Trade (GO): Difference between revisions

A trade screen in Pokémon GO. The player is offering their Vulpix for their Friend's Marill.

In Pokémon GO, a trade is a process by which a player sends one of their Pokémon to one of their Friends in exchange for one of that Friend's Pokémon. Introduced in June 2018,^[1] it is equivalent to the trade mechanic in the core series games. While trading is not required to complete the Pokédex, as it is in the core series, it is one of the methods that allows players to add new registrations to their Pokédex without catching Pokémon directly. (The other method is through hatching Eggs.)

Trading Pokémon costs both players a certain amount of Stardust. Both players must also meet the following requirements to trade:

• The players must have reached Trainer level 10.
• The players must be Friends.
• The players must be within 40 kilometers (km) of each other.

Some trades have further requirements that must be met, and some Pokémon cannot be traded. Additionally, each player can make at most 100 trades per day.

Pokémon restrictions

Mew, like most other Mythical Pokémon, cannot be traded in Pokémon GO

The following Pokémon are ineligible for trades:

• Pokémon marked as favorites
• Current Buddy Pokémon
  • Past Buddy Pokémon can be traded, but the player will receive a warning that all progress made in Buddy Adventure will be reset upon trade
• Shadow Pokémon
• Pokémon currently defending a Gym
• Pokémon not at full HP
• Pokémon that have already been traded
• Mythical Pokémon (except Meltan and Melmetal)

Stardust costs

Each costume available for Pikachu counts as a separate Pokédex entry for trading.

The Stardust costs for trading vary based on the Pokémon being traded and the friendship level of the players trading. The minimum trade cost is 100, and the maximum trade cost is 1,000,000.

If both players have a given Pokémon registered in their Pokédexes, a trade with that Pokémon will cost less Stardust than if only one player had that Pokémon registered. (In the latter case, both players pay this higher Stardust cost.) When determining the Stardust cost of a trade, each different form available for a given Pokémon (including costumes and Shiny Pokémon) counts as a separate Pokédex registration. For example, a player trading for a costumed Pikachu will pay more Stardust for the trade if they do not have that specific costume registered for Pikachu in their Pokédex — even if they have other costumed Pikachu.

While Players who are Friends can make some kinds of trades, players must be at least Good Friends to make any valid trade. Players who are Great Friends or better receive discounts on the Stardust costs of most trades they make, with better discounts at increasing friendship levels.

Special Trades

Most Pokémon can be traded through regular trades, which, apart from their Stardust cost, have no limits. However, certain Pokémon can only be traded via Special Trades, which have the following limits:

• Special Trades cost additional Stardust (compared to the equivalent regular trade).
  • The Stardust Cost is increased further for Pokémon not already in one player's Pokédex.
• Only Good Friends or better can trade Pokémon via Special Trade.
• Except during certain events, a player can only make one Special Trade per day.

Special Trades involve the following Pokémon:^[2]

• Pokémon not already in one player's Pokédex
  • Different forms (e.g. different Unown letters), costumes, and Shiny Pokémon count as separate Pokédex entries.
• Legendary Pokémon
• Meltan and Melmetal (despite being Mythical)
• Shiny Pokémon
• Purified Pokémon

Specific costs

The Stardust costs for all trades are listed below. Different costs apply to trades that involve Pokémon that are registered in the Pokédex and those that are not.

Type of trade		Stardust requirement
		Friend	Good Friend	Great Friend	Ultra Friend	Best Friend
Regular trade (registered)		100	100	100	100	100
Special Trades (registered)	Legendary Pokémon	Cannot trade	20,000	16,000	1,600	800
	Meltan & Melmetal
	Shiny Pokémon
	Purified Pokémon
Special Trades (not registered)	Only not registered	20,000	20,000	16,000	1,600	800
	Legendary Pokémon	Cannot trade	1,000,000	800,000	80,000	40,000
	Meltan & Melmetal
	Shiny Pokémon*
	Purified Pokémon

Candy rewards

With each trade, players also receive Candy for the Pokémon that was traded away. Players earn more Candy as the distance between the traded Pokémon's catch locations increases. Trading also has a chance of yielding one Candy XL, which also increases with distance.

