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How to Trade Pokemon Effectively

Jessica January 27, 2026
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Trading is one of Pokemon GO’s most underutilized features, yet it offers incredible benefits when done strategically. Most players treat trading as a casual afterthought, but understanding the mechanics and optimizing your trades can save you millions of Stardust, complete your Pokedex faster, and even help you obtain better Pokemon. Here’s how to trade like a pro.

Understanding Trading Basics

Before diving into advanced strategies, you need to understand how Pokemon GO trading actually works.

Basic trading requirements:

  • Both players must be within 100 meters of each other (no remote trading)
  • Both players must be at least level 10
  • Each player can make up to 100 trades per day
  • Trading costs Stardust (amount varies based on Pokemon and friendship level)
  • Traded Pokemon cannot be traded again (one trade per Pokemon lifetime)

What changes when you trade:

  • IVs (Individual Values) completely reroll with a minimum floor based on friendship level
  • Pokemon level stays the same
  • Movesets remain unchanged
  • Shiny and Lucky status are visible before confirming the trade
  • CP will change due to IV reroll

Understanding that IVs reroll is crucial—this means every trade is essentially gambling for better stats, with friendship level determining your minimum guaranteed IV floor.

Friendship Levels: The Key to Smart Trading

Your friendship level with a trading partner dramatically affects both the Stardust cost and the IV floor of traded Pokemon.

Friendship level benefits:

  • Good Friend: IV floor 1/1/1, normal Stardust costs
  • Great Friend: IV floor 2/2/2, reduced Stardust costs
  • Ultra Friend: IV floor 3/3/3, significantly reduced Stardust costs
  • Best Friend: IV floor 5/5/5, maximum Stardust discount

Stardust cost examples:

A Legendary or Shiny Pokemon trade costs:

  • Good Friend: 1,000,000 Stardust
  • Great Friend: 800,000 Stardust
  • Ultra Friend: 80,000 Stardust
  • Best Friend: 40,000 Stardust

The strategy:

Never make expensive trades (Legendaries, Shinies, new Pokedex entries) until you reach at least Ultra Friend status. The cost difference is astronomical. Wait the 30 days to reach Ultra Friend and save yourself 920,000 Stardust per trade.

For regular Pokemon trades, even Great Friend status dramatically reduces costs, making mass trading sessions far more affordable.

Lucky Pokemon: Trading’s Best Feature

Lucky Pokemon are special variants obtained through trading that cost 50% less Stardust to power up and have a guaranteed minimum IV floor of 12/12/12 (80%).

How to get Lucky Pokemon:

  • Random chance on any trade (approximately 5% base rate)
  • Guaranteed Lucky if the Pokemon was caught in July-August 2016 and the receiver has fewer than 10 Lucky Pokemon
  • Higher chance if Pokemon was caught longer ago (older = better odds)
  • Both Pokemon in the trade can become Lucky simultaneously

Why Lucky Pokemon matter:

Powering up Pokemon to level 40-50 costs millions of Stardust normally. Lucky Pokemon cut this in half, making them ideal for:

  • Raid attackers you’ll max out
  • PvP Master League Pokemon
  • Your favorite Pokemon you want to power up fully
  • Expensive Legendaries requiring Rare Candy

Lucky trading strategy:

Save high-IV Legendaries and meta-relevant Pokemon from 2016-2019 for Lucky trades. When you trade these older Pokemon with Best Friends, you have excellent odds of both Pokemon becoming Lucky with high IVs (minimum 12/12/12, often much higher with the Best Friend 5/5/5 floor).

Some serious players even look at pogo accounts for sale that have old 2016 Pokemon specifically to use them for guaranteed Lucky trades, though this violates terms of service and risks bans. The legitimate approach is simply holding onto your oldest Pokemon and trading them strategically.

Strategic Trading for Pokedex Completion

Trading is the fastest way to complete your Pokedex, especially for regional exclusives and rare spawns you might never encounter.

Regional Pokemon trading:

Pokemon like Kangaskhan (Australia), Mr. Mime (Europe), Tauros (North America), and Heracross (South America) only spawn in specific regions. Trading is the only realistic way to obtain them all without traveling internationally.

Strategy for regionals:

  • Connect with travelers or international players in your local community
  • Attend Pokemon GO events where players from different countries gather
  • Join online communities to coordinate trades when visiting new places
  • Save multiple copies of your regional exclusive to trade with visitors

New Pokedex entry costs:

Be aware that trading for a Pokemon you don’t have costs significantly more Stardust:

  • Standard new entry: 20,000 Stardust (at Good Friend)
  • Legendary/Shiny new entry: 1,000,000 Stardust (at Good Friend)
  • At Best Friend: 800 Stardust for standard, 40,000 for special

Smart Pokedex strategy:

Build your friendship to Best Friend status with players who have the Pokemon you need. Then do all your new Pokedex trades in one session, saving yourself millions of Stardust compared to trading at lower friendship levels.

Rerolling for Better IVs

Since IVs reroll during trades, you can strategically trade to improve Pokemon stats, though it’s always gambling.

How IV rerolling works:

When you trade, both Pokemon’s IVs completely randomize within the floor constraints:

  • Best Friend floor: Each stat minimum 5/15 (33%)
  • Perfect trade outcome: 15/15/15 (100%)
  • Your odds of improvement depend on the original IV and friendship level

When to trade for better IVs:

  • You caught a meta-relevant Legendary with terrible IVs (10/10/10 or worse)
  • You have a rare Pokemon with low IVs and a Best Friend willing to trade back
  • You have duplicate Legendaries and want to gamble for better versions

The mirror trade strategy:

Both players trade the same species to each other. For example, both players trade their low-IV Mewtwos to each other. Both Pokemon reroll, giving each player a chance at better IVs. If either gets worse, you at least got a Lucky chance.

