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Rare Pokémon Cards Spark Black Market Boom

by Sophia Feb 19,2025

Pokémon TCG Pocket's in-game trading system fuels a thriving black market for digital cards on platforms like eBay. Sellers are circumventing the game's rules by exchanging friend codes and cards, listing rare Pokémon cards for prices ranging from $5 to $10.

One example shows a Starmie ex listed for $5.99, requiring buyers to possess 500 Trade Tokens, Trade Stamina, and an "unwanted Pokémon ex" for the exchange. This exploits a loophole: the seller essentially loses nothing, gaining an equivalent rarity card in return, allowing them to repeatedly sell the same type of card. This directly violates Pokémon TCG Pocket's terms of service, which prohibit the buying and selling of virtual items.

Numerous listings for high-rarity cards like ex Pokémon and 1-Star alternate art cards are prevalent on eBay, along with entire accounts containing valuable in-game assets like Pack Hourglasses and rare cards. This practice, while common in online games, still breaches the game's terms of service.

The trading mechanic itself sparked controversy upon its release. Beyond the existing restrictions on pack openings and Wonder Picking, the introduction of Trade Tokens—requiring the deletion of five cards to trade one of the same rarity—further fueled player discontent due to their high acquisition cost.

However, the black market's existence isn't solely dependent on the restrictive trading mechanics. The lack of a public trading system within the app forces players to rely on external platforms like Reddit, Discord, and now eBay to facilitate trades. Many players, such as Reddit user siraquakip, advocated for a built-in, safer community trading system within the app.

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Developer Creatures Inc. has warned against real-money transactions and cheating, threatening account suspensions for violations. Ironically, the Trade Token system, intended to prevent such exploitation, has inadvertently fueled the black market and alienated the community.

Creatures Inc. is investigating improvements to the trading feature but hasn't provided details despite ongoing complaints since its launch three weeks prior. Concerns persist that the trading system is designed to boost revenue for Pokémon TCG Pocket, which reportedly generated half a billion dollars in under three months before the trading feature's implementation. This is further supported by the inability to trade 2-Star or higher rarity cards, a restriction designed to encourage players to spend money on packs for a chance to obtain them. One player reported spending approximately $1,500 to complete the first set.