Pokemon TCG Pocket Backlash Prompts Trading Feature Improvements

DeNA, the developers behind Pokemon TCG Pocket, have committed to making changes to the game's trading feature following significant player backlash. Here's a detailed look at the reasons behind the community's dissatisfaction.

Pokemon TCG Pocket Players’ Complaints About the Game’s Latest Update

TCG Pocket’s Trade Tokens are Quite Expensive to Obtain

The trading feature, introduced on January 29, 2025, in Pokemon TCG Pocket, has stirred considerable discontent among players. This feature allows trading of 1-4 Diamonds and 1-Star rarity cards from Genetic Apex and Mythical Island booster packs. While it's a valuable tool for completing the Poke Dex, the limitations such as restricted card selection, the introduction of a new in-game currency, and high trading costs have left many players frustrated.

In response to the backlash, DeNA announced on February 1, 2025, via Twitter (X) that they are "actively investigating ways to improve the feature to address these concerns." They plan to introduce multiple methods for obtaining trade tokens, including event distributions. Currently, players can only trade up to 1-Star cards using these tokens, which are acquired by sacrificing higher rarity cards. For example, trading a 4-Diamond card (an ex Pokemon) requires 500 tokens, yet players can only earn 100 tokens for a 1-Star card and 300 for 2-Star and 3-Star cards, which are of higher rarity than a 4-Diamond card. This forces players to use up their rare or multiple cards just to engage in trading.

DeNA justified the stringent rules by stating, "The item requirements and restrictions implemented for the trading feature were designed to prevent abuse from bots and other prohibited actions using multiple accounts. 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." While further changes to the trading system remain undisclosed, it's clear that DeNA is focused on preventing potential exploitation before rolling out any updates.

Genetic Apex Seemingly Disappears After Space-Time Smackdown’s Release

Another issue raised by the community concerns the availability of Genetic Apex booster packs following the release of the Space-Time Smackdown packs on January 29, 2025. Some players expressed concerns on Reddit that the Genetic Apex packs were no longer accessible, as the home screen only displayed the Mythical Island and Space-Time Smackdown packs.

However, this is not the case. Players can access the Genetic Apex packs by navigating to the "Select other booster packs" option at the bottom right corner of the pack selection screen. The small text size may have contributed to the confusion, leading some to believe that the first booster pack was discontinued. While some players speculated that this might be a deliberate move to encourage the opening of newer packs, it's important for those still collecting cards from the Genetic Apex set to know that they can continue doing so. Suggestions have been made for DeNA to update the home screen to display all available booster packs to prevent further confusion.

DeNA has yet to comment on this issue, but with this clarification, players can rest assured that they can still work on completing their Genetic Apex collections.