How to Trade With Friends in Pokemon Sword and Shield

Trying to complete your Pokedex? Here's some tips on how to trade with friends in Pokemon Sword and Shield so you can help each other out.

How to Trade With Friends in Pokemon Sword and Shield

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If you’re trying to figure out how to trade Pokemon with your mates in Sword and Shield, well, it’s a fairly straightforward process to start though it might be possible to run into some hiccups. You can either trade using local trades, which is as easy as following the steps that we’ve outlined below:

  • Open the Y-Comm menu
  • Navigate to Link Trade and Start Trading
  • The game will find someone on your local network
  • Set your Link Code to trade to someone who has that code
  • Commence trading with your chosen individual

If you’re wanting to trade online, however, you’re going to require an active Nintendo Switch Online membership. Yes, that’s right. Once you’ve established that you have this, follow the steps below if you’re wanting to trade Pokemon with a mate online.

  • Open the Y-Comm menu
  • Press + to connect to the internet
  • Select Link Trade and Start Trading
  • Set your Link Code and share this with your trading partner
  • Commence trading with your chosen individual

The only downfall with having everything opened up in terms of online trading via the method that is that, well, since it’s open to whoever has a Nintendo Switch Online membership, you might run the risk of someone else running with the same four-digit Link Code as you and your mate somehow hopping in on that trade and messing up some carefully laid plans. If you and the intended recipient are in each other’s vicinity, we would definitely recommend locally trading instead. 

Now that you’ve got a bit more information about how to trade with friends in Pokemon Sword and Shield, it should be a little easier to accomplish. Need a hand with anything else in the Galar region? We’ve got the following tips and tricks:


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Author
Ginny Woo
Ginny hails from just south of Mordor, and when she's not debating others about the One Ring then she's probably glued to an MMO or a JRPG. With Final Fantasy XIV, Destiny 2, and World of Warcraft on her plate, she's always got something to chat about and a sneaky guide up her sleeve. If writing's not on the cards, then she's probably drinking way too much coffee.