Short answer: trading a Pokémon with a friend gives zero Trainer XP for the trade itself. Unlike catching, hatching, evolving or raiding, a trade doesn't appear on Pokémon GO's XP chart at all. The only XP tied to trades comes from three one-time level-up tasks (10 trades 300 km apart at level 77, 50 Lucky trades at level 79), each paid once, not per trade.
Trainer school
How much Trainer XP do you get for trading a Pokémon with a friend?
It's an easy thing to assume — trading feels like a big event, and friendship level-ups (which trading helps you reach) pay huge XP. But the trade transaction itself is XP-neutral. Here's what actually happens, and where the confusion comes from.
Trading isn't on the XP chart
Pokémon GO's full list of direct XP sources doesn't include trading anywhere:
| XP | Action |
|---|---|
| 1,000 | Hatch a 10 km egg |
| 500 | Hatch a 5 km egg |
| 500 | Add a new species to the Pokédex |
| 500 | Evolve a Pokémon |
| 200 | Hatch a 2 km egg |
| 100 | Catch a Pokémon |
| 100 | EXCELLENT! throw bonus |
| 50 | Use a PokéStop |
| 50 | Defeat a gym |
Catching, hatching, evolving, spinning and battling all pay XP the moment they happen. Trading doesn't — you can complete a trade and your Trainer XP bar won't move at all, no matter how rare or expensive the Pokémon is. See the full, current XP ranking for how everything else stacks up.
Where the "trade XP" idea comes from
Two real things get mixed up with "trading gives XP":
- Friendship level-ups pay enormous XP (3,000 at Good Friend up to 150,000 at Forever Friend) — and trading with a friend is one of the interactions that can push a friendship past a level threshold. But that XP comes from the friendship level-up, the same as it would from a gift or a raid together that day. The trade isn't a separate XP event. See the full friendship XP math.
- Three one-time level-up tasks mention trades: Trainer level 77 requires 10 trades made with Pokémon originally caught at least 300 km apart, and level 79 requires 50 Lucky Pokémon obtained through trading. Each unlocks once, as part of that level's checklist — not as a repeatable XP source you can farm.
What trading actually gives you
Nothing XP-wise, but a trade still has real payouts:
- A chance at a Lucky Pokémon, with better odds the more trade distance separates where the two Pokémon were caught, or a guaranteed Lucky once a Pokémon clears the age cap for guaranteed Lucky trades.
- Stardust discounts that scale with friendship level — the main currency trading actually moves.
- A new Pokédex entry, if the traded-in species is new to you — that 500 XP comes from completing the Pokédex entry, the same as it would from catching that species, not from the trade step itself.
- A possible evolution afterward: evolving a traded Pokémon pays the normal 500 XP for evolving — again, a separate action from the trade.
FAQ
Does a special trade give more XP than a regular trade? No — neither type of trade gives direct XP. The difference between them is Stardust cost and eligibility (shinies, Legendaries, new Pokédex entries), not XP. See the special trade rules.
Does a Lucky trade give bonus XP? No. A Lucky trade changes the IV floor and halves power-up Stardust — it has nothing to do with XP. See the Lucky Egg/Star Piece myth for another common mix-up.
Does the monthly GO Pass's trade bonus include XP? No — the GO Pass trade bonus that's live this season pays extra Candy, not XP.
Does evolving a traded Pokémon count differently from evolving a caught one? No — it's the same flat evolution XP either way. See the trade evolutions list for the 8 species that only evolve this way.
So is trading worth doing if I just want XP? Not for XP specifically — friendship level-ups and raids pay far more. Trade for the Pokémon, the Lucky chance, or the Pokédex entry, and let friendship do the XP work. Grab a fresh friend code to keep that friendship pipeline moving.