The Pokémon TCG Pocket trading feature, launched January 29th, 2025, has faced significant player backlash, prompting developer DeNA to announce upcoming improvements on February 1st, 2025 via Twitter (X). The core issue revolves around the high cost and restrictive nature of the trading system.
Pokémon TCG Pocket: Player Complaints Following the Latest Update
The High Cost of Trade Tokens
The trading feature, while intended to help players complete their Pokédex, allows trading only 1-4 star rarity cards from Genetic Apex and Mythical Island booster packs. The required "trade tokens," however, are proving difficult and expensive to obtain. Players must sacrifice higher-rarity cards to earn tokens, with the cost of trading a 4-Diamond card (an EX Pokémon) requiring 500 tokens—far exceeding the 100 tokens earned from selling a 1-Star card, or even the 300 tokens from a 2- or 3-Star card. This system forces players to essentially "burn" rare cards to facilitate trades.
DeNA acknowledges the player concerns, stating they are actively exploring solutions, including adding multiple ways to acquire trade tokens, such as through events. Currently, only 1-Star cards are tradeable.
DeNA explains the strict rules were implemented to prevent bot abuse and multi-account exploitation, aiming to balance fairness and the core collecting aspect of the game. Further details on upcoming changes are pending.
The Disappearance (and Reappearance) of Genetic Apex Packs
Following the January 29th release of Space-Time Smackdown booster packs, some players reported the Genetic Apex packs were missing from the main screen. This led to concerns about the availability of the initial booster pack.
However, the Genetic Apex packs remain accessible via a small, easily overlooked "Select other booster packs" option in the bottom right corner of the pack selection screen.
While understandable as a potential marketing strategy to encourage purchases of newer packs, the poor visibility of the Genetic Apex pack selection has caused confusion and frustration. Players suggest a homescreen update to display all three booster pack sets to avoid future misunderstandings. DeNA has yet to address this specific issue.
