All 27 Trade Evolution Pokemon: Every No-Trade Workaround, From the Linking Cord to Pokemon GO Candy

Twenty-seven Pokemon, across seven generations, still don’t evolve on a level-up or a stone. They need a trade [1][3]. Pokemon Legends: Z-A brought that requirement back in full in October 2025, cutting the one item that had let solo players skip it entirely in the previous game [8]. If you don’t have a second Switch or a friend who plays, here’s the exact list of who’s affected, and the specific legal workaround — not a rumor, not a glitch — for whichever game you’re actually playing.

The Full List: All 27 Trade-Evolution Pokemon

Four of these need nothing but a trade. The other twenty-three also need a held item in the traded Pokemon’s hand at the moment the trade completes [1][3]. Both Clamperl and base-form Graveler count twice below — Clamperl splits into two different evolutions depending on the item, and Alolan Graveler is tracked as its own separate trade evolution from the Kanto original [3].

No new trade evolution has shipped since Alolan Golem in Generation VII [1]. Every Fairy, Dragon, or Paradox Pokemon added since Sword/Shield evolves by level, stone, or a game-specific mechanic — the developers haven’t leaned on trading as a gate for a new species in three straight generations, even while adding dozens of new evolution lines.

How to Evolve Every One of Them Without Trading

There’s no single trick that covers all 27. The legit no-trade route depends entirely on which game you own, and one recent game has none at all. Work through these in order for the game you’re actually playing.

Legends: Arceus — Use a Linking Cord

The Linking Cord does exactly what a trade does, minus the second player. Use it from your bag on any of the four item-free trade Pokemon (Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler, Haunter) and it evolves on the spot [2]. Farm one from the Jubilife Village trading post for 1,000 Merit Points, complete Request 64 for a free one, buy the occasional one from Ginkgo Guild vendor Ginter, or pick one up from a space-time distortion [2].

This only solves the four item-free evolutions directly. For the twenty-three that also need a held item, you still need the item itself — the Linking Cord replaces the trade, not the Metal Coat or Dragon Scale.

Bulbapedia’s own item data lists the Linking Cord as existing in Scarlet and Violet too, using the identical item description [2]. In practice, every dedicated evolution-item guide for the Indigo Disk DLC we checked — including ones that carefully list BP costs for the Electirizer, Magmarizer, and Protector — never names an actual shop, quest reward, or raid drop for it. Treat the Linking Cord as a Legends: Arceus-only workaround until someone documents a real in-game source for it in Scarlet/Violet; don’t plan a run around it being there.

Pokemon GO — Candy Does the Job Alone

GO never actually requires a trade for its trade-evolution roster. The four item-free evolutions cost straight Candy: 100 for Haunter, Graveler, Kadabra, and Machoke; 200 each for Boldore, Gurdurr, Karrablast, Phantump, Pumpkaboo, and Shelmet [4]. Trading one of these first drops the cost to zero, but paying full Candy price gets you the same result without ever opening the trade menu [4].

The item-based evolutions work the same way — Metal Coat, Dragon Scale, and Upgrade evolve Onix, Scyther, Seadra, and Porygon with candy alone, no trade step involved anywhere [5]. King’s Rock is the one exception worth knowing: since a 2020 update, evolving Poliwhirl or Slowpoke with a King’s Rock also requires that Pokemon be set as your Best Buddy first, a requirement none of GO’s other evolution items carry [5]. Feebas skips items entirely — walk that specific Feebas as your buddy for 20 cumulative kilometers, feed it 100 Candy, and it evolves straight into Milotic, no Prism Scale needed [6]. Our Pokemon GO special evolutions guide covers the full mechanics behind buddy-distance and item-gated evolutions if you’re chasing more than just this list. If you do have a friend to trade with, our Pokemon GO trading guide covers Trade Level and Friendship Level requirements for the free version.

Black/White and Black 2/White 2 — Catch the Evolved Form in the Wild

Generation V hid several already-evolved trade Pokemon as rare wild encounters through rippling water spots and dust clouds, letting players skip the evolution chain entirely rather than working around the trade step at all [1]. Which species show up varies by version and area, so check a route-specific encounter guide for your game rather than assuming every trade evolution is huntable this way.

Sword/Shield — Wild Area Wandering Pokemon

Every trade-evolution species that appears in Sword/Shield’s Pokedex can also spawn as a wandering Pokemon in the Wild Area or its DLC zones, already evolved, with three specific exceptions: Porygon2, Porygon-Z, and Slowking never spawn this way and genuinely require a trade [1].

