A popular feature in Pokémon GO is trading monsters with other players. Our MeinMMO author Franzi Korittke trades 100 monsters every day and explains why it can also be worthwhile for you.
What is it about? In Pokémon GO, trainers have the opportunity to trade up to 100 Pokémon daily with their friends. Through trading, players can complete their Pokédex.
This way, they can get their hands on certain monsters that they haven’t caught yet, but their friend has. There is also the chance to get a strong specimen.
However, I see even more advantages in regular trading and thus utilize this limit nearly every day. Therefore, I will explain why I do this and why it can also be worthwhile for you.
3 reasons why I trade 100 monsters daily
1. Lucky Pokémon
Primarily, I started trading so many Pokémon to increase my chances of getting a Lucky Pokémon. Although I have many “Best Friends” in the game, with whom I have now also reached the Lucky Friends status, most live too far away or I do not know them personally.
However, you don’t necessarily have to wait for the Lucky Friends status for a lucky trade, as you can also hope for a Lucky Pokémon during a normal trade. The probability of a lucky trade is usually about 5%, which means roughly every 20th trade.
Especially monsters that are regularly found in the wild or spawn more frequently during an event are ideal for trading on a large scale. It is best to catch them in appropriate quantities beforehand and then trade a larger number at once to increase your chances.
This way, you will have numerous new entries in your Lucky Pokédex and can also enjoy one or another strong specimen.
You can recognize the monsters by their golden background. The special thing about them is that they are usually quite strong, as the IV of Lucky Pokémon is at least 80%. In addition, the Stardust costs you need to level them up are halved.
2. Farming Candy
Another reason to utilize daily trading actions is the current candy bonus in the Season of Origins. Until February 28, you will receive an additional “regular” candy and a guaranteed XL candy with each trade.
The latter is usually obtained only by trading Pokémon that were caught more than 100 km apart. In a smaller distance, an XL candy is random.
For this reason, trading monsters with strong evolutions, such as Machop or Swablu, is currently worthwhile. Because regardless of the distance the monsters were caught, you are guaranteed one XL candy per trade.
With the amount of daily trades, several candies accumulate. For me, it is an absolute must to take advantage of this bonus.
But even outside of the current Season bonus, you can farm candies effectively this way. The number of candies also depends on how far apart the monsters were caught. You can usually expect the following candies:
| Distance | Number of guaranteed candies |
| 0 – 10 km | 1 candy |
| 10 – 100 km | 2 candies |
| from 100 km | 3 candies + 1 XL candy (from Level 40) |
For all those who are still missing a few candies to level up or evolve a strong specimen, this is therefore an easily earned opportunity to obtain the corresponding candies. In addition, the monsters received through trading can also be sent to Professor Willow afterward, which brings additional candies.
3. Collecting Medals
But not only the monsters themselves and the associated candies are reasons why frequent trading is worthwhile. Achieving as many Platinum Medals as possible is also part of it.
Some of them revolve around trading, such as Gentleman and Pilot. For these, you need to trade 2,500 Pokémon for the Platinum Medal or achieve a total distance of 10,000,000 km during trading. For this reason, daily trading actions can get you quite far ahead.
But there are also other inconspicuous medals for which your trading actions can be incredibly helpful. These include the two medals Angler and Teenager, which are currently causing a lot of frustration in the community. For these, you will need to catch 1,000 large Magikarp or tiny Rattata for the Platinum Medal. For the Golden, it’s 300.
This can be quite a challenge, which is why it makes sense to trade for these specific specimens. Because even every traded large Magikarp and tiny Rattata will count towards your medal, even if you haven’t caught them yourself.
Are there disadvantages to trading so many Pokémon?
The time investment is significant: To trade so many Pokémon daily, you naturally first have to catch them. This takes time accordingly. But trading itself also requires a time investment. My husband and I need about an hour to trade 100 Pokémon. That is quite a while, which is why we often do this while watching movies in the evening.
An additional point of criticism is the high Stardust cost associated with daily trading. Depending on what type of Pokémon it is, various Stardust costs will apply.
How much Stardust does it cost? Usually, I only trade monsters that we both already have in such large quantities. Thus, the cost amounts to 100 Stardust per trade. This corresponds to the amount you get at a minimum when catching a Pokémon.
By catching one of the 22 Pokémon with Stardust bonus or a Pokémon with weather boost, this balances out to some extent and does not seem so significant from my point of view.
Tips for trading Pokémon
For trainers who are curious and want to start trading up to 100 Pokémon daily, I have compiled a few tips below:
- Check which Pokémon you are still missing as a strong specimen or Lucky Pokémon and trade those specifically.
- Gather the corresponding monsters beforehand in a larger quantity so that you can trade several in a row. If you hope for a Lucky Pokémon, I recommend saving at least 30 pieces.
- Use events to gather new Pokémon on a larger scale.
- During the Season of Origins, it may be worthwhile, depending on the Pokémon, not to send them but to trade them so you get more candies.
- It’s best to sort your monsters in advance, so you don’t have to evaluate and search during the trading action. You can also use your tag feature in the game. By entering the specific name of the respective tag, e.g., “Trading”, you can then search for it specifically in the trading interface.
How often do you trade Pokémon? Do you also take advantage of these opportunities for Lucky Pokémon, stronger specimens, and more XL candies, or is that not really your thing? Feel free to share your opinion with us here on MeinMMO in the comments and discuss it with other trainers.
By the way, you can also trade Pokémon GO monsters to develop them for free afterward. We have summed up all the trade evolutions in the game.
