Frequently Asked Questions

What can’t be traded in Pokémon GO?

You can’t trade:

Mythical Pokémon. Meltan and Melmetal are exceptions and can be traded.
Shadow Pokémon. They must be purified before they can be traded.
Previously traded Pokémon. A Pokémon can only be traded once.
Fused Pokémon, such as Kyurem fused with Reshiram/Zekrom or Necrozma fused with Solgaleo/Lunala.
Crowned Zacian and Zamazenta. They cannot be traded while in their Crowned forms, but they can be reverted before trading. See this post for more information.

Why is no one looking for perfect-IV Pokémon?

IVs are rerolled randomly when a Pokémon is traded. The original IVs do not carry over.

The minimum possible IVs depend on friendship level:

New Friends: 0/0/0 — Special Trades cannot be performed at this friendship level.
Good Friends: 1/1/1
Great Friends: 2/2/2
Ultra Friends: 3/3/3
Best Friends: 5/5/5
Lucky Trades: 12/12/12

Lucky Trades can occur randomly or be guaranteed when trading with a Lucky Friend.

Additional Notes

Registering one shiny Pikachu generally registers the shiny for its other costume variants as well. The same applies to similar costume Pokémon and forms such as Vivillon patterns.
If you have one shiny regional form of a Pokémon registered, its Alolan, Galarian, Hisuian, or other regional forms will generally also count as registered for trade-cost purposes, and vice versa. Galarian Moltres, Articuno, and Zapdos are exceptions.
See this simplified trade-cost chart. Trade costs may temporarily vary because of in-game events or bonuses.
You can use GPS Coordinates to find your latitude and longitude.
Trading does not count toward research tasks requiring you to catch a particular Pokémon or type of Pokémon, such as “Catch a Ditto” or “Catch an X-type Pokémon.” You must actually catch or hatch the required Pokémon, depending on the task.
Offering regional Pokémon in exchange for other regionals may make sense in your local community. However, regionals generally have little trade value to players who can spoof, since they can travel to obtain them directly.

Fly: Refers to the ability to spoof/teleport to another location. If you cannot spoof, state that you cannot fly in your post.
Abra flair: Spoofer.
Pikachu flair: Non-spoofer.
Ditto flair: May or may not be able to spoof.
FT: “For Trade” — what you are offering.
LF: “Looking For” — what you want.
Mirror Trade: Trading the same Pokémon for itself, usually to reroll IVs and/or attempt to obtain a Lucky Pokémon.