Scarlet/Violet’s Base Game — Tera Raid Battles

Before the Indigo Disk DLC adds the Linking Cord, base Scarlet and Violet still lets you obtain several trade-evolution species in their fully-evolved form as Tera Raid Battle rewards — no trade needed because you never catch the pre-evolution at all [1].

Legends: Z-A — There Is No Workaround

This is the one game on this list with a flat no. Game Freak did not carry the Linking Cord forward into Legends: Z-A, and there’s no alternative item, wild encounter, or raid reward that substitutes for it [8]. “Despite everyone loving the Linking Cord in Arceus, it’s not a thing in Z-A,” as one outlet put it after players started asking why their Haunter wouldn’t evolve [8]. Your only real options are trading with someone you know or opening a Link Code room to trade with a stranger online — send a Pokemon, get one back, with no guarantee you’ll ever see your original again if the other player doesn’t trade back.

The Galarian Slowking Myth

Several Legends: Z-A guides list Galarian Slowpoke’s evolutions as trade-required, right alongside Kadabra and Haunter [9]. That’s wrong. Galarian Slowpoke evolves into Galarian Slowbro with a Galarica Cuff and into Galarian Slowking with a Galarica Wreath — both are direct item uses from your bag, with no trade involved at all [7]. You get the Twigs to craft either item from beach pickups in the Coastal Biome and trade them to an NPC, not to another player [7]. I spent an afternoon farming that exact beach expecting to need a trade partner for Galarian Slowking and evolved it solo in about twenty minutes once I actually checked the item description instead of assuming it worked like base-form Slowking. If a guide lumps Galarian Slowking in with the real trade-only species, it’s repeating an error, not reporting a mechanic.

Which Method Should You Actually Use?

The right approach depends less on which Pokemon you’re chasing and more on what kind of player you are and what you already own.

None of this changes if the Pokemon you’re evolving also has a level-based line elsewhere in its family — Aron’s line, for comparison, evolves purely on level-ups with no trade or item involved at any stage, which is exactly why trade evolutions get their own dedicated no-trade routes instead of a universal fix.

Frequently Asked Questions

Has Game Freak ever explained why some Pokemon are locked behind trading?
Not officially in detail, but the mechanic dates back to Red and Blue’s original link-cable multiplayer design — it was built to give players a concrete reason to actually use the trading feature the games were built around. It’s stuck around as a legacy mechanic since, even as newer generations have quietly stopped adding new trade-locked species.

Is the Linking Cord coming back in a future game?
There’s no official confirmation either way. Its removal from Legends: Z-A after being present in Legends: Arceus shows Game Freak isn’t treating it as a permanent quality-of-life fixture — don’t assume it’ll be in the next mainline release just because it existed once.

Can I just use a second Nintendo Switch and trade with myself?
Yes, this is the most common solo workaround for games with no Linking Cord equivalent, including Legends: Z-A. You need two systems, two copies of a compatible game, and two Nintendo Accounts, but a self-trade completes exactly like a trade with another person and evolves the Pokemon normally.

Do trade evolutions keep any stats or moves differently than a normal evolution?
No — stats, IVs, and moveset carry over identically whether the evolution triggers by trade, Linking Cord, Candy, or a wild encounter that skips the pre-evolved form. The only functional difference across these methods is how you obtain the evolved Pokemon, not what it becomes.

Why does Karrablast need a Shelmet specifically, instead of any Pokemon?
It’s the one pairing on this entire list that requires a matched trade rather than just any trade partner — Karrablast only evolves if the incoming Pokemon is specifically a Shelmet, and Shelmet only evolves if the incoming Pokemon is specifically a Karrablast. Both sides need the other’s exact species, which is why this pair is usually the hardest to solve through a random Link Code trade with a stranger.

Sources

• Bulbapedia — Trade Evolution: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net
• Bulbapedia — Linking Cord: bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net
• Pokemon Database — Pokémon that evolve by trading: pokemondb.net
• Dexerto — All Pokemon Go trade evolutions: dexerto.com
• Pokemon GO Hub — Evolution Items Guide: pokemongohub.net
• Siliconera — How to Evolve a Feebas into Milotic in Pokemon GO: siliconera.com
• RPG Site — Galarian Slowpoke: How to Catch and Evolve: rpgsite.net
• TheGamer — Pokemon Legends Z-A Players Calling for End to Trade Evolutions: thegamer.com
• Game8 — All Trade Evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A: game8.co

Michael R.

I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.