How much Stardust is needed to trade Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon GO?

Trading Pokemon is one of the staple mechanics of Pokemon GO and requires a collectible resource called Stardust. As many players know, Stardust is a pseudo-currency required for almost everything Pokemon-related from trading to powering them up your critters.

Acquiring Stardust in Pokemon GO is a relatively simple process as it is associated with the game's main form of gameplay, catching Pokemon. Other methods by which you can obtain Stardust include feeding gym Pokemon berries and hatching eggs, just to name a few.

Some trainers may want to trade their most valuable Pokemon for whatever reason. These valuable Pokemon are known as Shiny Pokemon, and to simplify, these Pokemon appear as a different color variant of their regular counterparts and are an incredibly rare sight. This value hikes up the required Stardust cost of trading them between trainers.

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A comprehensive guide to Stardust trading costs in Pokemon GO

Stardust as it appears in the game (Image via Niantic)

To start with the worst-case scenario possible, let's say you wanted to trade someone you just added to your friends list a Shiny Pokemon they have never seen before. If the Pokemon is close to its maximum level, this will cost you an astonishing one million Stardust. Trading costs decrease as your friendship level increases, but this will be a situation we use for consistency.

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With this trade in mind, if you go up a stage in friendship level to Great Friends, the cost of this trade goes down to 800,000. For Ultra Friends, it takes a drastic dip, only requiring 80,000 Stardust. Finally, for Best Friends, this cost reaches its minimum of 40,000 Stardust. While it is still a lot of Stardust, it is far lower than the base cost of 1,000,000 Stardust.

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How to farm Stardust in Pokemon GO

Using Star Pieces with Incenses and Lure Modules to increase the amount of Pokemon you encounter is a great way to grind for Stardust. Buying incubators to hatch as many eggs as possible at once is also a great way to gain huge bursts of Stardust. However, incubators are a lot harder to come by than Star Pieces as these can be given by Pokestops while incubators cannot.

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The cost of trading Shiny Pokemon in Pokemon GO is a hardy one. Sitting at a base cost of 1,000,000 Stardust, it may be best to either grind for friendship levels, grind for Stardust, or even both.

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