Rare Pokémon TCG Pocket Cards Fuel Black Market Trading Frenzy

The emergence of a black market for digital cards in Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has stirred controversy due to its trading mechanic. Listings for these coveted digital cards have flooded eBay, with prices ranging from $5 to $10 per card. The sellers leverage the game's new trading feature, which allows for card exchanges between friends. For instance, a $5.99 listing for a Starmie ex card requires the buyer to have 500 Trade Tokens, one Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" to swap for the desired card.

This practice blatantly violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service, which prohibits "buying or selling virtual contents or data on the service." Interestingly, the seller doesn't lose anything in these transactions. The buyer trades an unwanted card for one they want, but the seller retains their stock since they can trade cards of the same rarity repeatedly.

eBay listings are not limited to individual cards; entire accounts are up for sale, complete with Pack Hourglasses and rare cards. While account sales are somewhat common in online gaming, they still breach the service's terms.

The trading feature in Pokémon TCG Pocket has been controversial since its launch. Players must spend real money to avoid restrictions on opening packs, Wonder Picking, and trading. The addition of Trade Tokens, which require players to delete five cards from their collection to trade one of the same rarity, has drawn criticism for its high cost.

The black market likely would have emerged regardless of any trading restrictions, as the mechanic itself lacks the ability for non-friend trading. This has led to calls from players like siraquakip on Reddit for a safer, more community-focused trading system within the app. They advocate for a public trading platform to eliminate the need for external sites like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay.

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Creatures Inc., the developer, has warned against buying and selling cards with real money and other forms of cheating. They've stated that violators may face warnings, account suspensions, or other actions. Ironically, the Trade Tokens mechanic was introduced to prevent the very exploitation seen on eBay, but it has instead alienated much of the community.

While Creatures Inc. is "actively investigating ways to improve" the trading feature, no specific plans have been announced despite ongoing complaints. Some fans believe the trading system is designed to boost revenue, as evidenced by the game's half-billion-dollar earnings in less than three months before trading was introduced. The inability to trade cards of 2 Star rarity or higher further supports this theory, as it forces players to spend more money on packs in hopes of completing sets. One player reportedly spent $1,500 to complete the first set, and the third set in three months was released last week.