Trading isn’t necessary in Pokémon Go but it can definitely help!

Trading is a pretty important aspect of Pokémon, even being absolutely necessary to complete your Pokédex in the core games. Some Pokémon can't even be evolved without Trading. Although Trading isn't quite as crucial in Pokémon Go, it does have some pretty significant benefits. One of those benefits is Trade Evolution.

What is Trade Evolution?

In the core games, several species of Pokémon require Trading to evolve at all. You could work a Kadabra all the way to level 99, and it would still never Evolve, but the moment you Traded it, it would Evolve into an Alakazam. Pokémon Go has featured some of the species which Evolve by Trading since day one, long before Trading was even allowed in the game. These Pokémon could be Evolved in the same manner as any other Pokémon in Go: lots of Candies.

Now that Pokémon Go has introduced Trade Evolution, these Pokémon can still be evolved with Candies, but if you Trade them first, they can be evolved for free. That means a whole lot more Candies you can use to power up these Pokémon. Even better, Trade Evolution is retroactive, so any Pokémon eligible for Trade Evolution that you Traded for in the past can now be Evolved for free.

What Pokémon benefit from Trade Evolution?

There are currently eight species of Pokémon who benefit from Trade Evolution. Four are from Gen I, while the other four are new Pokémon from Gen V.

• Kadabra
• Machoke
• Graveler
• Haunter
• Boldore
• Gurdurr
• Karrablast
• Shelmet

While Trading is necessary to Evolve some other species of Pokémon in the core games, such as Dusclops, most require holding an Item while being Traded. There are only two more Pokémon who Evolve by the mere act of being Traded (Pumpkaboo and Phantump), and they're both from Gen VI, which hasn't been introduced to Pokémon Go yet, so it is unlikely that more Pokémon will be added to this list before Gen VI is introduced.

How do I Trade in Pokémon Go anyway?

Although we have a more indepth guide on Trading, here are the basics:

1. Become "Friends" with the person you want to Trade with. (Ask for their Trainer Code and use it to send them a Friend request. Once they accept, you're friends.)
2. Meet up with the Friend you want to Trade with. (You have to be within 100 meters of each other for trading to become available.)
3. Select the Pokémon you want to Trade and have your Friend select the Pokémon they want to Trade for it.
4. Review the Trade Details and make sure you're happy with them, including the CP and HP ranges. (IV is re-rolled when you Trade, so it's better to trade low IV Pokémon in hopes of improving them, and never Trade a 100% Pokémon because you'll almost certainly lose those stats.)
5. Tap Next.
6. Review the Trade one last time.
7. Tap Confirm.

And there you have it. You and your Friend just Traded a Pokémon. If it's a Pokémon who benefits from Trade Evolution, you can now Evolve it for free. But remember, Pokémon can only be Traded once so you cannot Evolve a Pokémon for your Friend and then Trade it back!

Questions about Trade Evolution?

Do you still have questions about Trade Evolution in Pokémon Go? Any thoughts on other mechanics from the core Pokémon games you'd like to see introduced? Drop us a comment below, and be sure to check out our many Pokémon Go guides, as well as our complete Pokédex to up your game!