Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket adds trading next week, but there’s a catch

Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is getting two major updates next week. Trading will finally come to the mobile card game on January 29, while new cards are coming on January 30 via the Space-Time Smackdown booster set. Those hoping that trading will let them quickly fill out their collection might be disappointed by how it works, though.

Released in October, Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket is a highly successful trading card game with an emphasis on card collection and simplified battling. It already got one expansion thanks to its Mew-themed Mythical Island booster pack in December, but this is the app’s biggest update yet.

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The big news is that trading is finally coming, which has been an anticipated feature since the app launched. As expected, this will allow players to trade spare cards to one another, though it’s a little more complex than that. Trading uses two new resources, trade hourglasses and trade tokens. Once players have those, they’ll only be able to trade diamond rarity 1-4 cards and star rarity 1 cards with friends. Only cards of the same rarity can be traded. Not every card can be traded either. The Pokémon Company says that only “certain cards from the Genetic Apex and Mythical Island expansions” will be eligible to trade for now.

That news may come as a disappointment for those hoping that trading would let them snag any rare cards they were missing. It’s also unclear exactly how the new currencies are earned and whether or not they’ll be available to purchase.

One day after trading enters the app, players will get a new set of cards to collect via the Space-Time Smackdown update. This adds Dialga and Palkia-themed booster packs to the game. Confirmed Pokémon featured in the set include Turtwig, Chimchar, Piplup, Pachirisu, Leafeon, Honchkrow, Gible, Cresslia, Lucario, and a new support card in Cynthia.

The update will also bring new binder and display board covers themed around Dialga, Palkia, and Darkrai.