Trade Evolution in Pokémon GO: The Full Zero-Candy List

Last updated 2026-08-09

Ten Pokémon lines in Pokémon GO evolve for zero Candy once they have been traded, eleven entries if you count Alolan Graveler separately from Graveler. The discount goes to whoever receives the Pokémon, works once, and is wasted if you pay for the trade-evolution step yourself before trading. This page lists every eligible species and the exact Candy each trade saves. Checked against Niantic's announcement and current third-party lists in August 2026.

Which Pokémon evolve for free when traded in Pokémon GO?

Ten lines evolve for zero Candy after a trade: Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler (including the Alolan form), Haunter, Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, Shelmet, Phantump and Pumpkaboo. The discount applies to the Trainer who receives the Pokémon and has no expiry. No other species appears on any current trade-evolution list.

The list splits cleanly into two cost tiers. The four Kanto lines cost 100 Candy without a trade; the six later lines cost 200. Niantic announced the feature on 10 January 2020 naming eight Pokémon; Phantump and Pumpkaboo were added after their debuts, which is why guides datestamped 2020 to 2023 are frequently short by two entries.

Does the sender or the receiver get the free evolution?

The receiver. The zero-Candy flag attaches to the Pokémon that changes hands, so only the Trainer holding it after the trade can evolve it for free. The sender gets nothing back. For both sides to benefit, each Trainer has to send an eligible Pokémon in the same trade.

That makes the mirror trade the standard arrangement: two Trainers swap Machokes, both pay the same Stardust, and both end up with a free Machamp. The same works across species, so a Haunter for a Gurdurr is fine. Stardust is charged to both sides regardless, and scales with friendship level and whether the trade is a Special Trade.

Does trading a pre-evolution still give the free evolution?

Yes, according to every guide that addresses it. The traded status is set on the individual Pokémon rather than on a particular stage, and it survives evolution. Trade a Machop, pay the normal Candy for Machop to Machoke, and the Machoke to Machamp step is then free. Gastly to Haunter to Gengar works the same way.

This is useful when the base form is what you actually have spares of. Trading a Geodude, Abra, Roggenrola or Timburr sets the flag the same way as trading the middle stage. Only the trade-evolution step itself becomes free; the first evolution step still costs its normal Candy. Niantic has never stated this in writing, so check the Evolve button before you count on it.

How many times can one Pokémon use the trade evolution discount?

Once. The discount is consumed by the single evolution it applies to. Because any Pokémon in Pokémon GO can only ever be traded once, there is no way to reset or reuse it. One trade, one free evolution, and the resulting Machamp or Gengar can never be traded again.

Plan the swap around that limit. If you intend to trade a Pokémon for Lucky status or for a friend's Pokedex entry, that trade and the free evolution are the same event. Deciding afterwards that you would rather have traded it to someone else is not an option.

What happens if you evolve before trading?

If you pay for the trade-evolution step yourself, the discount is gone for good. Evolving a Haunter into Gengar yourself costs 100 Candy, and trading that Gengar afterwards gives the recipient nothing, because Gengar is not an eligible species. Trade at the trade-evolution stage, then evolve. This is the most common and most expensive trade-evolution mistake.

Evolving an earlier stage is harmless, so a Gastly you evolve into Haunter yourself is still worth trading. What costs you is finishing the line. It hurts most on the 200-Candy lines: evolving your own Pumpkaboo, Phantump, Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast or Shelmet burns 200 Candy that a single trade would have removed entirely. If you have a spare of any of these six, hold it until you can arrange a swap.

Does the trade evolution discount expire?

No. There is no timer. Once a Pokémon has been received in a trade it keeps the zero-Candy evolution indefinitely. Niantic also applied the feature retroactively at launch, so eligible Pokémon received in trades before 10 January 2020 qualify as well. You can sit on a traded Machoke for years and still evolve it free.

Niantic's launch announcement put it plainly: a Pokémon received in a past trade retroactively qualifies for no Candy cost when you evolve it. Nothing since has introduced an expiry.

Do regional forms get the trade evolution discount?

Alolan Graveler is the only regional variant that appears on current trade-evolution lists. Traded, it evolves into Alolan Golem for zero Candy instead of the usual 100. No Galarian, Hisuian or Paldean form appears on any current list, and no other Alolan line does either.

Forms that need an Evolution Item in Pokémon GO, such as Scyther with a Metal Coat or Seadra with a Dragon Scale, are trade evolutions in the main series but not here. They always cost their Item plus full Candy, traded or not. The same goes for Spritzee and Swirlix, which are trade evolutions in the main series but use Buddy conditions in Pokémon GO.

How do you set up a trade evolution with another Trainer?

Both Trainers need to be at least level 10 and Friends in the game, and for an in-person trade both need to be in the same place. Each trade costs Stardust. A mirror trade, where both sides send an eligible species, gets both players a free evolution for the same cost.

Friendship level lowers the Stardust price, so the same swap between Best Friends costs far less than between new Friends. Remote trading unlocks once you and that friend become Forever Friends and carries its own limits, covered in the remote trading guide (/guides/remote-trading), and the full price table is in the Stardust cost guide (/guides/stardust-cost). If you do not have anyone local to swap Machokes with, PoGo Alley matches Trainers by what they hold and what they need (/guides/find-trading-partners).