Pokémon TCG Pocket Already "Investigating" Ways to Improve Trading After Rough Launch
Just days after launching its trading feature, Pokémon TCG Pocket is already looking to potentially overhaul parts of it due to overwhelming player feedback.
The ability to trade cards in Pokémon TCG Pocket went live on Jan. 29, with limitations on which cards could be traded and two new types of currency that players need to manage in order to make transactions. As a result, the response to the new feature was largely negative due to how restrictive it was.
With the way trading works in TCG Pocket, you can only trade cards between 1 and 4 Diamond rarity or 1 Star rarity. And, if you want to trade any card over 2 Diamonds, you will need to dismantle other cards to obtain enough Trade Tokens to facilitate the deal—all while managing your Trade Stamina.
Simply put, if you want to trade a 1 Star card, you would need to dismantle the equivalent of four other 1 Star rarity cards to get the 400 Trade Tokens necessary to make the deal in the first place. This was poorly received by the community and had players outright bashing the feature, calling it “a joke” and saying the developers “failed on probably the 2nd biggest aspect of the game.”
Now, the TCG Pocket developers have responded to the “large number of comments,” thanking players for the feedback, promising changes, and clarifying some aspects of the trade feature’s design.
— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) January 31, 2025
According to the developers, the strict requirements and restrictions were put in place to “prevent abuse from bots” and minimize any other prohibited actions like using multiple accounts. The goal was to balance the game and “preserve” the fun of the TCG Pocket collecting experience, likely referring to make sure trading didn’t devalue opening packs and other features like Wonder Trade.
Following the backlash around the feature, however, the developers are now looking into ways to improve the trading moving forward.
Related Article: Pokémon TCG Pocket Cracks Down on Real Money Trading
“However, thanks to your feedback, we understand that some of the restrictions put in place are preventing players from being able to casually enjoy the feature as intended,” the TCG Pocket team said. “We are actively investigating ways to improve the feature to address these concerns. Going forward, we also plan to offer multiple ways to obtain trade tokens including through event distributions.”
With that wording, it sounds like the developers will focus their efforts on improving how players interact with trading and earn Trade Tokens, potentially by increasing the number of Trade Tokens you get when dismantling each card along with those other methods to obtain them.
In response to this announcement, players are excited that the team is taking feedback seriously and suggesting some changes they want to see.
Most players want the ability to request a specific card rather than just offer up a card to a friend in hopes of getting what they want back, or completely removing the friend requirement and implementing a feature similar to the Global Trade Station (GTS) from Pokémon Diamond and Pearl. This would allow any player to put up a card for trade while requesting another specific card in return from players around the world.
There is an entire thread on the official Pokémon community forum breaking down in detail why some players think the current trade system doesn’t work and potential fixes. We will now have to wait and see just how big the TCG Pocket team’s changes will be and if the feature will improve as a result.
