Rare Pokémon Cards Fuel Black Market Surge

Pokémon TCG Pocket's in-game trading system fuels a thriving black market for digital cards on platforms like eBay. Sellers are circumventing the game's rules by exchanging friend codes and cards, listing cards for prices ranging from $5 to $10.

One example shows a Starmie ex listed for $5.99, requiring buyers to possess 500 Trade Tokens, Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" for the exchange. This exploits a loophole: the seller essentially loses nothing, gaining an equivalent rarity card in return and immediately reselling it. This directly violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service, which prohibits the buying and selling of virtual items.

Numerous listings for rare ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards appear on eBay, along with entire accounts containing valuable in-game assets like Pack Hourglasses. While account selling is common in online games, this practice still breaks the game's rules.

The trading mechanic itself sparked controversy upon its release. Beyond the existing restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking, the introduction of Trade Tokens – requiring the deletion of five cards to trade one of the same rarity – further fueled player frustration due to their high acquisition cost.

Even without the Trade Token system, a black market likely would have emerged due to the restrictive friend-only trading system. Players desired a more accessible in-app trading system, similar to public trading boards, rather than relying on external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay.

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Creatures Inc. has warned players against real-money transactions and cheating, threatening account suspensions for violations. Ironically, the Trade Token system, designed to prevent such exploitation, has proven ineffective and alienated the community. While the developer is investigating improvements to the trading feature, concrete solutions remain elusive despite complaints surfacing three weeks ago.

Many suspect the trading system's limitations, particularly the inability to trade cards of 2-Star rarity or higher, are intentionally designed to boost revenue. The game's estimated half-billion-dollar revenue in under three months, prior to the trading feature, supports this theory. The high cost of completing sets, with one player spending approximately $1,500 to complete the first set, further emphasizes the game's monetization strategy.

Did you spend money on Pokémon TCG Pocket in January 2025?

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