Pokémon Go Trading Feature Hits High Level Players

Update: Players of all levels are now reportedly able to use the friend / trading feature.

Pokémon Go is finally rolling out the much anticipated friends and trading feature to players who have managed to reach level 40. Trading, a feature of every Pokémon game since the first, has been asked for by players for a very long time, and developer Niantic has finally delivered on one of the core gameplay mechanics of the franchise.

The initial update has only granted the trading ability to players who have reached level 40, though Niantic is working on rolling out the features to the greater population in time.

The game does seem to be taking a hit from the new stress trading has added to the servers, which is the likely reason Niantic is being cautious with the amount of players having access to the new feature, in order to avoid any kind of server outage.

The way in which players can trade is also a little different than the standard Pokémon games, with both players required to pay a Stardust fee to facilitate the transfer. Trades that involve Pokémon that already reside in the players Pokédex will only require a small amount of Stardust, while trades involving rare or region specific Pokémon will require a lot more.

As players level up their friendship, the trading mechanic does become more forgiving, making it easier to trade with players you’ve been linked to for a while. Traded Pokémon are also set to undergo some changes during the process, as outlined on their developer insights blog post, here. “Another notable aspect of trading in Pokémon GO is that the stats of the Pokémon will change randomly within a range when traded. Before you complete a trade, you’ll see the range of CP and HP that the Pokémon could potentially have when the trade is complete. There’s a thoughtful calculation to deciding that range: We first look at your friend’s Trainer level to confirm the Pokémon is not powered up past what would ordinarily be obtainable for someone at that level. Next, we assign minimum stat values based on your Friendship level, and that base increases the higher that level is. In other words, as your Friendship level increases with a friend, you’ll have a better chance of receiving a strong Pokémon when trading. A Pokémon that may not be great in battle for you may excel in battle once traded to one of your friends! In order to bar some Trainers from continually re-rolling a Pokémon’s stats through trade, however, all Pokémon cannot be traded again. This feature incentivizes trading without giving a significant advantage to one Trainer over another.”

For more Pokémon Go news, check out our breakdown of the Pokémon Go Global Challenge, here.