Pokemon Go Lucky trades have one fatal flaw according to players
The Pokemon CompanyThere are plenty of tough mechanics in Pokemon Go – such as trying to catch the elusive Galarian Birds. But unlike the main games Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, one of the trickiest elements is pulling off a trade with another player.
Seemingly to keep regional Pokemon such as Kangaskhan and Hawlucha locked to their specific countries, trading in Pokemon Go isn’t easy. Trainers must stand physically next to the other person they want to trade with, and it also costs a whole heap of precious Stardust.
While you can mitigate the amount of Stardust needed by becoming better friends with the other Trainer, and even work your way up to Lucky Friends and earn a Lucky Trade, the process is arduous. Plus, for many Pokemon Go players, the reward isn’t worth the effort.
Pokemon Go players brought up some of the major issues with Lucky Trades in a Reddit post, as one person asked, “Became lucky friends with someone I met online. How do I ever find this person for a lucky trade?”
While it’s easy to find other users online, there are no ways to message other players, so if you add people over the internet there is a good chance you will never actually meet them in person to make use of the Lucky Trade feature.
Some other players offered some humorous suggestions for this problem, with one person commenting, “Ask every single person you pass in real life if it’s them.” Then another person jokingly adds, “It’s gotta work, right? How many people can there be?”
Thankfully, some other comments offered more helpful tips like the use of Niantic’s social app Campfire, with one person suggesting, “Message them on Campfire if they’re there, but chances are they’re somewhere far away.”
While this is an unlikely scenario, it has worked for some fans, as one person adds, “Yeah someone did actually message me on Campfire and we met up for a trade. It’s the only time that’s ever happened.”
Niantic/The Pokemon CompanyFinally, there are some suggestions for Niantic to adjust Lucky Trades in the future. As many have mentioned before, the addition of remote trading would make a huge difference, as one person says, “Pray that someday Niantic allows for remote trading with trade requests to your friends. Maybe during specific events.”
It would be very difficult to manage, and Niantic seemingly has avoided this in the past to stop people from easily finding the different Pokemon across the world. But, it would be nice to get some sort of reward for players that do manage the Lucky Friend status.
If you do have some friends nearby, you can make use of extra Lucky Trades as part of some Pokemon Go events, so be sure to keep your eye on our guides covering how to use Campfire as well as the Pokemon Go Shared Skies season, and the upcoming Pokemon Go Fest 2024 Global event.