Black Market Emerges for Rare Pokémon TCG Pocket Cards

The Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has recently stirred up controversy with the emergence of a black market for its digital cards. Players are actively buying and selling these cards online, facilitated by the game's new trading mechanic. Listings for these cards, such as a Starmie ex card priced at $5.99, have surfaced on platforms like eBay. To complete such transactions, sellers ask buyers to exchange friend codes and meet specific trade requirements, including having 500 Trade Tokens, one Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" card to swap.

This practice blatantly violates the Pokémon TCG Pocket terms of service, which explicitly prohibit the buying or selling of virtual contents or data. Interestingly, the seller in these transactions doesn't lose anything tangible; they simply trade one ex Pokémon card for another, which can then be sold again due to the game's rule that only cards of the same rarity can be traded.

The black market has expanded to include listings for the rarest cards, such as ex Pokémon and 1 Star alternate art cards, along with entire accounts containing Pack Hourglasses and rare cards. This phenomenon is not unique to Pokémon TCG Pocket, as it's common in many online games, despite being against the service's rules.

The trading feature, introduced last week, has been controversial for several reasons. Besides the restrictions on opening packs, Wonder Picking, and trading without spending real money, the mechanic also requires Trade Tokens, which are costly to obtain. Players must delete five cards from their collection to trade one of the same rarity, a move that has drawn criticism.

The black market would likely have emerged even without these restrictions, but the current system's limitations have exacerbated the situation. Players are frustrated by the inability to trade without being friends, leading to calls for a more open trading system within the app. This would eliminate the need for external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay, for card trading.

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Creatures Inc., the game's developer, has warned players against buying and selling cards with real money and other forms of cheating. Despite introducing the Trade Tokens mechanic to prevent such exploitation, the system has failed to stop the black market and has instead turned many players against the developer. The company is currently investigating ways to improve the trading feature, though specifics on these improvements remain undisclosed despite ongoing complaints.

Some fans speculate that the trading system was implemented to boost revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly earned half a billion dollars in less than three months before trading was introduced. The inability to trade cards of 2 Star rarity or higher supports this theory, as it encourages players to spend more money on packs for a chance to get rare cards. One player reportedly spent $1,500 to complete the first set, highlighting the financial commitment required to fully engage with the game's content.