Highlights

  • Pokemon GO players can now trade Pokemon with each other after a two-year wait, but trading is limited to local players only.
  • Trading in Pokemon GO requires players to pay Stardust, with the cost decreasing if both players have already caught the traded creatures.
  • Special Trades in Pokemon GO, which happen once a day, currently only result in a title for the received Pokemon, but making them three-star Pokemon would make them more valuable.

After waiting for two years following the game's launch in 2016, Pokemon GO players were finally given the ability to trade Pokemon among one another as of 2018. As Pokemon trading has been a staple of the franchise since its debut, this feature was long-awaited for many reasons, but when it finally arrived it came with a few drawbacks, such as trading only being available between local players rather than long-distance ones.

The requirements to trade are very simple beyond that one caveat, as players at or past level 10 must only pay a certain amount of Stardust to trade as long as they're within 100 meters of each other. Additionally, the cost of Stardust goes down if it features creatures both Pokemon GO players have already caught. While this feature is rather simplistic in its execution and works fine, it could use improvements to one particular trade, with an adjustment to Lucky Pokemon that's sure to make a difference.

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Pokemon GO Should Make All Lucky Pokemon Three-Star Pokemon

Lucky Trades Need to Have More Weight to Their Daily Occurrence

While there are many mechanics hidden within the simplicity of Niantic's trading system in Pokemon GO, such as that critters traded before can't be traded again, one interesting feature is the "Lucky Trades" that happen once a day. It's easy to tell that players have done their daily trade because the Pokemon they received will have shiny yellow glitter around it and a golden title underneath its name calling it a "Lucky Pokemon."

However, currently, the only thing denoting Lucky Trades from other trades like Special Trades is how the received critter will be dubbed a Lucky Pokemon. Despite how special that is in itself, it's just a title and nothing more as of right now. While different Pokemon GO players trade at different intervals, Lucky Pokemon are bound to lose their novelty sooner rather than later due to the lack of any boosts or bonuses that come with the title.

Pokemon Received in Lucky Trades Could Mean More With Boosted Stats

Lucky Trades and Lucky Pokemon are fun, but there's nothing that makes the trade or the creature obtained in it unique beyond a title. While there's an argument to be made that this feature could be tied into Special Trades in Pokemon GO and made less rare to compensate, something else could be done to make the once-a day feature more memorable and important. Niantic could help players out by making it so that the daily Lucky Pokemon they have a chance of receiving will always have three-star stats.

For those unaware, each Pokemon in tons of the franchise's titles have values known as "IVs." IVs, short for individual values, are generated stats that are special for each creature. Each Pokemon has a unique IV value given to their stats (specifically attack, defense, and stamina in Niantic's AR game) that maxes out at 15. Each potential pocket monster's IVs aren't easy to change, and having 15 IVs on each stat is rather lucky, marked by three-stars and a red stamp when players appraise their Pokemon.

While it's understandable why these stats aren't easy to change, since making them easy to adjust would lead to massive exploitation on the competitive side of things, making random daily traded Lucky Pokemon gain three-star stats for the trade would be an incredible bonus that would help make the creatures feel more special to both players. However, even though this may feel like an easy way to get free stat boosts on their Pokemon, three-stars don't necessarily have maxed out stats. Three-star appraisals are rewarded for high stats, but not reserved for the highest available. This means that any boosted Lucky Pokemon would be highly useful without removing the importance of hunting for full IV creatures, ensuring that the change is perfect for making Lucky Trades more worthwhile when they do happen.