Pokémon TCG Pocket issues cheat warning ahead of trading feature launch

Pokémon TCG Pocket Just ahead of the expected release of in-game transactions later this week, players are being warned of the consequences of cheating.

In an announcement pushed to the app yesterday, players were warned about violations of terms of service specifically related to cheating:

“We have discovered that some players have engaged in data tampering, real money transactions, and other violations of the Terms of Use,” the in-game notification reads. “If we confirm that a player has violated the Terms of Use, we will warn them and suspend their accounts. or take other actions.”

No further details were provided about exactly which behaviors were targeted. Players on r/PTCGP have been speculating that this warning is related to some different behavior. One of them, called Miracle Select Agricultureis a practice where individuals create new accounts en masse to take advantage of the many free packs offered to new players and attempt to roll “god packs,” or super rare card packs containing five very rare cards. They then give their friend code to others in exchange for money, so the buyer can add them as a friend and then see the “Wonder Pack” in the game's Wonder Pick feature, guaranteed to receive a very rare card Card.

Another behavior that is considered target-killing is for players to grind their accounts to level 50 by participating in PvP battles over and over again with large amounts of bank currency, using the game's timeout feature to drag out the match until their opponent throws in the towel so they can Win again and again.

Beyond that, the warning may simply be issued because of the game's upcoming trading feature, which could spark a new wave of inappropriate behavior, especially where “real money transactions” are involved. trading functions, Fans criticized the news as soon as it came outallowing players to trade cards of one star rarity and below with friends. Players have expressed frustration with the rarity restrictions on trading and the need to spend a certain currency in order to trade in the first place.

The feature is scheduled to launch later this week on January 29th with New expansion pack Time and Space Strike.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter at IGN. You can find her posts at BlueSky @duckvalentine.bsky.social. Have a story tip? Send it to [email protected].