Pokémon TCG Pocket Announces Revamp of Trading System

The developers of Pokémon TCG Pocket have finally provided detailed updates on significant improvements coming to the game's much-criticized trading function, which has been problematic since its launch. These enhancements sound promising, but their implementation will take a considerable amount of time.

In a post on the Pokémon community forums, the developers outlined the upcoming changes:

Removal of Trade Tokens

• Trade tokens will be entirely phased out, and players will no longer need to sacrifice cards to acquire trading currency.
• Trading cards of three-diamond, four-diamond, and one-star rarity will now require shinedust.
• Shinedust will be automatically earned when you open a booster pack and obtain a card already registered in your Card Dex.
• Given that shinedust is also used to obtain flair, the developers are considering increasing its availability to facilitate trading.
• This change should enable players to trade more cards than before the update.
• Existing trade tokens will be converted to shinedust upon their removal from the game.
• There will be no changes to the trading process for one-diamond and two-diamond rarity cards.

Additional Updates in Development

• A new feature will allow players to share cards they are interested in trading via the in-game trading function.

The most significant change is the removal of the current trading currency, Trade Tokens. These tokens were introduced specifically for trading purposes and have been widely criticized. To trade cards, players currently need to discard multiple high-value cards just to accumulate enough tokens, making the process cumbersome and discouraging.

The proposed system using shinedust is far more appealing. Shinedust, already used in the game for purchasing card flairs, is earned automatically from duplicate cards and through various in-game events. Players who don't frequently use flairs likely have a surplus of shinedust, and the developers plan to further increase its availability to support trading.

Implementing a cost for trading is crucial to prevent system abuse, such as creating multiple accounts to amass and trade rare cards. The trade token system was simply too costly, deterring most players from engaging with it.

Another significant improvement is the forthcoming feature allowing players to indicate which cards they are interested in trading. Currently, there's no in-game way to communicate trade preferences, making it difficult for players to negotiate trades effectively. This new feature should encourage more trading activity by allowing players to make informed offers.

The community's response to these changes has been overwhelmingly positive, though there's a notable downside: players who have already discarded rare cards to obtain trade tokens have permanently lost those cards, despite the conversion of tokens to shinedust.

However, there's a catch: these improvements won't be implemented until the fall of this year. In the interim, trading may stagnate as players are reluctant to sacrifice rare cards when a better system is on the horizon. Several more expansions may pass before the trading aspect of Pokémon TCG Pocket truly flourishes.

So, hang onto that shinedust until the new system rolls out!