Pokémon TCG Pocket is Completely Changing Trading, But it Will Take Time
Pokémon TCG Pocket is completely reworking key mechanics of the game’s trade feature after listening to fan feedback in February.
Trading was introduced to Pokémon TCG Pocket at the end of January, and the limitations on it kept players from fully embracing it as a core mechanic of the game. Now, the developers have released a full list of ways that the feature will be reworked by the end of Autum 2025, which has the community mostly excited.
How is Trading Changing in Pokémon TCG Pocket?
According to the Pokémon TCG Pocket development team, player feedback has been taken into account since the feature launched on Jan. 28. That feedback is now being used to rework the system, starting with the removal of Trade Tokens.
Trade Tokens were an exclusive in-game currency that players needed to use in order to trade any eligible card with another player. However, the Trade Token cost would typically require players to dismantle three or more cards of the same rarity just to trade a single card from their collection.
That, along with some restrictions on which cards could be traded overall led to the feature being generally panned upon its release. The TCG Pocket team was quick to respond with an initial update and promist to improve trading, though that is only now coming into play and will still take roughly until the end of Autumn 2025 to fully implement.
Here is what is happening to Trade Tokens during that timeframe and what will replace the currency.
We'd like to share an update on Trading in #PokemonTCGPocket.
— Pokémon TCG Pocket (@PokemonTCGP) March 14, 2025
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- Trade Tokens are being removed from the game.
- Players will use Shinedust to trade cards between three-diamond and one-star rarity.
- Packs will automatically give you Shinedust if you pull a duplicate card.
- The developers are looking into the amount of Shinedust you earn in-game, as it will now be required for trading and obtaining Card Flair.
- Trade Tokens can be exchanged for Shinedust once the item is removed from the game.
Overall, this series of changes makes Shinedust a more useful part of TCG Pocket and will allow players to trade cards more frequently than before.
The TCG Pocket developers did mention that there are currently no changes to one-diamond and two-diamond rarity cards being tradeable withou the use of any items.
In addition to all of these changes, players have also been given 500 Trade Tokens as a bonus until some of the changes are introduced. These are claimable via your in-game inbox.
One Big Feature is Coming to Pokémon TCG Pocket Trades
Along with the removal of Trade Tokens, the TCG Pocket team announced it was also looking into adding one of the most requested trade-related features to the game—a way to request specific cards.
According to the announcement, a mechanic to “share cards you’re interested in trading for” is currently in development and will be added ot the game at a later date.
Currently, there is no way to communicate what cards you want to trade for in TCG Pocket. Instead, you have to find other ways to talk with players in places like social media, Discord, or Reddit to organize a proper trade instead of just randomly offering one of your cards and hoping you get something you need back from another player.
Adding a feature that shows the cards you are interested in will make it easier to facilitate the trades you need, since you can check what other players want and those other users can look at your account to see what you need too.
Pokémon TCG Pocket Is Working to Update Trade Restrictions
Another major request from players is that TCG Pocket remove or rework some of the restrictions on what cards can and can’t be traded. That is also something the team is working on for a future update.
Since trading was introduced, only cards from designated sets and of select rarity could be traded. The current tradable sets include Genetic Apex, Mythical Island, and Space-Time Smackdown—meaning Triumphant Light cards are still untradable for now.
As for rarity, currently only one-diamond to four-diamond cards, along with one-star cards can be traded. However, the developers have confirmed that they are looking into “accommodate cards that are currently unavailable for trades.”
Promo cards and two-star rarity cards were specifically mentioned, with more details to be shared in the future. There was no mention of three-star, the Immersive Art cards, or crown rarity cards, which players also want to trade.
Those high rarity exclusions remain one of the main complaints, as extremely active TCG Pocket players want a system implemented for truly unrestricted trading with reasonable guardrails in place to prevent scamming. One idea mentioned on the official Pokémon forums was adding a friendship level similar to Pokémon Go, which would put a timegate for rarer trades on being friends and interacting with them over a set period.
Despite that exclusion, the open communication and fairly speedy response to negative feedback for trading seems to have most players excited for the future of TCG Pocket and continued updates, even if some are still complaining about specific exclusions, or just not reading the post before commenting.
Even if those cards are excluded from future updates, it won't change how trading impacts the current meta much since the most heavily used cards can all be traded at the current rarity. And, with ranked mode coming soon, any additional positive adjustments to trading can only improve the game.
“We look forward to hearing your feedback as updates are released and remain committed to developing the best possible Pokémon TCG Pocket experience,” the TCG Pocket team said. “Thank you for being part of our community.”
