Pokémon TCG Pocket Announces Upcoming Changes to Trading System

The developers of Pokémon TCG Pocket have unveiled significant enhancements to the game's trading system, which has been a source of frustration since its inception. These forthcoming changes promise substantial improvements, although their implementation will take considerable time.

In a recent post on the Pokémon community forums, the developers outlined the following updates:

Removal of Trade Tokens

• Trade tokens will be entirely eliminated, removing the need for players to sacrifice cards to acquire trading currency.
• Trading cards of three-diamond, four-diamond, and one-star rarities will now require shinedust.
• Shinedust will be automatically earned when opening a booster pack and obtaining a card already registered in your Card Dex.
• Since shinedust is currently used to acquire flair, the developers plan to increase the amount offered to accommodate its new role in trading.
• This change should enable players to trade more cards than before.
• Existing trade tokens will be converted to shinedust upon removal from the game.
• Trading of one-diamond and two-diamond rarity cards will remain unchanged.

Additional Updates in Development

• A feature allowing players to share cards they are interested in trading for will be added to the in-game trading function.

The elimination of trade tokens marks a significant shift. Previously, these tokens were essential for trading but could only be obtained by discarding owned cards, making the system highly discouraging. For example, trading one ex Pokémon card required sacrificing five other ex cards to gather enough tokens, a process that had to be mirrored by the trading partner.

The new system utilizing shinedust is more player-friendly. Shinedust, already used for purchasing flairs (animations that enhance card visuals during matches), is earned automatically from duplicate cards and through events. With many players likely holding surplus shinedust, and plans to increase its availability, trading should become more accessible.

Despite these improvements, maintaining some trading cost is crucial to prevent system abuse, such as creating multiple accounts to funnel rare cards to a main account. The trade token system, however, was excessively costly for most players.

The ability to share desired trading cards will revolutionize the current system, where players could only list cards for trade without indicating what they seek in return. This new feature will facilitate more targeted and meaningful trades, encouraging broader use of the trading system among players.

The community has responded positively to these announced changes, appreciating the move towards a more user-friendly trading experience. However, a major downside remains: players who have already sacrificed rare cards to obtain trade tokens will not recover those cards, though their existing tokens will convert to shinedust.

Unfortunately, these updates won't be implemented until the fall of this year, leaving players to endure the current inefficient trading system for several more months. This delay may cause trading activity to stagnate as players hold off on sacrificing cards in anticipation of the new system.

In the meantime, players are advised to conserve their shinedust for the upcoming changes to the Pokémon TCG Pocket trading system.