Alright, let’s talk about this whole “pokemon traded to evolve” thing. It’s one of those mechanics that’s been around since, well, pretty much forever in Pokémon, and it’s always been a bit of a journey for me, every single time.
My First Brush with Trade Evolutions
I remember getting my hands on Pokémon Blue back in the day. I caught a Kadabra, and I was super stoked. I kept leveling it up, waiting for it to become that awesome Alakazam I’d seen in the cartoons or whatever. But nothing happened. It just got stronger, but no evolution. I was genuinely confused. Then, a friend, the one kid in the neighborhood who knew everything about Pokémon, told me, “Nah, man, Kadabra only evolves if you trade it.”
Trade it? What did that even mean? He explained I needed another Game Boy, another Pokémon game, and a link cable. And then I had to trade my Kadabra to his game, and he’d trade it back. Seemed like a whole lot of hassle, and honestly, a bit risky. What if he decided to keep my powered-up Kadabra? Trust was a big deal back then with your precious Pokémon!
The Actual Process: Then and Now
So, the practical side. Here’s how it usually went down for me, and how I still kinda approach it, even with newer games.
- Step 1: Get the Pokémon. Obviously. You catch your Machoke, your Haunter, your Graveler, or your Kadabra. You train it up, get attached to it. This is the easy part.
- Step 2: Find a Trading Partner. This was the bottleneck. Back in the day, it meant convincing my brother or a friend to physically sit down with their Game Boy. We’d meticulously check if we both had the link cables. Sometimes one was lost, or a dog chewed one. Real-life problems, you know?
- Step 3: The Actual Trade. Hooking up those cables, navigating the old trade center menus. It felt so high-tech and also so clunky at the same time. You send your guy over. Then the nail-biting moment where they send it back, hopefully evolved.
- Step 4: The Sweet Relief. Seeing that evolution animation on your friend’s screen and then getting your newly evolved Gengar or Alakazam back. Pure joy.
Now, with modern games, it’s a bit different. You got online trading. So, my recent experience trying to evolve a Phantump into a Trevenant in a newer game went something like this:
I got my Phantump. Cool. Then I realized, oh yeah, trade evolution. My kid doesn’t have his own console yet, and my old Pokémon buddies are scattered to the winds. So, online it was. I had to connect to the internet, find the online trading system – which sometimes feels buried in menus. Then I had to either find a random person willing to do a “tradeback” (where they trade your Pokémon back to you) or coordinate with someone on a forum or a Discord server.
I went with a random link trade first, hoping for the best. Sent my Phantump, got some random Pokémon in return. Heart sinks. Is this person gonna disconnect? Are they just gonna keep my Phantump? Luckily, the first person I connected with seemed to get it. They traded it right back, and boom, Trevenant. Phew.
Why This Way, Though?
It’s a hassle, for sure. Especially if you’re a solo player or don’t have easy access to another system or reliable internet friends. I’ve often thought, why do they even do this? Why not just let them evolve at a certain level, or with an item, like most other Pokémon?
I guess the idea was always to encourage playing with friends. To make Pokémon a social thing. And I get that. Those shared moments of trading and battling with buddies are core memories for a lot of us who grew up with it. It forced interaction. You couldn’t just sit in your room and complete the Pokédex entirely on your own (well, not easily for the original games).
Even today, when I successfully complete a trade evolution online with a stranger, there’s a tiny sense of connection. Like, “Hey, thanks, anonymous Pokémon trainer!” It’s not the same as sitting next to your pal with link cables, but it’s something.
So yeah, evolving Pokémon through trading. It’s been a staple, a sometimes frustrating but ultimately rewarding part of my Pokémon journey. It taught me patience, a bit of trust, and the importance of having someone to connect with, even if it’s just for a quick trade to get that awesome Pokémon you’ve been working towards.
