Pokemon TCG Pocket cracking down on inappropriate usernames

Pokemon TCG Pocket players have been notified about a crackdown on inappropriate usernames, potentially leading to suspensions for offending players.

The mainline Pokemon games have had a name/word filter in place for a long time, in order to prevent slurs or swear words being used as custom names. Unfortunately, people still find a way around these, usually using substitute letters, such as @ for a.

The incredible popularity of Pokemon Pocket has led to the usual injection of players who use offensive player names. This has prompted a response from the developers, via a message sent to all users, which has been posted on the PTCGP Reddit page.

Looks like the devs have taken the steps to deal with of some of those inappropriate usernames that went viral recently
byu/Thereisonlyzero inPTCGP

This update was well overdue, as users in the thread discussed some of the names they encountered while playing Pocket, which we won’t repost here.

The question now is how the system will be monitored and what the severity of the consequences will be. The ability to report players would be a logical move and would make it easier to weed out people trying to bypass any word filter.

It’s also unclear if players can be banned over this issue. The warning post mentions “take other action” but never outright says that bans will be implemented, even if it’s implied.

The threat of a ban would have hopefully trimmed most of the troublemakers. This wouldn’t stop players from creating burner accounts and being swiftly banned, but regular players aren’t going to risk losing their rare Pokemon card draws over a silly name.

Considering the mass appeal of the Pokemon fanbase and the skyrocketing popularity of Pocket, it’s surprising that stricter measures weren’t put in place from the start, especially as similar issues are present in the mainline titles. That being said, it’s good to see the developers acknowledging the issue and taking action.