Short answer: eight Pokémon get a 0-candy evolution discount once you receive them in a trade — Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter (Gen 1), plus Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast and Shelmet (added later from Unova). The discount only applies to the Pokémon you receive, not the one you send, and it stacks with a Lucky trade. The catch: any traded Pokémon also arrives with its power-up level capped, usually at your Trainer level +2.
In the main Pokémon games, a handful of Pokémon only evolve by being traded — Niantic kept that quirk in Pokémon GO, but turned it into a candy discount instead of an evolve-on-trade trigger. Here's the full list and what else changes when a Pokémon crosses hands.
The full list
| Received Pokémon | Evolves into | Normal candy cost |
|---|---|---|
| Kadabra | Alakazam | 100 |
| Machoke | Machamp | 100 |
| Graveler | Golem | 100 |
| Haunter | Gengar | 100 |
| Boldore | Gigalith | 100 |
| Gurdurr | Conkeldurr | 100 |
| Karrablast | Escavalier | 50 |
| Shelmet | Accelgor | 50 |
Receive any of these eight and the evolve button shows 0 candy instead of the usual cost — you still need to tap Evolve yourself, it doesn't happen automatically on the trade screen.
The discount only goes one way
The free evolution applies to whichever one of these eight Pokémon lands in your bag after the trade completes. If you send your partner a Machoke and receive their Growlithe back, nothing changes on your end — their Machoke gets the discount, not your Growlithe. Plan trades around this: agree in advance who's sending the eligible Pokémon.
It stacks with candy XL and Lucky trades
The 0-candy discount doesn't touch Candy XL requirements at higher levels, so budget for that separately. It does stack with a Lucky trade — a traded Kadabra that happens to come out Lucky still evolves for free, on top of its lower Stardust power-up cost.
The other side of every trade: the power-up cap
Every traded Pokémon — not just the eight above — arrives with a power-up ceiling based on the receiving trainer's level, not the sender's:
- +2 levels above your Trainer level, if the Pokémon wasn't weather-boosted when caught.
- +5 levels above your Trainer level, if it was weather-boosted.
If the Pokémon's natural level is higher than that cap, its CP gets scaled down to fit before you receive it — you'll see the possible CP/HP range on the trade confirmation screen before you accept. This is also why a maxed-out Pokémon from a much higher-level friend can arrive noticeably weaker than it looked on their end; it isn't a bug.
See trading basics for the full Stardust cost table and IV re-roll rules that apply on top of this.
FAQ
Do I need to be Best Friends to get the discount? No — the trade-evolution discount applies at any friendship level. Friendship level only changes the Stardust cost of the trade itself.
Can I trade for a Kadabra, evolve it, then trade the Alakazam again? No — each Pokémon can only be traded once, and an already-traded Pokémon can't be traded again.
Does this work with Community Day trade windows? Yes — Community Day trading crowds are one of the easiest places to find a partner holding one of these eight, since so many trainers are trading at once.
Where do I find someone to trade with if I don't know any local players? Trading itself needs you within about 100 m of your friend, so it doesn't fix a small local scene — but grabbing a fresh code still helps: more friends means more gifts, more postcards, and a bigger pool of people to arrange a trade with next time you're both online. Codes are sorted by country too, handy if you're chasing a specific Vivillon pattern instead.