Complete Guide to Self-Trading Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet
As a long-time Pokémon player, I was thrilled to dive into the Paldea region in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. One of my favorite parts of a new generation is collecting all the Pokémon, especially the version exclusives. But without friends picking up the alternate game, how can you trade with yourself to complete the Pokédex? Have no fear – self-trading is easier than ever with Scarlet and Violet!
Yes, You Can Trade Pokémon with Yourself
The big question many fans are asking: can I actually trade Pokémon with myself in these games? The answer is yes! By using multiple user profiles on a single Nintendo Switch console, you can easily trade Pokémon between your own save files. It just takes a few simple steps to get set up.
How Self-Trading Works
The process works thanks to Scarlet and Violet‘s online trading features. By entering the same custom link code on two profiles, you can match them up to trade with…yourself! This mimics connecting over the internet to a random trainer that enters the code.
So trading with yourself provides all the normal benefits you‘d get from trading Pokémon:
- Evolving trade-evolution Pokémon
- Sharing items between saves
- Completing the Pokédex with version exclusives
- Passing eggs for shiny hatching
The only limitation is that online features require a paid Nintendo Switch Online membership. But once you have that, the whole Pokémon world opens up even with just one Switch!
Step-By-Step Guide to Self-Trading
Without further ado, let‘s dive into the exact process for trading Pokémon with yourself:
What You Need
- A Nintendo Switch console
- 2 user profiles set up on your Switch
- Pokémon Scarlet and/or Violet game for each profile (either physical or downloaded)
- A Nintendo Switch Online membership
Setting Up Profiles
If you only have one profile on your Switch currently, here‘s how to add another:
- On the Home screen, select your profile icon in the top left
- Scroll down and select "Add User"
- Create a new user profile and link it to a different Nintendo Account
You can create as many profiles as you want. But for trading, you just need two with save files in Scarlet/Violet!
Starting the Trade
Once you have two profiles ready with games available:
- Launch Pokémon Scarlet/Violet on your main save file
- Access the Poké Portal from the menu and select "Link Trade"
- Choose "Set Link Code" when prompted
| Method | Code Length | Characters Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Link Code | 8 digits | 0-9 |
- Input an 8-digit link code of your choice (can use numbers 0-9)
- Example codes: 01234567, 87654321
- Launch Scarlet/Violet on your second profile and repeat steps 2-4, entering the exact same link code
That‘s the key! Like connecting for anonymous internet trades, you need both games to input the matching code to find each other.
- On both profiles, select "Begin Searching" after entering the code
- Your profiles should now connect to trade with…yourself!
And that‘s it! Just choose the Pokémon and items to trade as normal. Rinse and repeat for future trades using the same code. Super simple!
Trader Tips
Over a decade of trading Pokémon myself, I‘ve picked up some useful tricks:
- Set the text speed to fast so you waste less time trading basic Pokémon
- Attach held items before trading to transfer rare goods
- Mark perfect IVs with mint symbols for easy breeding templates
- Level up Pokémon pre-evolution before trading to evolve
- Know which species need to be traded holding items or to evolve! Check Serebii‘s list.
Key Trade Benefits
Now let‘s explore why self-trading is so useful for progression:
Completing the Pokédex
The biggest perk is crossing version-exclusive Pokémon off your Pokédex without owning both Scarlet and Violet. Here are just some examples:
| Pokémon Scarlet Exclusives | Pokémon Violet Exclusives |
|---|---|
| Koraidon | Miraidon |
| Armarouge | Ceruledge |
| Flamigo | Scream Tail |
| Iron Hands | Iron Jugulis |
| Great Tusk | Iron Bundle |
| Kingambit |
Having both legendaries and multiple fossil revive options in one save file makes completing the Pokédex much more attainable!
Sharing Items
Need more of a valuable held item like Destiny Knot or spare Master Balls? By trading garbage Pokémon holding them, you can multiply those rare goods across save files.
Hatching Shiny Pokémon
Breeding for perfect IVs and Shiny Pokémon takes patience. But you can trade eggs between games to have multiple saves hatching simultaneously! Just be sure not to mix up your boxes.
Leveling Evolved Forms
Some evolved trade Pokémon like Gengar, Scizor, Slowking and so on can be leveled up before trading to save time. Just make sure you have/catch their pre-evolutions in both games first!
And More!
Other miscellany you can trade includes:
- Pokédex research level 10 unlocks
- Rare Candy, Vitamins, and other CP boosting items
- Extra TM/TR stocks to share
- Dittos with perfect IVs for Shiny breeding
I‘ve really just scratched the surface here. Get creative with uses for self-trading!
Closing Thoughts
And there you have the complete low-down on how to trade Pokémon with yourself in these fantastic new Pokémon games!
Hopefully this guide has prepared you to leverage trading to improve your Scarlet and Violet adventure. As always, I‘m happy to answer any other questions fellow fans have on this topic!
Game Freak has made swapping Pokémon more social and accessible than ever before. But even playing solo, you can now gain those advantages across multiple journey‘s thanks to link codes.
What will you trade with yourself first: rare items, shiny eggs, or version legendaries? Let your trading dreams come true! Time to complete that National Pokédex.
