk early (or late, if it's relevant to the board), he or she will sometimes choose to keep it in hand if drawn later in the game
The one aspect that could set Pokemon Pocket apart is that Marvel Snap is a CCG (collectible card game), whereas Pocket is retaining its TCG element
This item card does have its uses in blocking out your opponent from putting in new, useful Pokemon on the bench, but that's not a good enough reason to run this card instead of a better one in your deck
:) To answer your question: No, the card acts like "Gladiator Beast's Comeback", where you can use the first effect even if you control no monsters, but gets less useful as you fill your field up with monsters