Players Criticize Pokémon TCG Pocket Release

The long-awaited trading update for Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket launched today, but despite players criticizing the mechanic after developer Creatures Inc. explained its functionality last week, the actual release has been met with an even more negative response.

Fans have taken to social media to voice their frustrations with the trading feature, pointing out its extensive requirements and numerous restrictions. While the restrictions were announced alongside the trading reveal, the requirements were vaguely described as "consuming items to trade."

Unlike features like Wonder Pick or opening booster packs, each trade requires the use of two separate, newly introduced items. The first is Trade Stamina, which recovers gradually over time or can be replenished using Poké Gold—effectively real money.

Found a picture of the devs after the trade update!
byu/marcola42 inPTCGP

Trade Tokens

The second item, Trade Tokens, has become a major point of contention in the Pokémon TCG Pocket community. Trading any card with 3 Diamonds or higher requires Trade Tokens—120 tokens for a 3 Diamond card, 400 for a 1 Star card, and 500 for a 4 Diamond card (representing ex Pokémon).

Trade Tokens are only earned by essentially discarding cards from your collection. Deleting a 3 Diamond card yields 25 Trade Tokens, a 1 Star card gives 100, and a 4 Diamond card provides 125. Selling a 2 Star card yields 300 tokens, a 3 Star immersive card also returns 300 tokens, while a Crown gold card rewards 1500 tokens. Lower rarity cards have no Trade Token value but also don’t require tokens to be traded.

This system means players must, for example, sell five ex Pokémon just to trade for one ex Pokémon, or discard five 1 Star cards to trade one 1 Star card. Worse still, trading a Crown rarity card—the game's rarest—which can take months to obtain, only provides enough tokens to trade for three ex Pokémon.

Selling one 3 Star immersive art card—a major selling point for Pokémon TCG Pocket—doesn’t even give enough Trade Tokens to acquire a 1 Star or 4 Diamond card.

'A Monumental Failure'

"The trading update is insulting," wrote Reddit user hurtbowler in a post with over 1,000 upvotes, vowing to stop spending money on the game. "It’s incredibly frustrating. The level of greed is so excessive that I can’t justify spending another dollar. They should remove ‘Trading Card Game’ from the title—it’s insulting to even look at."

"It’s ridiculous that you need to sacrifice two immersive cards just to trade one 4 Diamond ex," commented one player. "I get that they want to prevent botting and exploits, but this system is absurd."

Other players described the system as "hilariously toxic" and a "monumental failure," expressing disappointment that a potential community-building feature was replaced by something so tedious. Discarding cards for tokens also takes around 15 seconds, meaning players may spend minutes navigating menus just to trade a single card.

"If these are the trading costs, the app should be renamed Pokémon Card Game Pocket," wrote Darkmalice in a discussion about the high expenses. Another user added, "I don’t think they actually want people trading—that’s why they made it so terrible."

what a joke of a trading system
byu/ZenGraphics_ inPTCGP

Pay Day

Fans argue that trading was clearly designed to increase revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly earned $200 million in its first month—before trading was even possible.

This suspicion is reinforced by the fact that 2 Star and higher rarity cards cannot be traded. If players could simply trade for missing cards, they wouldn’t need to spend $10, $100, or more for randomized chances to acquire them. One player reportedly spent around $1,500 just to complete the first set, and the third set in three months releases tomorrow.

"The trading system is predatory and blatantly greedy," wrote Reddit user ACNL, who broke down the Trade Token conversion rates. "This is just ridiculous. Who designed this? If there were alternative ways to earn tokens, it might be acceptable—but currently, there are none.

"This isn’t sustainable. On top of that, you can’t even discard a card unless you own at least three copies. If you want to trade, you’ll need to buy packs—and keep buying them."

Finally Trade is here.... wait What?
byu/Tidus1117 inPTCGP

Creatures Inc. Stays Quiet

Creatures Inc. has not yet responded to the backlash. The developer rarely comments, though it did address initial concerns after the trading announcement last week, stating: "Your feedback is noted. Once the feature is available, we encourage everyone to try it and share your thoughts. This helps the game evolve in a way that remains enjoyable for all."

That response seemed to hint at possible improvements, but the reality has fallen far short. IGN has reached out to Creatures Inc. for comment on the player reaction and any planned adjustments.

As some users have suggested, one way to improve the system would be to include Trade Tokens as mission rewards. However, it's more likely that future updates will offer Trade Stamina instead, similar to how Wonder Stamina and Pack Hourglasses have been distributed.

Regardless, the introduction of such an unpopular feature is poorly timed, especially as the game prepares for a major update introducing Diamond and Pearl Pokémon like Dialga and Palkia.