How do Special Trades work in Pokemon GO?

Pokemon GO players who may have noticed a jump in the cost of a trade should have just stumbled upon a Special Trade, a method of training that is increased in price and is limited to only one per day.

Special Trades are costly, but it can be well worth knowing what Pokemon GO trainers are willing to put forward for them.

Powerful Legendary Pokemon and even shiny Pokemon can be swapped using Special Trades, though there are certain rules in place that limit these trades. So before enacting one, be sure that you know for certain that this trade is desired.

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Pokemon GO: Rules and restrictions on Special Trades

Special Trades allow players to trade Legendary and shiny Pokemon (Image via Niantic)

In Pokemon GO, Special Trades constitute any trade between players involving Legendary Pokemon, shiny Pokemon, Pokemon purified from a shadow form, and Pokemon that have not yet been registered in a trainer's Pokedex.

As previously stated, these trades can only be performed once per day, and they possess a higher cost in Stardust to complete. However, the higher the friendship level between two Pokemon GO trainers, the lower this increased Stardust price becomes.

Niantic has explained the reasoning behind this increased cost for special Pokemon and newer friends.

Suppose new players were able to traffic in Legendary or other rare Pokemon many times per day without a significant Stardust cost. In that case, a black market could be formed that would allow players to obtain incredibly powerful Pokemon early on at little to no cost, throwing off the balance of Pokemon GO significantly.

Niantic stated as much in a blog post in 2018:

"We think that gating these trades behind a high Stardust requirement works to prevent exploitation and the creation of a black market, which would devalue the hard work of Trainers who have managed to encounter and catch rare or powerful Pokémon."

In addition to these limitations, there are certain trades that are banned outright in Pokemon GO, including:

• The trading of Mythical Pokemon (with the exception of Meltan and Melmetal).
• Trading "Slashed" Pokemon earned through illicit means such as spoofing or botting.
• Trading a trainer's current Buddy Pokemon.
• Trading Pokemon currently defending a gym.
• Trading Pokemon that have fainted or who are not at full health.
• Trading unhatched eggs.
• Trading Shadow Pokemon obtained from defeating members of Team GO Rocket.
• Trading Pokemon that have already been traded.