Pokemon TCG Pocket to add trading in upcoming update

The rise of Pokémon TCG Pocket has been nothing short of meteoric since the game's release on October 29th of this year. As of November's early estimates, the game already has over 30 million downloads, making it a resounding success for the Pokémon Company.

Prior to its release, there were some worries about the game's ability to fill the void of any main-line Pokémon games until 2025 (and to be fair it still feels like we're certainly missing a game in that vein), but it has certainly done a good job of scratching that itch with the pack opening mechanics and engaging gameplay that players have been able to experience so far.

In addition to the game mechanics already available, as mentioned via Serebii, Pokémon TCG Pocket will be adding yet another classic mechanic - trading. So far, getting specific cards can be quite difficult for players who don't pay for features in-game, with many of the packs that one opens housing duplicate cards instead of the next card one would need to try out a different deck or style of play.

Including trading would allow players to possibly get the cards they need to build a different deck to use. It would also help players get rid of duplicates that are otherwise not useful.

As of right now, it's not fully clear just how expansive the trading mechanic will be however, with the announcement stating only certain cards will be tradable. It is the first step however in what will likely be a more expansive and inclusive feature of the game in the future. Trading is set to begin in January of 2025.

In addition to trading, the announcement also stated that new booster packs would become available before the end of the year, adding more variation to the cards pool players have to pull from. Previous data mines have shown that new packs are on the way, but we now have a confirmed timeline for when we can expect these changes to take place.

While it is perhaps still rather underwhelming that the Pokémon Company chose to not provide fans of the franchise with a new main-line or re-make game this year, the overall response to Pokémon TCG Pocket has been a success. It will be exciting to see in what new ways they choose to expand this game in 2025.