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

Pokémon TCG Pocket's controversial trading system fuels a thriving black market for digital cards. Numerous eBay listings sell individual cards for $5-$10, exploiting a loophole in the game's mechanics. Sellers exchange friend codes with buyers, then transfer cards, seemingly without losing anything. The buyer provides an unwanted card of the same rarity, circumventing the "no buying or selling" clause in the terms of service.

One example shows a Starmie ex listed for $5.99, requiring 500 Trade Tokens, Trade Stamina, and an unwanted Pokémon ex in exchange. This tactic allows sellers to repeatedly acquire and resell rare cards like Pokémon ex and 1-Star alternate art cards. Entire accounts, containing valuable resources like Pack Hourglasses and rare cards, are also being sold, a common occurrence in online games despite violating terms of service.

The trading mechanic itself sparked controversy upon its release. Besides restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking, the introduction of Trade Tokens—requiring the deletion of five cards to trade one of equal rarity—drew significant criticism due to their high acquisition cost.

However, this black market likely would exist even without the restrictions. The main issue is the trading system's limited functionality; trading requires prior friendship, forcing players to use external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay to connect and trade. Many players, like Reddit user siraquakip, desired a more integrated, in-app trading system.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned against real-money transactions and cheating, threatening account suspensions for violations. Ironically, the Trade Tokens system, designed to prevent such exploitation, has failed and alienated the community.

Creatures Inc. is "actively investigating" improvements to the trading feature but hasn't provided specifics despite complaints dating back three weeks. Many believe the trading system is designed to boost revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly earned half a billion dollars in under three months before the trading feature launched. The inability to trade 2-Star or higher rarity cards further supports this theory, as readily trading for missing cards would reduce the need for costly random pack purchases. One player reportedly spent $1,500 to complete the first set, highlighting the game's monetization strategy.