Short answer: trading requires both trainers to be level 10+, friends, and within about 100 m — and friendship level sets the price. A special trade for a new Pokédex entry costs 1,000,000 Stardust at Good Friend but 40,000 at Best. Each Pokémon can be traded only once, one special trade per day, and Forever Friends unlock one remote trade per day.
Trading is where friendship levels pay off in Stardust — the difference between a 1,000,000-dust trade and a 40,000-dust one is just friendship. Here are the actual rules.
The basics
- You must be Friends, both Trainer level 10+, and within ~100 m of each other (events occasionally stretch this; some raise it to 40 km).
- Exception: Forever Friends (the tier above Best Friends) unlock Remote Trades at any distance — you earn one per 90 friendship points with that friend, and can complete one remote trade per day account-wide. Remote trades never count as special trades.
- Each Pokémon can only ever be traded once.
The Stardust table (why friendship is money)
Both trainers pay the same cost:
| Trade type | Good | Great | Ultra | Best/Forever |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Special — already in your Pokédex | 20,000 | 16,000 | 1,600 | 800 |
| Special — new Pokédex entry | 1,000,000 | 800,000 | 80,000 | 40,000 |
Climbing from Good to Best Friends cuts a new-entry special trade from a million dust to 40,000 — a 96 % discount for 90 days of gifting.
What counts as a "special trade"
Shiny, Legendary, Ultra Beasts, Meltan/Melmetal, Purified, Gigantamax forms, special-background/costume Pokémon, and anything not yet in your Pokédex. Limit: one special trade per trainer per day (events sometimes allow more).
Not tradeable at all: Mythicals like Mew (Meltan/Melmetal are the exception), Shadow Pokémon, already-traded Pokémon, your current Buddy, favourites, and gym defenders.
IVs re-roll — and lucky trades break the floor
Traded Pokémon re-roll all IVs within a floor set by your friendship (roughly 1/2/3 at Good/Great/Ultra, 5 at Best — community-documented, so treat as approximate). A Lucky trade guarantees a 12/12/12 floor and halves Stardust power-up costs. Received Pokémon are level-capped at your Trainer level +2, with CP scaled down if needed.
FAQ
Can I trade back a Pokémon I regret trading? No — one trade per Pokémon, forever. Think before you special-trade.
Who pays the Stardust? Both of you, the same amount each.
How do I find trade partners abroad? You mostly can't trade remotely (except Forever Friends) — but for gifts, postcards and Vivillon, distance is no obstacle: grab codes by country.