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Oliver Brandt is a Contributing Pop Culture Writer based in Tasmania, Australia. Their focus is reporting on video games, film, and TV. They have extensive knowledge of video game history and communities both in Australia and abroad, animated films and television shows, and international cinema. Oliver joined Newsweek in 2024 and has previously worked at Men’s Journal, Parade, and more. They are a graduate of Curtin University. You can get in touch with Oliver by emailing o.brandt@newsweek.com. You can find them on X and Bluesky @chocobalt. Languages: English.
Contributing Pop Culture Writer
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The Pokémon Company will finally be making previously promised changes to Pokémon TCG Pocket’s trading system, months after it launched to frustration from players.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) and expanded on in the Pokémon website, The Pokémon Company revealed a host of changes to the trading system in Pokémon TCG Pocket. The changes will come in an update on July 27, 2025, and will remove key aspects of the system that players had issues with.
When the trading system launched in Pokémon TCG Pocket earlier this year, feedback from players was very poor, with most frustrated with the system’s reliance on trade tokens, which were fairly limited and couldn’t be earned through regular gameplay. This month’s update to the game will remove trade tokens altogether, instead asking players to use the incredibly abundant Shinedust, which is readily earned in-game, for trades.
Players will also be able to earn even more Shinedust after the update goes live, with the amount earned from pulling cards set to be doubled. Players earn Shinedust by pulling cards from packs that they already own, so while players will earn less at the start of a new expansion cycle, they’ll eventually earn more as the month goes on, providing them with enough to finish the set once a new set launches and the previous set’s cards move into the trading pool.
A new exchange system will also be implemented to allow players to swap their existing trade tokens for Shinedust and pack hourglasses, which you can see the details for below:
- Pack hourglass ×1
- Required amount: Trade token ×1
- Number of possible exchanges: 60
- Shinedust ×10
- Required amount: Trade token ×1
- Number of possible exchanges: Unlimited
- Shinedust ×100
- Required amount: Trade token ×10
- Number of possible exchanges: Unlimited
- Shinedust ×1,000
- Required amount: Trade token ×100
- Number of possible exchanges: Unlimited
Trades will be disabled from July 24, 2025 until the update the following week, and players are expecting a new expansion at around the same time the update goes live, after the Eevee Grove expansion launched in late June.