Distance		%
<10 km	1	10%
≥10 km and <100 km	2	25%
≥100 km	3	100%

IV reroll

The IVs of the traded Pokémon are randomly regenerated during the trade. If trading to a player with a lower Trainer level, the traded Pokémon's Power Up level will decrease to the player's limit (Trainer level + 2 or 5). A traded Pokémon's Power Up levels will also be rounded down, so a Pokémon that's been powered up to level 20.5 will be lowered to level 20 when traded. The minimum possible IVs for traded Pokémon slightly increase with Friendship level.

• Good Friends are guaranteed at least 1 IV for each stat
• Great Friends are guaranteed at least 2 IVs for each stat
• Ultra Friends are guaranteed at least 3 IVs for each stat
• Best Friends are guaranteed at least 5 IVs for each stat
  • Lucky Friends are guaranteed at least 12 IVs for each stat

Lucky Pokémon

Lucky Chansey

During a trade, there is a small chance that both traded Pokémon will become Lucky Pokémon. Lucky Pokémon guaranteed at least 12* IVs in each stat and require half the amount of Stardust to Power Up. A Lucky Pokémon is indicated by a shimmery effect in the Pokémon Box and the Pokémon's profile. Like with Shiny Pokémon, the Pokédex will record the number of Lucky Pokémon the player has obtained for that species.

The probability of obtaining a Lucky Pokémon depends on how long the Trainer has had that Pokémon in storage at the time of the trade, and it is based on the older of the two Pokémon traded. The following is the observed probability of traded Pokémon becoming Lucky:^[3]

• 5% for Pokémon obtained less than 1 year ago
• 10% for Pokémon obtained between 1 and 2 years ago
• 25% for Pokémon obtained more than 2 years ago
• 75% for Pokémon obtained between July to August 2016
  • Since September 5, 2018, these Pokémon are guaranteed to be Lucky, provided that at least one of the players has not already accumulated ten Lucky Pokémon

Since April 2019, players who are Best Friends have a chance of becoming Lucky Friends, which guarantees the next trade to result in Lucky Pokémon. This can possibly be triggered by performing a task that may increase Friendship level, such as opening a Gift or trading a Pokémon, on the first interaction of the day. After completing a trade with a Lucky Friend, the players will return to Best Friend status.

Trade Evolution

Trade Evolution was introduced on January 10, 2020.^[4] Trading certain Pokémon that evolve through trading in the core series allows them to evolve without spending Candy. Unlike in the core series, which requires Pokémon to be at a specific evolutionary stage to evolve via trade, Pokémon in Pokémon GO become eligible for trade Evolution if they were traded at any evolutionary stage prior to their trade Evolution stage. For example, trading a Gastly makes it eligible to later evolve into Gengar at no Candy cost.

Eligible Pokémon

All trade Evolution Pokémon in Pokémon GO are also Pokémon that evolve through trading in the core series. However, only a subset of those Pokémon can currently trade evolve in Pokémon GO. Notably, no Pokémon that evolve by trading with a held item in the core series can trade evolve in Pokémon GO. (These Pokémon instead require Evolution items in addition to Candy to evolve.)

The following Pokémon are currently eligible for trade Evolution:

The Candy cost listed applies if the Pokémon has not been traded.

Previous evolution		Trade evolution			Later evolution
Abra	25 →	Kadabra	100 or →	Alakazam	Alakazam does not evolve
Machop	25 →	Machoke	100 or →	Machamp	Machamp does not evolve
Geodude	25 →	Graveler	100 or →	Golem	Golem does not evolve
Geodude Alolan Form	25 →	Graveler Alolan Form	100 or →	Golem Alolan Form	Golem does not evolve
Gastly	25 →	Haunter	100 or →	Gengar	Gengar does not evolve
Roggenrola	50 →	Boldore	200 or →	Gigalith	Gigalith does not evolve
Timburr	50 →	Gurdurr	200 or →	Conkeldurr	Conkeldurr does not evolve
Karrablast is the lowest in its line		Karrablast	200 or →	Escavalier	Escavalier does not evolve
Shelmet is the lowest in its line		Shelmet	200 or →	Accelgor	Accelgor does not evolve
Phantump is the lowest in its line		Phantump	200 or →	Trevenant	Trevenant does not evolve
Pumpkaboo is the lowest in its line		Pumpkaboo	200 or →	Gourgeist	Gourgeist does not evolve

References