The launch of Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket was met with excitement, but the initial implementation of trading quickly became a point of contention among players. The trading feature, eagerly awaited by the community, was initially marred by the need for hard-to-obtain Trading Tokens and restrictive trading conditions. However, a recent update aims to address these issues and improve the overall trading experience.

The first significant change is the complete removal of Trading Tokens. Players will no longer need to trade cards to acquire the currency needed for trading. Instead, the new system introduces Shinedust, which you can earn by opening booster packs and receiving cards that are already registered in your Card Dex. Shinedust will be used to trade cards of three-diamond, four-diamond, and one-star rarity. If you currently hold Trading Tokens, they can be converted into Shinedust.

Given that Shinedust is also necessary for acquiring flair, further modifications to the system are on the horizon. An upcoming update will also introduce a new feature allowing players to share cards they're interested in trading directly through the in-game interface.

As I've mentioned before, the initial introduction of trading felt somewhat lackluster. The challenge lies in balancing the digital ecosystem to prevent abuse, which necessitates more restrictions than physical trading. While these changes are a step in the right direction, they won't be implemented until autumn at the earliest, which is quite a wait from our current spring season. The Pokémon TCG Pocket team is addressing these issues, but the pace of these improvements has left some players wanting faster action.

If you're not ready to dive back into Pokémon TCG Pocket just yet, consider exploring some of the new mobile games highlighted in our latest feature on the top five new releases to try this week.