Lucky Trades are one of the most valuable mechanics in Pokémon GO, allowing trainers to receive a Lucky Pokémon through trading. Lucky Pokémon have several advantages compared to regular Pokémon, including reduced Stardust costs when powering them up and improved minimum stats.
Because of these benefits, many players actively look for ways to trigger Lucky Trades when trading with friends.
Understanding how to do Lucky Trades Pokémon GO can help you build stronger Pokémon while saving large amounts of Stardust. This guide explains how Lucky Trades work, how to trigger them, and the best ways to use them when trading with other trainers.
What Is a Lucky Trade in Pokémon GO
A Lucky Trade occurs when two trainers trade Pokémon and the result is a Lucky Pokémon for both players. When a Pokémon becomes Lucky, it receives several benefits that make it more valuable for battles and powering up.
Lucky Pokémon require significantly less Stardust to power up compared to normal Pokémon. They also have a minimum IV floor, meaning their stats will always be relatively strong.
Because of these advantages, Lucky Trades are highly desirable among players who want powerful Pokémon without spending huge amounts of Stardust.
How to Do Lucky Trades Pokémon GO
There are two main ways Lucky Trades can occur in Pokémon GO. Some trades have a small random chance to become Lucky, while others are guaranteed through the Lucky Friends system.
The simplest way to do a Lucky Trade is by becoming Lucky Friends with another trainer. Once two players reach Best Friends status, there is a chance for them to become Lucky Friends through daily interactions. When this happens, the next trade between those two players is guaranteed to produce Lucky Pokémon.
Players can also receive Lucky Pokémon through regular trades, although the chances are lower. Older Pokémon that have been in storage for several years have a higher chance of becoming Lucky when traded.
Wondering How to Become Lucky Friends Pokémon GO? Let us talk you through
How to Trigger Lucky Trades Through Lucky Friends
The most reliable way to do Lucky Trades Pokémon GO is through the Lucky Friends mechanic.
To trigger Lucky Friends, you must first reach Best Friends status with another trainer. After reaching this level, the first interaction you complete each day with that friend has a chance to trigger the Lucky Friends status.
Daily interactions include opening gifts, sending gifts, battling together, or completing raids together.
Once Lucky Friends is triggered, the next trade between those two players will guarantee Lucky Pokémon for both sides.
Why Lucky Pokémon Are Valuable
Lucky Pokémon offer several advantages compared to normal Pokémon. The biggest benefit is the reduced Stardust cost required to power them up.
Because powering up high level Pokémon can require hundreds of thousands of Stardust, Lucky Pokémon allow players to strengthen their teams much more efficiently.
Lucky Pokémon also have a minimum IV floor, which means their stats will never be extremely low. This makes them attractive for players building raid teams or PvP battle teams.
For these reasons, many trainers try to perform Lucky Trades whenever possible.
Best Pokémon to Use in Lucky Trades
Because Lucky Trades are valuable, players usually save them for Pokémon that are difficult to obtain or expensive to power up.
Legendary Pokémon are one of the most common choices for Lucky Trades. These Pokémon require large amounts of Stardust and candy to power up, so making them Lucky can save a significant amount of resources.
Shiny Pokémon are also popular choices because trading them through Lucky Friends can produce strong shiny Pokémon with good stats.
Some trainers also use Lucky Trades for rare raid attackers or powerful PvP Pokémon.
How Often Lucky Trades Can Happen
There is no strict daily limit on Lucky Trades themselves, but the Lucky Friends mechanic can only trigger once per friend at a time.
After completing a guaranteed Lucky Trade with a Lucky Friend, the status disappears and both players return to Best Friends level. You must then continue interacting daily for another chance to trigger Lucky Friends again.
Regular trades can still randomly become Lucky, although the chances are relatively small.
Because of this, many players maintain large friend lists to increase their opportunities for Lucky Friends and Lucky Trades.
How to Do Lucky Trades Pokémon GO
Learning how to do Lucky Trades Pokémon GO is one of the best ways to strengthen your Pokémon while saving Stardust. Lucky Trades can occur randomly through regular trading, but the most reliable way to guarantee one is by becoming Lucky Friends with another trainer. Once Lucky Friends is triggered, the next trade between you and that friend will always produce Lucky Pokémon.
Because Lucky Pokémon are cheaper to power up and often have strong stats, many players coordinate their trades carefully to make the most of this mechanic. By interacting daily with your Best Friends and saving Lucky Trades for rare or powerful Pokémon, you can take full advantage of the Lucky Trade system in Pokémon GO.
