Pokemon TCG Pocket devs DeNA promises changes in the trading feature after player backlash. Read on to learn why players complained about the game’s trading system.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Players’ Complaints About the Game’s Latest Update
TCG Pocket’s Trade Tokens are Quite Expensive to Obtain
Pokemon TCG Pocket released the game’s trading feature, and most players are not happy about it, prompting the dev, DeNA, to promise changes in the future in a Twitter (X) post on February 1, 2025.
Released on January 29, 2025, the highly anticipated trading feature allowed players to trade 1-4 Diamonds and 1-Star rarity cards from Genetic Apex and Mythical Island booster packs. Though highly helpful for players who wanted to complete their Poke Dex, the restrictions (limited card selection, new in-game currency, and high trading cost) in this new feature made some of them quite unhappy.
In response to the recent backlash, DeNA stated they are "actively investigating ways to improve the feature to address these concerns." For one, they plan "to offer multiple ways to obtain trade tokens, including through event distributions." Currently, players can only trade up to 1-Star cards.
These tokens are used as payment when using the trade feature and can only be obtained by sacrificing cards with higher rarity, yielding more. For instance, trading a 4-Diamond card (an ex Pokemon) requires 500 tokens. However, players can only gain 100 for 1-Star and 300 for selling 2-Star and 3-Star immersive cards, which are higher rarity than a 4-Diamond card. Thus, they are forced to burn rare or multiple cards to trade with other players.
DeNA also explained the reason why such strict rules and regulations were enforced in the game’s trading feature. "The item requirements and restrictions implemented for the trading feature were designed to prevent abuse from bots and other prohibited actions using multiple accounts," the devs explained. "Our goal was to balance the game while maintaining a fair environment for all players and preserving the fun of collecting cards that is core to the Pokemon TCG Pocket experience."
Though other changes to the game’s trading feature have yet to be disclosed, perhaps the devs are looking into how some players might cheat or exploit the system before releasing an update.
Genetic Apex Seemingly Disappears After Space-Time Smackdown’s Release
Another recent complaint about the game involves the release of the latest Space-Time Smackdown booster packs on January 29, 2025. Some players voiced their concern on Reddit that the Genetic Apex booster packs are unavailable after the recent release, as the home screen only shows the Mythical Island and Space-Time Smackdown booster packs.
However, this is not the case, as players can actually switch booster packs in the pack selection screen at the bottom right corner titled "Select other booster packs." Given that the text is quite small and hard to notice, it is reasonable that some fans became worried that the game’s very first booster pack was lost forever.
Though it can be attributed to poor designs, some TCG Pocket players believed it was a deliberate choice to promote opening the recently released packs. Though it somehow makes sense for marketing purposes, not all players have completed collecting all the cards in the game’s first booster pack. That being said, some fans suggested that DeNA update the homescreen to show all three booster pack sets to avoid further confusion.
The dev has yet to address this issue, but hopefully, this clarification helps players know that they can still spend time and hourglasses to complete the Genetic Apex booster packs.
Sources:
Pokemon TCG Pocket: Dev Addressed Issue with Trading Feature
Reddit: Player Complaint About the UI
