On Thursday, January 16th, the official social media accounts for Pokémon TCG Pocket released a statement regarding in-game trading. This statement outlines the current plans for the feature and how trading will feasibly work for players.
Pokémon TCG Pocket‘s Social Media Statement
The statement is as such:
To all of you playing Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, Greetings from the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Team.
Thank you for having fun with us-opening packs, collecting cards, and enjoying the game each day. We’re continuously working to make the game even more fun for everyone and are excited to share some new updates with you.
Today, we wanted to provide more details on the new trade feature coming your way this month. Here are a few highlights you can look forward to!• Trades can be done between friends.
• Trades can be done with cards of the same rarity.
• At the time of the trade feature’s launch, certain cards from the Genetic Apex and Mythical Island booster packs will be able to be traded. We are planning to continue to expand the selection of booster packs that you can trade from.
• Cards with a rarity of ◊1-◊4 and ∗1 can be traded.
• Items must be consumed in order to trade.
The trading rules seem rather straightforward, but some players have taken umbrage with them. We will get to that detail in a moment, but in the meantime, the statement continues as such:
We’ll continue to monitor player feedback and assess future updates to the trade feature while keeping in mind how to balance both the ease and enjoyability of collecting.
Also, our next booster packs are planned to be added this month! We’ll have more details to share soon on the new Pokémon encounters fans can look forward to.
Thank you again for being a part of the Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket community. We hope you continue to enjoy the game.
And don’t forget to open your packs each day!
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket Team
From the second half of the above statement, we see that the next pack will release sometime later this month. We still don’t know anything about the contents of that pack, but we do know it will be a full expansion, unlike Mythical Island, which was a mini-expansion.
Player Backlash Against Trade Mechanics
Upon reading the statement on trading mechanics, many players complained. “Pulling 3 of the same 2-star while missing several others and not being able to trade them is just soul crushing [sic]. If you’re keeping [the] same rarity, then allow all rarities.” Said Austin John (@AustinJohnPlays), a prominent Pokémon-centric YouTuber, on Twitter.
Many other social media users were quick to follow suit, to the point where the official Pokémon TCG Pocket account was obliged to make a follow-up statement:
Thank you, everyone, for your immediate thoughts on this topic! Your concerns are seen. Once this feature becomes available, I’d like to invite everyone to try it and provide feedback. This way, the game can continue to evolve in an enjoyable way for everyone.
Gotta Trade ‘Em All
Are you excited to be able to trade with friends? And are you prepped for the next Pokémon TCG Pocket expansion to release? In the meantime, check out some of our latest deck techs for the game! Or, while you’re here, you can also look at our analysis of turn order!
