Pokemon GO Trading: Every feature and detail
Everything you need to know about Pokemon GO Trading is here right this minute. This is the guide you might just want to bookmark – we'll be updating as we go. Until and through the point at which Trading is released into the live game, this is the place for all the ins and outs and how-to situations of all sorts. Plus, The People Eater is here to count the cost – because trading ain't free!
The Cost
Each trade costs stardust. The amount of stardust each trade costs depends entirely on how friendly you are with the person you're trading with. A basic trade might cost around 100 stardust. A legendary trade might cost a whole lot more – somewhere right around the 1-million stardust mark.
The difference in cost dependent on friendship level can be extreme. The same trade that might've cost you 1-million stardust with a relative stranger could cost just 40,000 stardust with a very good friend.
Each time a Pokemon is traded, its CP and HP are reduced. There's a range that each Pokemon has that it'll be knocked down into with each trade. Because of this, two players cannot trade a Pokemon back and forth indefinitely – eventually the Pokemon becomes too tiny!
Requirements
A player must be Level 10 to trade. A player must become Friends with another player in order to trade. "Trainers who require parental approval and registration through the Pokémon Trainer Club to play Pokemon GO will be unable to trade with other Trainers in the game." So don't expect to get any Mew/Pikachu trades from baby newbies any time soon.
Players must be within "close physical proximity" to trade. This apparently means within 100 meters – that's 328 feet, or about 1/3 of a standard city block. Basically you'll need to be able to see the person your trading with – unless your trading with someone in a different apartment, which could also be very cool.
The Bonus
Users will get a Pokemon Candy bonus each time they trade. The candy they receive is dependent upon the Pokemon they receive in the trade. The amount of candy you receive depends on the amount of distance between each of the two Pokemon's catch points. That's points in physical space – the GPS location at which each Pokemon was caught. The maximum bonus comes when there was 100km or more distance between said Pokemon when initially caught. That's approximately 62 miles.
Friendship Level
The next generation in Pokemon GO has new ways to connect with players. If a player is a "Good Friend" with you, you can trade all Pokemon except Mythical. Higher levels of friendship include bonuses: like a stardust discount for trades, raid bonuses, and attack bonuses in gym battles.
One can become a Good Friend with another player in essentially a day. One cannot become a Great Friend until one week has passed. An Ultra Friendship cannot be achieved before 30 days are up. And a Best Friendship comes after 90 days.
Good Friend turns to Great Friend. Great Friend turns to Ultra Friend. Ultra Friend has twice as much of a stardust discount for trade, twice as much attack bonus, and twice as much a Raid bonus. The Raid bonus is an extra amount of Premiere Balls with which you can potentially catch a Raid Boss.
A Best Friend has three times the stardust discount, three times the attack bonus, and +4 Premiere Balls at the end of a Raid Battle! It's in everyone's best interest that you become BEST FRIENDS with everyone in the entire game.
Friendship Level Bonuses:
Good Friend: Trading activated (except Mythical)
Great Friend: Stardust discount x1, Attack Bonus x1, +1 Premiere Ball
Ultra Friend: Stardust discount x2, Attack Bonus x2, +2 Premiere Balls
Best Friend: Stardust discount x3, Attack Bonus x3, +4 Premiere Balls
Bonuses do not stack! When you're in a raid battle with 6 friends, you don't get +24 extra Premiere Balls, you get just +4 Premiere Balls. You get only the bonuses from the highest-level friendship you've got in the raid battle – or gym battle.
Increasing Friendship
You can only increase your friendship level with each person once per day. You can increase your friendship level with an unlimited number of people per day (sort of*), but only once per person per day. Levels go from Good to Great to Ultra to BEST. You can increase your Friendship level with a person with the following actions.
• Send a Pokestop Gift
• Send a Pokemon Gym Gift
• Raid Together
• Gym Battle Together
Limitations
We've already discussed the limits of the Pokemon – one Pokemon can only be traded so many times before it becomes entirely useless. Another limitation is in the kinds of Pokemon you can trade, and at what frequency.
Shiny, Legendary, and Unregistered to your Pokedex Pokemon are all treated the same in this regard: They can only be traded once per day. You can only trade these sorts of Pokemon with a Great Friend or a Best Friend.
*You may only have 200 Friends in Pokemon GO. At this moment there is no way to remove a Friend from your Friend list, so choose wisely! Friendships will begin to be made at the end of this week, and Trading will be released "SOON."
