How to do a Surprise Trade in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Surprise Trades, formerly known as Wonder Trades in previous generations, are a form of trading that lets players trade a Pokémon of their choice with a random trainer. With online play, this means that players can receive Pokémon from around the world. You and the other trainer will not be able to view each other’s selected Pokémon before the trade, hence the element of surprise. Here is how you can do a Surprise Trade in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

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Where to access Surprise Trade in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

Players can access Surprise Trade via the Poké Portal. Press X to open the Main Menu, then navigate to the Poké Portal. The Poké Portal will allow you to do Link Trades and Surprise Trades, and other multiplayer activities such as Union Circles, Tera Raid Battles, Link Battles, accessing the Battle Stadium, and receiving Mystery Gifts.

Once you have selected Surprise Trade, you will then be taken to a screen with your PC Boxes, prompting you to select a Pokémon to trade away. Select a Pokémon of your choice, and then confirm it a final time. After that, you may return to whatever you were doing previously. When a Surprise Trade has been completed, you will see a green checkmark next to the “Surprise Trade“ option in the Poké Portal and receive an in-game notification at the top of your screen. Select it again to see what Pokémon you have received from your mystery trading partner!

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Remember, however, that to Surprise Trade with trainers from around the world, you will need a Nintendo Online subscription, and your Nintendo Switch system has to be connected to the internet. You can activate Online Mode by pressing the L button on your switch. Otherwise, you will be using local communication to Surprise Trade with nearby trainers.

The mysterious element of Surprise Trade has been popular with players for many generations, with many trainers doing their own small events, such as Surprise Trading holiday-themed Pokémon or breeding and Surprise Trading Starter Pokémon. It is a very novel way of enjoying the game’s multiplayer features, as you’ll never know what you’ll get until you try.