UPDATE: The Pokemon TCG Pocket team has officially confirmed details on how trading will work in-game.
Fans always knew trading in Pokemon TCG Pocket was going to be a complicated affair, but it seems as though it will come with a catch that no one could have expected.
In late October, Nintendo and The Pokemon Company finally brought the catching-and-battling action of its beloved Pokemon Trading Card Game to mobile for the first time.
Following in the footsteps of mobile mega-hits like Hearthstone and Magic The Gathering Arena, Pokemon TCG Pocket will be an ever-expanding product, bringing with it new cards (the second set "A2" should debut sometime this month), rewards, and features as time goes on.
Pokemon TCG Pocket Trading Shake-Up
Update (Thursday, January 16, 2025): The Pokemon Company confirmed how trading will work in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
As posted on the brand's official X (formerly Twitter) account, trades will only be able to be done "between friends," must include "cards of the same rarity," and will have some cards exempt from the currently released sets in the game:
Also mentioned was the fact that "items must be consumed in order to trade," but the exact amount required or what currency was being referenced remains to be seen.
This comes following rumors point to trading coming to Pokemon TCG Pocket later this month with a bit of a catch. According to known Pokemon leaker Centro Leaks, trading the card-collecting mobile hit will be limited "to diamond and 1-star cards:"
"Seems like Pyoro is now hinting at the 'Pokemon TCG Pocket' trading feature being limited to diamond and 1-star cards."
Pokemon TCG Pocket doles out its cards on an eight-level rarity scale, going from Single Diamond (aka common) up to Crown Rares (ultra-exclusive gold art cards).
This new information would mean that cards only up to and including Art Rare cards (aka full art of a basic Pokemon) will be available to trade at launch, and full art EX, trainer, immersive, and gold cards will not.
Centro Leaks previously told fans trading would be "disabled for rarer cards initially," so this latest update seems to only corroborate that:
"'Pokemon TCG Pocket' will implement trading on January, however it will be disabled for rarer cards initially."
Since launch, fans have been waiting to be able to swap the game's digital collectible cards with friends as players of the real-life trading card game have been doing for decades; however, the feature has been notably absent.
More Trading Info Coming Soon
The Pokemon TCG Pocket team has remained fairly tight-lipped about its trading plans, other than the fact that it is coming —likely as a part of its January content schedule (read more about Pokemon TCG Pocket's January releases here).
Back in November, the developers told fans, "We are aiming to add a feature that allows certain cards to be traded starting in January 2025" (via X), and, at least for now, that seems to still be the plan:
"Today we would like to announce new content planned to be released in a future major update.
To begin with, we plan to add new booster packs by the end of the year. In addition, we are aiming to add a feature that allows certain cards to be traded starting in January 2025. We are planning to gradually expand the selection of cards that are able to be traded.
Also, we have other new features in development outside of the trade feature introduced here. We plan to announce more details about the update as the dates for the addition of these features are finalized, so please look forward to it."
As mentioned above, trading will be tied to some sort of currency or resource so that The Pokemon Company gets a cut with every trade. It is a free-to-play mobile game after all.
While much of Pokemon TCG Pocket can be enjoyed for free (with some slight limitations), it makes its money from players who want more than just that free experience.
One can assume trading will be no different, with a certain number of trades per day being offered for free, but allowing players to go above and beyond that if they are willing to pay extra.
All of that is speculative at this point. For more official information fans will have to wait for a Pokemon TCG Pocket team announcement detailing the game's trading plans.
Pokemon TCG Pocket is now available on iOS and Android.
