Since launch, Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket has been missing one big feature we were promised: trading. The Operations Team has now shed a little light on how they plan to tackle this mechanic, and it must be said, it might be the worst-case scenario.

Before we get into all that, let’s look at some better news. The team have confirmed that there will be new booster packs by the end of the year, and given we are halfway through November, there is not much time to wait. Currently, there is only a selection of 226 from the Genetic Apex, plus a handful of promos.

Whilst that does sound like a lot, about a fifth of the 1,000 Pokemon that have been released, you do have to account for the multiple card art of some Pokemon, as well as items and supporters. When you boil that down there aren’t a lot of decks to make, leading to facing the same two each match. So, more packs would be appreciated. I want my Lucario deck.

That is the good news, now come along with me as we take quite the gigantic nose dive into the awful news. In January 2025 we will be getting the trading feature, which sounds nice, however, there is the caveat that only certain cards will be available to trade to begin with. There are future plans to gradually expand the selection that can be traded, but this is awful news.

My theories were that we would either have trading stamina, or a restriction of one trade per friend per day, and what's worrying is that could still be added. This method feels like a cynical way to drive booster pack sales, no doubt that “selection of cards” won’t include anything of high rarity. Prepare to trade only Pidgeys and Caterpies.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is available to download from the App Store and Google Play.