Welcome to the NintendoCade channel, I am Danny.
With the release of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield for the Nintendo Switch,
it brought forth a new generation of Pokemon to battle and catch.
Like in past games in the series, you can trade the Pokemon you catch with others, working on completing your Pokedex.
I thought this guide would be helpful to all that are new to Pokemon or are not aware on how to trade.
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Alright, let’s get right into it.
Regardless of Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield you chose; this will work the same way on both games.
There are different methods and scenarios on how you can trade Pokemon in Pokemon Sword and Shield.
So be sure to watch until the very end to catch everything.
Be aware that you will need access to the Y-Comm menu for any trading to happen.
If you just started out, you will not have access to it right away.
You will need to progress in the game until you meet with Professor Magnolia on Route 2.
There you will receive your Dynamax Band from the Professor.
Now you have access to Y-Comm by pressing the “Y” button on your controller.
To trade locally with other players, start by opening the Y-Comm menu.
Select the “Link Trade” option, then select “Start trading” in the submenu.
The game will back out of Y-Comm, and you will know it is searching for nearby players
from the bottom left corner message.
This method will allow you to trade with anyone nearby that have setup their game in this method.
Once they have found someone, you will be brought to your inventory of Pokemon you caught.
Select the Pokemon you want to trade, and you will see the one you will receive in return.
An animation of the trading process will play out and the Pokemon’s data will be registered to your Pokedex.
The next method is to trade locally with a specific person.
Both players need to access the Y-Comm menu, then select “Link Trade”.
In the submenu, select “Set Link Code”.
Both players need to input the same 4-digit number for it to work.
The game will back out to the world, and will search for the player with the same corresponding Link Code.
Once found, you can trade Pokemon in the same manner as the previous method.
Be aware, local trading does not need internet connection, it relies on local communication
between Nintendo Switch systems.
Now, onto trading Pokemon with other players through the internet.
Keep in mind that all online methods will require you to have an active Nintendo Switch Online service.
To trade with random players, first access the Y-Comm menu.
Press on the plus (+) button on your controller to connect to the internet.
Then select “Link Trade” and select “Start trading” in the submenu.
You will then be paired with a random person to trade with.
The rest of the steps should be the same as the methods shown earlier.
Next online method allows you to trade Pokemon with an intended player of your choice, such as a friend or family.
For this to work, both players need to access the Y-Comm menu, then connect online by pressing the plus (+) button.
Select “Link Trade” and “Set Link Code” in the submenu.
You and the other player will need to input the same 4-digit Link Code.
Once that is done, you are back in the world and it will start looking for the correct corresponding player.
Once found, you will just need to select the Pokemon you want to trade, and the rest of
the process is the same as the others mentioned earlier.
The last trade method is the “Surprise trade”.
This allows you to be randomly paired with another player to receive a Pokemon of their choice,
and they receive a Pokemon of your choice.
As the name implies, this option is intended for both parties to be surprised by the
unknown incoming traded Pokemon.
To initiate this trade, access the Y-Comm menu, then press the plus (+) button to connect
to the internet or disable it for local communication.
This method works both local and online.
Now, select “Surprise Trade” and an inventory of all the Pokemon you have caught will be brought up.
Select the Pokemon you want to surprise trade with.
It will then prompt you to save your game and to start a Surprise Trade.
Select “Start” and the game will begin searching for another trainer.
You can play in the world normally and trade will happen behind the scenes.
It is complete when you see a notice on the bottom left showing “Trade completed!”.
You can see what Pokemon you received by pressing on the “Y” button.
The transfer animation will play out confirming the trade.
So, there you have it.
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I am Danny from the NintendoCade channel, until next time, thanks for watching!