Pokémon TCG Pocket Trading Has Spurred a Strange Black Market for High Rarity Cards

Pokémon TCG Pocket's in-game trading system fuels a thriving, albeit illicit, online marketplace. Players are circumventing the game's rules by selling digital cards on platforms like eBay, with prices ranging from $5 to $10 per card. This is achieved by exchanging friend codes and transferring cards, exploiting a loophole in the system.

One example shows a Starmie ex card listed for $5.99, requiring the buyer to possess 500 Trade Tokens, Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" for the exchange. This practice violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service, which explicitly prohibit the buying and selling of virtual items. However, sellers benefit from this system because they can repeatedly trade cards of the same rarity (e.g., ex Pokémon), essentially profiting without losing any valuable cards.

Numerous listings for rare cards, including ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards, are prevalent on eBay. Entire accounts, complete with Pack Hourglasses and rare cards, are also for sale, a common occurrence in online games despite violating terms of service.

The trading mechanic itself sparked controversy upon its release. Beyond the existing restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking, the introduction of Trade Tokens further fueled player discontent. The high cost of acquiring Trade Tokens—requiring the deletion of five cards to trade one of the same rarity—was heavily criticized.

This black market, however, likely would have emerged even without the restrictions. The core issue lies in the trading mechanic's limitations: players can only trade with friends, necessitating the use of external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay to facilitate trades. Many players, like Reddit user siraquakip, desired a more integrated, in-app trading system.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned players against real-money transactions and other forms of cheating, threatening account suspensions for violations of the Terms of Use. Ironically, the Trade Tokens system, implemented to prevent such exploitation, has inadvertently fueled it and alienated a significant portion of the player base.

Creatures Inc. is investigating improvements to the trading feature but hasn't provided concrete details despite complaints dating back three weeks. Concerns persist that the trading system is designed to boost revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly generated half a billion dollars in under three months before the trading feature's launch. The inability to trade higher-rarity (2-Star and above) cards further supports this suspicion, as readily available trading would reduce the need for players to spend significant sums on packs for a chance at acquiring rare cards. One player reported spending approximately $1,500 to complete the first set.

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