Trading is a game mechanic as old as the Pokémon games themselves. Here’s how to do it in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl, as well as where to find trades.

How to Trade¶

There are three main ways to trade.

Local Trading¶

After you earn your first Gym badge, you can head to the basement of the Pokémon Center and speak to a nurse to enter the Union Room. After that, you can press ‘Y’ to access it from anywhere.

This will allow you to trade with people on your local network. You can press ‘Y’ inside the room and select ‘Trade’ or ‘Battle’. Then speak to someone with a speech bubble over their head, as this means they want to do the same.

Online Trading¶

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(1 of 2) Speak to the nurse in the middle to enter the Global Room.

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Speak to the nurse in the middle to enter the Global Room. (left), You’ll see a speech bubble indicating someone wants to interact! (right)

Online trading works the same way, but you will have to access the Global Room from inside the Union Room. You will need a Nintendo Switch Online Subscription to do this.

NPC Trades¶

The other way to trade is by meeting NPCs who are willing to trade one of their Pokémon for yours! They will be very specific in their wants and needs, however.

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Some NPCs let you trade in-game.

Location	Will Trade	For Your
Oreburgh City, left of the Poké Mart	Abra	Machop
Eterna City, in the Condeminium	Chatot	Buizel
Mindy, in Snowpoint City	Haunter holding an Everstone	Medicham
Home in Route 226	German Magikarp	Finneon

Trading Evolutions¶

Some Pokémon only evolve by evolution. For this, you’ll have to find a friend willing to trade to ensure you get the Pokémon you want. These Pokémon are as follows.

Pokémon	Evolution	Item Required
Haunter	Gengar	None
Kadabra	Alakazam	None
Machoke	Machamp	None
Graveler	Golem	None
Poliwhirl	Politoed	King’s Stone
Slowpoke	Slowking	King’s Stone
Onix	Steelix	Metal Coat
Scyther	Scizor	Metal Coat
Seadra	Kingdra	Dragon Scale
Porygon	Porygon2	Upgrade
Clamperl	Huntail	Deep Sea Tooth
Clamperl	Gorebyss	Deep Sea Scale

If an item is required, the Pokémon being traded should hold it to complete the evolution.