In the world of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket, a peculiar black market has emerged, fueled by the game's controversial trading mechanic. Players are now buying and selling digital cards on platforms like eBay, with prices ranging from $5 to $10 per card. This trading frenzy is facilitated by the game's new feature that allows players to exchange friend codes and trade cards directly.
For instance, a listing for a Starmie ex card is priced at $5.99, requiring buyers to have 500 Trade Tokens, one Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" to complete the trade. This situation raises eyebrows not only because it violates the Pokémon TCG Pocket terms of service, which explicitly prohibit the buying or selling of virtual content, but also due to the mechanics of the trade itself.
In these transactions, the seller loses nothing tangible. The buyer trades an unwanted card for a desired one, which is essentially a standard trade, but with a monetary twist. The game's rules stipulate that only cards of the same rarity can be traded, meaning the seller gains another ex Pokémon card to sell again, perpetuating the cycle.
The eBay listings are not limited to ex Pokémon cards; they also include 1 Star alternate art cards, some of the rarest available for trading. Additionally, entire accounts are being sold, complete with Pack Hourglasses and rare cards, a practice not uncommon in online gaming despite being against the service's rules.
The trading feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket has been controversial since its introduction last week. While the black market trading is not directly related to the initial complaints, it adds another layer of complexity. The game's standard mechanics already limit how much players can open packs, use Wonder Picking, or trade without spending real money. The introduction of Trade Tokens, which require players to delete five cards from their collection to trade one of the same rarity, has been met with criticism due to its high cost.
Even without these restrictions, a black market likely would have emerged. The current trading system's bare-bones nature, requiring players to be friends to trade, has led to calls for a more community-friendly system. Players like siraquakip on Reddit have expressed a desire for a safer, more public way to connect and trade within the app, reducing the reliance on external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay.
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Creatures Inc., the developer behind Pokémon TCG Pocket, has warned players against engaging in such transactions, stating that violations could lead to account suspension or other penalties. Ironically, the Trade Tokens mechanic was introduced to prevent exactly this kind of exploitation, but it has evidently failed and has instead alienated much of the community.
The company is currently investigating ways to improve the trading feature, though no specific plans have been shared despite ongoing complaints. Many fans suspect that the trading system is designed to boost revenue for the game, which reportedly earned half a billion dollars in less than three months before trading was introduced. The inability to trade cards of 2 Star rarity or higher further suggests a strategy to encourage spending on random card packs, as seen in the case of one player who spent around $1,500 to complete the first set, with the third set arriving just last week.
