M Alzamora 
Players looking to spend all of their Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket now have a number of different things they can use and spend it on.
Shinedust is one of the most abundant resources available in Pokemon TCG Pocket. Players have been accumulating it passively for months without clear cut ways to spend it. However, Pokemon TCG Pocket has recently made them just as valuable as Pack and Wonder Hourglasses in a long-asked for update.
Here are the ways that players can use and spend their Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket and how to get more of it.
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Best use of Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket: trading cards
As of July 28, 2025, players can now use their Shinedust to trade for rarer cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Trading is a major feature of both the physical Pokemon TCG game and the mobile Pocket version. Introduced to the online game in January 2025, players have long had many complaints about the game’s trading system. It now seems developers have listened and taken an easily obtainable resource in shinedust and made it way more useful. Shinedust is now the main currency used for trading cards.
One-and two-diamond cards can be traded without any Shinedust. Higher rarity cards, however, will cost both players an in-game currency. The rarer the card type, the more Shinedust will need to be spent. This follows the same logic as Pack Points. Here’s how much they can expect to spend depending on card rarity:
- Three-diamond: 1,200 Shinedust
- One-star (full art cards): 4,000 Shinedust
- Four-diamond (ex cards): 5,000 Shinedust
It is important to note that cards rarer than basic ex cards still cannot be traded, though the trading page now has a detailed rules list that suggests a wider variety of trading may come eventually. Moreover, only cards from the previous set can be traded, and there’s a limit on how many trades can be performed in a set time period.
Previously, players had to burn duplicates of three- and four-diamond as well as one-star cards to get trade tokens to spend. While many still hope for more cards to be tradable, the general consensus is that this new trade option is a vast improvement over the previous system for Pokemon TCG Pocket.
Other ways to use Shinedust: getting card flairs
The other way to use Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket is by obtaining cosmetic or battle flairs for duplicate cards.
Players looking to add flair to their cards need two things: a set amount of Shinedust, and extra copies of the target card. Given that only two cards with the same name are allowed in a battle deck, this is currently the only meaningful thing to do with duplicate cards.
To unlock a flair for basic cards, go to a specific card and click on the “obtain flair” button. Players should see a screen there offering them a Sparkles Flair: Gold cosmetic. In exchange for making use of this flair mechanic, they’ll have to trade between one and three extra cards as well as 50-500 Shinedust depending on the rarity of the card.
While each card has four possible flairs available to it, the three flairs beyond the standard option depend on the Pokemon type. Blitzle, for instance, can get a Lightning Energy Flair for three cards and 150 Shinedust. Meanwhile, Whimsicott has access instead to the Petals Flair: Red cosmetic for two cards and 240 Shinedust. Additionally, the flairs unlock sequentially and can only be applied to one card at a time, though multiple flairs can be on a card.
There are also two types of flairs: cosmetic and battle. Battle flairs can only be seen when using them in a battle deck, while cosmetic flairs can be seen on display boards as well as in battle. Both flairs are only available for diamond-rarity cards because most rarer cards have their own cosmetic animations.
Another thing to keep in mind is obtaining flair for gold star rarity and higher cards in Pokemon TCG Pocket. The first flairs available for these are Tiny Twinkles Flair: Yellow (Battle) and a type-specific battle flair. Given that these types of cards are much harder to come by, their flair is equally costly in terms of Shinedust.
Are Pokemon TCG Pocket flairs worth it?
Many players find that cosmetic or battle flairs aren’t worth the cost in Pokemon TCG Pocket, given the number of cards they consume and increasing Shinedust costs.
To create a flair, there must be at least two cards remaining after purchasing. With hundreds of cards in the game and varying degrees of rarity, this can be hard to achieve. Plus, many players would rather spend the Shinedust on trading for the cards they want rather than boosting the cards they already have.
How to get Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket
There are several ways for players to get their hands on Shinedust just by playing the game.
The easiest way to get Shinedust is by opening booster packs and getting duplicate cards. Regardless of number of cards already owned, each new duplicate offers a small amount of Shinedust based on rarity to players. Many may have even gained a large amount of the currency without even realizing it, just by opening booster packs.
Without using Pack Hourglasses, players can open up to two packs every day. To open more packs and get access to additional Shinedust in this way, players can look into the Pokemon TCG Pocket premium subscription or buying Poke Gold.
Those that have more time can progress through the AI solo Step-Up battles against premade decks. Each of the four stages (beginner, intermediate, advanced, and expert) offers several first-time completion rewards based on difficulty. These include:
- 1 Shop ticket
- 2-7 Pack Hourglasses
- 50-200 Shinedust
Completing all Step-Up battles for a specific set grants the user 3,000 Shinedust along with a few more pack openings. Coming into battle, players can either craft their own decks or use one of the starter decks provided. While each deck per level also has tasks to complete, these mainly earn a player more shop tickets.
What to do with leftover trade tokens in Pokemon TCG Pocket
For a limited time, Pokemon TCG Pocket players can also trade out their leftover trade tokens for either Shinedust or a limited number of hourglasses. Each trade token buys 10 Shinedust, with the ability to buy in sets of 10, 100, or 1,000.
This special shop is open until July 2026 with unlimited purchases available, so there’s no rush accumulating the currency this way or in making a decision in how exactly to spend any remaining trade tokens.
Other ways to earn Shinedust in Pokemon TCG Pocket are either via one-time events or involve spending other resources. These include:
- Purchasing duplicate trainer cards in the shop (10 Shinedust)
- Exchange one Premium ticket from the Premium Pass (50 Shinedust)
- Unlocking achievement tiers, such as open 100 or 1,000 booster packs (250 Shinedust for all four tiers)
- Completing advanced missions (450 Shinedust total)
- Completing event challenges (Shinedust amount varies)
Ultimately, the easiest way to earn Shinedust is just by playing the game regularly and pulling more cards through pack openings. Players can then trade out for rare cards, or decorate the cards they already have.
