The developers of Pokémon TCG Pocket have finally unveiled significant enhancements to the game's much-criticized trading system, which has been a source of frustration since its launch. These improvements sound promising, but players will need to exercise patience as implementation is slated for the future.
In a detailed post on the Pokémon community forums, the developers outlined the upcoming changes:
Removal of Trade Tokens
- Trade tokens will be completely phased out, eliminating the need for players to sacrifice cards to acquire trading currency.
- Trading cards of three-diamond, four-diamond, and one-star rarity will now require shinedust. This currency is automatically earned when you open a booster pack and obtain a card already registered in your Card Dex.
- Shinedust, currently used for obtaining flair, will see an increase in availability to accommodate its new role in trading. This adjustment should enable more frequent card trades.
- Existing trade tokens will be converted to shinedust upon removal from the game.
- No changes will be made to the trading of one-diamond and two-diamond rarity cards.
Additional Updates in Development
- A new feature will allow players to share cards they're interested in trading directly through the in-game trading function.
The current trade token system has been widely criticized. To trade a single ex Pokémon card, players must discard five other ex cards to accumulate enough trade tokens, a process that discourages trading. The new system using shinedust, which players earn from duplicate cards and various in-game events, promises to be more user-friendly. Shinedust is already familiar to players as it's used to purchase flairs, and the developers plan to increase its availability to support trading activities.
While some form of trading cost is necessary to prevent system abuse, the trade token system was excessively costly. The introduction of shinedust as a trading currency should make the process more accessible and encourage more trading.
The ability to share desired trade cards will also revolutionize the trading experience. Currently, players can list cards for trade but have no way to communicate their desired trades within the game, leading to guesswork and limited trading with strangers. The new feature will facilitate more targeted and effective trading.
The community has responded positively to these proposed changes, though there's a significant downside: players who have already sacrificed rare cards to gather trade tokens will not recover those cards, despite the conversion of existing tokens to shinedust.
However, the implementation timeline poses a challenge. The blog post indicates that these changes won't be rolled out until the fall of this year. In the interim, trading activity may stagnate as players await the new system, potentially spanning several expansions before the trading aspect of "Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket" fully realizes its potential.
In the meantime, players are advised to save their shinedust in anticipation of the upcoming changes.
