The time we have all been waiting for is finally here, and that’s for Pokemon TCG Pocket to actually put the ‘trading’ part of its name into the game. That said, trading your hard-earned cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket comes with a few caveats, as you’d expect, all of which we have outlined in this guide.
Earlier digital iterations of Pokemon TCG — think back to Pokemon TCG Online — allowed players to trade whatever they wanted, whenever (and in bulk!). Pokemon TCG Pocket’s take on trading, however, is a little more restrictive. To help you make heads or tails of whether your trades are worth it, here’s our Pokemon TCG Pocket trading guide.
Pokemon TCG Pocket trading guide
There are a few things to note before engaging in trading in Pokemon TCG Pocket. First things first, to trade cards of 2-diamond rarity or lower, you need Trade Stamina. This functions in the same way as Pack Stamina and Wonder Stamina, slowly refreshing itself over time.
If you’re hoping to trade cards of 3-diamond rarity, 4-diamond rarity (ex cards), or 1-star rarity (full art cards), you will need Trade Stamina and Trade Tokens. Trade Tokens are a new currency obtained in the same way that you obtain flair, and require you to trash duplicates of high-rarity cards.
You cannot currently trade cards of 2-star rarity or higher. So, if you’ve multiple duplicates of any of these cards, it may be worth using them to acquire Trade Tokens, as well as any duplicate full-art cards you don’t plan on using or trading necessarily. More on this below!
How to get Trade Tokens in Pokemon TCG Pocket
To get Trade Tokens in Pokemon TCG Pocket, you must go onto ‘My Cards’, and select a high-rarity card that you have multiple duplicates of. Then, select ‘Obtain Items’, and you’ll be given the option to trade the card for Flair, Trade Tokens, or if it’s a particularly rare card, a Premium Token.
If you’re hoping to trade cards of 3-diamond rarity or higher, you’ll want to trade these duplicates — making sure they aren’t a desirable duplicate that you may want to trade — for Trade Tokens.
For what it’s worth, you need the following amount of Trade Tokens to trade specific cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket:
- 2-diamond rarity and below: 1 Trade Stamina
- 3-diamond rarity: 1 Trade Stamina, 120 Trade Tokens
- 4-diamond rarity: 1 Trade Stamina, 500 Trade Tokens
- 1-star rarity: 1 Trade Stamina, 400 Trade Tokens
How to trade in Pokemon TCG Pocket
Now that you’re aware of the trading restrictions in place in Pokemon TCG Pocket, and how to get your hands on Trade Tokens, it’s time to go about trading!
To trade a card with someone, you first need to make sure you have added them as a friend in-game. Once that’s confirmed, complete the following steps:
- Open the Social Hub and select ‘Trade’.
- Choose a friend to trade with.
- Choose one card to send to that friend and wait for their response – they have two days to respond.
- A notification will appear on the trading screen when your friend has offered a trade. View the card they’re offering and press OK if you agree to the trade.
Once you’ve successfully reached a trade agreement, your cards will be exchanged with one another, and you’ll even get to bear witness to a unique trade animation.
For more on Pokemon TCG Pocket, take a look at the rarest cards in the game to see what’s worth trading for, and peruse our list of the best decks. Maybe you’ll find a new favourite deck to battle with!
