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How to Trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO
It’s finally here. In this guide we’ll officially show you how to trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO. We also explain how to use the trading feature, any limits, and how much it costs to make a trade.
Nearly two years after its release, developer Niantic recently added friends, gift gifting, trading and more. You probably quit playing Pokémon GO a while ago, but you’ll want to download it again to catch shiny Pokémon every month on community days, or to trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO.
If you’re missing a few Legendary monsters or need a regional to round out your Pokédex, make a few trades and get them. That said, it’s not as simple or as cheap as it sounds. Get ready to make friends and spend lots of stardust.
When Can You Trade in Pokémon GO?
Before we explain how to trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO we want to clear up some confusion. When this feature first came out Niantic only let max level 40 players use the new friends, social, and trading features. That’s no longer the case.
As of writing (June 25th, 2018), any player Level 10 or higher can trade a Pokémon, add friends, and use all these new features. Everyone can enjoy the social stuff, but you must be a level 10 to make trades. After that, you can add friends, send/receive gifts and start acquiring new monsters. Here’s more information from SilphRoad.
How to Trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO
First off, you’ll need friends. Every player now has a unique code they can share with real friends or pokefriends, and they’ll show up in the new “Friends” tab. Tap on your trainer icon (bottom left) and swipe to the right to use this new tab. Also, trading only works if you’re within 100 meters of your friend. There’s no location limit on gifts, but for trading, you have to be physically near the person. This is to prevent cheating and spoofers from making trades.
Basically, you add a friend, find them in your friend’s list, and tap on “trade” near the bottom right. Here are the step-by-step instructions.
Tap “Add Friend” and become friends, then hit “Trade” to get started
- Become “Friends” with someone to prepare the trade (Give them your Trainer code, or ask for theirs) Tap your Trainer avatar on the bottom left, swipe to friends tab, select “Add Friend”
- Meet up and be within 100 meters of each other to trade
- Select your friend from your list and tap on “Trade” near the bottom right
- Once your buddy is available for trading, choose the Pokémon you want to trade
- Have your friend select the Pokémon they want to give you
- Read the “Trade Details” before you continue (HP, CP, and IV will change) Do not trade a 100% Pokémon
- Tap Next, then Confirm to officially trade a Pokémon in Pokémon GO.
When you trade the Pokémon CP, HP, IV, and stats all change
Pokémon GO Trading Cost, Stardust & More Details
Our instructions above are just the basic steps to trading a Pokémon, but there’s a lot more to it. You can only trade special monsters like a Shiny or Legendary once per day, and those special trades are extremely expensive and cost nearly 1,000,000 dust. Yes, that’s 1 million stardust, which most players simply don’t have. However, that’s likely to discourage people who spoof, use bots, or cheat and buy/sell/trade accounts. Regular trades are cheap, easy, and fun.
Read: 17 Common Pokemon GO Problems & How to Fix Them
Additionally, once you become “good friends” with someone on your list by raiding with them, sending each other a lot of gifts, or being friends for 90 days, trades become more affordable. Trading a Legendary monster with a good friend only costs 40,000 Stardust, instead of 1 million.
Trades can get expensive, but you get XP and Candy for each trade
Both people making the trade have to pay the same amount of Stardust, so do a shiny for a shiny. Then, as we mentioned earlier, the stats change. Don’t trade a 100% thinking it’ll be 100% on the other end, it won’t.
In closing, once you trade a Pokemon that specific monster cannot be traded again. It’s yours to keep forever. You can trade for another of the same monster, but you can’t trade one you already traded for. We’re expecting some of this to change and evolve as time goes on. This feature is brand new and Niantic is likely still working out the kinks. Not to mention during community days we’re hoping they’ll drop the 1 Million limit (or friend limit) so we can trade easier without spending months worth of stardust.
For more details check out the official Niantic Pokémon GO trading post. Or, you’ll find tons of info in this SilphRoad Reddit megathread.