Important caveat:

You cannot trade Pokemon back to their original owner. Once you trade away that low-IV Mewtwo, you’ll get a different one back, but you can never get your original Mewtwo back. Make peace with this before trading anything rare.

PvP Trading Strategy

For PvP leagues, especially Great League and Ultra League, you often want LOW attack IVs and HIGH defense/HP IVs to maximize stat product under the CP cap.

Why this matters:

A 0/15/15 Medicham performs better in Great League than a 15/15/15 Medicham because it can reach a higher level while staying under 1500 CP, resulting in higher total stats.

Trading for PvP IVs:

Since trades can lower IVs (even down to 5/5/5 at Best Friend), trading is excellent for obtaining low-attack, high-bulk IV spreads ideal for PvP.

The PvP trading method:

  1. Catch multiple copies of PvP-relevant species (Medicham, Azumarill, Bastiodon, etc.)
  2. Trade them with Best Friends (minimum 5/5/5 floor)
  3. Check IVs after trading for optimal PvP spreads
  4. Keep the best PvP IV versions, trade away the rest

This method lets you “farm” for optimal PvP IVs without hoping for wild spawns with perfect PvP stats, which are extremely rare.

Mass Trading Sessions

Once you reach Best Friend status with regular trading partners, mass trading sessions become incredibly efficient.

Benefits of mass trading:

  • Quickly burn through duplicate Pokemon taking up storage
  • Generate Lucky Pokemon for your collection
  • Farm for better IVs on multiple Pokemon
  • Earn distance-based medals (Pilot medal for trading Pokemon caught far apart)
  • Receive candy for every trade

Setting up efficient trading sessions:

  1. Both players pre-select 20-30 Pokemon to trade
  2. Use the search function to quickly find specific Pokemon
  3. Trade duplicates, event Pokemon, or anything you’re clearing from storage
  4. Focus on older Pokemon (2016-2019) for higher Lucky chances
  5. Complete all 100 daily trades if both players have the time and Pokemon

Time investment:

100 trades takes approximately 30-40 minutes with an efficient partner. The rewards in Lucky Pokemon, candy, and storage space make it worthwhile for serious players.

Special Trade Limits

Pokemon GO designates certain Pokemon as “Special Trades” which have higher Stardust costs and are limited to one per day.

What counts as a Special Trade:

  • Legendary Pokemon
  • Shiny Pokemon
  • Pokemon not in your Pokedex yet

You can only do ONE Special Trade per day per player pair.

Strategic implications:

Carefully plan your one daily Special Trade. Don’t waste it on a low-value Shiny when you could be trading Legendaries or rare Shinies. Coordinate with your trading partner about which Special Trade provides the most value each day.

Workaround for multiple Special Trades:

You can do one Special Trade with Player A, then one Special Trade with Player B on the same day. The limit is per trading partner, not global. If you have multiple Best Friends available, you can do several Special Trades daily by rotating partners.

Trading Etiquette and Fair Exchanges

Good trading relationships require fairness and respect.

Fair trade guidelines:

  • Don’t expect Legendaries for common Pokemon unless specifically discussed
  • Match trade value: Legendary for Legendary, Shiny for Shiny, Regional for Regional
  • Respect your partner’s Stardust—don’t demand expensive trades unless you’re offering equal value
  • Communicate clearly about IV expectations and Lucky chances
  • Follow through on promised trades

Building long-term trading partnerships:

Players with reliable, fair trading partners gain enormous advantages. They can:

  • Complete Pokedex faster through mutual assistance
  • Trade for optimal PvP IVs regularly
  • Generate Lucky Pokemon consistently
  • Access Special Trades daily

Treat your trading partners well, and they’ll be there for the long haul.

Common Trading Mistakes to Avoid

What not to do:

  • Trading valuable Pokemon before Best Friend status: The Stardust savings are massive at Best Friend. Be patient.
  • Expecting perfect IVs from trades: IVs reroll randomly. Never trade away a good IV Pokemon expecting better unless you’re okay with worse outcomes.
  • Ignoring Lucky Pokemon potential: Older Pokemon have better Lucky odds. Don’t transfer 2016-2019 Pokemon without considering their Lucky trade value.
  • Wasting Special Trades on low-value Pokemon: You only get one per day per partner. Make it count.
  • Not checking IVs before trading away: That “bad IV” Legendary might be perfect for PvP after trading due to low attack stats.

Quick Trading Checklist

Before any trade, ask yourself:

1. Is this a Special Trade? (Save it for high value)

2. What friendship level are we? (Wait for Best Friend if expensive)

3. Is this Pokemon old? (Better Lucky chances)

4. Do I want this for PvP? (Consider trading for lower attack IVs)

5. Am I okay with this Pokemon’s IVs getting worse? (Rerolls are random)

6. Is this fair for both parties? (Maintain good trading relationships)

Conclusion: Trading Is About Strategy, Not Luck

Effective Pokemon GO trading isn’t about hoping for good RNG—it’s about understanding mechanics and making strategic decisions:

  • Build friendships to Best Friend status before expensive trades (save millions of Stardust)
  • Save old Pokemon for Lucky trades (50% power-up discount is massive)
  • Use trading to complete your Pokedex (especially regionals and rares)
  • Trade for PvP-optimal IV spreads (low attack, high bulk)
  • Maintain fair trading relationships (long-term partners are invaluable)

Trading transforms from a casual feature into a powerful tool when you apply these strategies. The difference between random trading and strategic trading is the difference between wasting Stardust and building an optimal collection efficiently.

Now find some Best Friends, coordinate your Special Trades, and start trading your way to a complete Pokedex and Lucky collection!