Should I Transfer Pokemon if I Only Have One? A Pokemon GO Expert’s Guide

The short answer? It depends. While your instinct might be to hoard every single Pokémon you encounter, especially if it’s the only one of its kind, transferring that lone Pokémon might be the best strategy in many situations. The decision boils down to your personal goals in the game, your current storage capacity, and the Pokémon’s potential usefulness. Let’s dive into a comprehensive guide to help you decide when to keep ’em and when to let ’em go.

The Sentimental Collector vs. The Strategic Trainer

At the heart of this decision lies your play style. Are you a completionist, aiming for a “living Pokedex”, where you keep at least one of every species ever caught? Or are you a strategic player, focused on building a powerful team for raids, Gym battles, and PvP? The answer will heavily influence your transfer habits.

• The Completionist: If you’re a completionist, the article excerpt says “I like to have one of each so I can have a “living Pokedex”. This is great in the beginning, but as more generations release, consider if you REALLY want every Spinda form, or are those extra Unown forms worth taking up space? The best advice for you is to decide what is truly collectable in your eyes, and stick to it. If you do stick to it, expand storage as you level up, and with free coins from Gyms.

• The Strategic Trainer: For the strategic trainer, space is a precious resource. Every slot in your Pokemon storage counts. You need room to store potential raid counters, Gym attackers, and PvP contenders. Holding onto a weak, low-CP Pokémon solely for the sake of having it is a luxury you can’t afford. The best advice for you is to be honest with yourself on what is worth investing into. If you have to level it up to be useful, it has to be worth it.

Key Considerations Before Transferring

Before you ship off that lonely Pokémon to Professor Willow, ask yourself these questions:

• Is it a Shiny or a Rare Variant? The article highlights this, “However, DO NOT TRANSFER A SHINY POKÉMON! Shiny Pokémon are extremely rare (1/450 chance) and have serious trade value.” Always, always lock your shinies and rare variants. Even if the IVs are terrible, a shiny Pokémon is a trophy and a potential trade asset. This includes shadow shinies, purified shinies, and event Pokémon with special costumes.

• Does it Have Legacy Moves? Some Pokémon have moves that are no longer obtainable through normal means (TMs or evolution). These legacy moves can make a Pokémon incredibly valuable in PvP or raids, even if its IVs aren’t perfect. Research the moveset carefully before transferring. Sites like GamePress and PvPoke can help you determine if your Pokémon has a legacy move.

• What are the IVs? While IVs aren’t everything, a zero IV Pokemon is extremely rare. Check its IVs using the in-game appraisal system (or a third-party app like Calcy IV or PokeGenie if you want to be exact). A Pokémon with great IVs has more long-term potential than one with terrible stats. The article excerpt reads, “If players don’t have another Pokemon of the same species, it may be worth holding onto the 0-star until it can be replaced by one with a better Appraisal.” Keep in mind, though, that a 0% IV Pokémon is a very rare trophy.

• Is it useful in PvP? Some Pokémon perform exceptionally well in specific PvP leagues (Great League, Ultra League, Master League) due to their move sets and stat distributions. Even if a Pokémon has low CP, it might be a PvP beast. PvPoke is a great resource for checking Pokemon ratings.

• Does it have Community Day Moves? Community Day Moves are exclusive charged moves that can only be obtained on Community Day, or during a Community Day Classic. These Pokemon with these moves are extremely strong.

• Do I need this Pokemon for research? Some research tasks or special research quests require catching or evolving specific Pokémon. Check your active research before mass-transferring, as you might accidentally transfer the exact Pokémon you need to complete a task.

• Am I close to evolving it? As the article excerpt says, “You have enough candies to evolve that Pokemon (even when you evolve starting from high-CP).” If you’re close to evolving a Pokémon into a useful evolution, it might be worth holding onto it until you have enough candies.

The Low-CP Conundrum

The article recommends, “Low CP pokemon are useless as you will catch higher ones soon enough as you level more. Toss everything under 200CP in the blender.” While this advice holds true to some extent, there are exceptions. A low-CP Pokémon with excellent IVs might be worth keeping if you plan to invest resources into powering it up later. Also, some Pokémon, like Sableye or Medicham, are strong in Great League even at relatively low CP.

Storage Management Tips

Effective storage management is crucial for any serious Pokémon GO player. Here are a few tips:

• Regularly Purge Weak Pokémon: Don’t let your storage fill up with weak, useless Pokémon. Regularly review your collection and transfer those that don’t meet your criteria.

• Tagging System: Utilize the in-game tagging system to categorize your Pokémon (e.g., “Raid Attacker,” “PvP,” “Trade,” “Shiny”). This makes it easier to find specific Pokémon and identify those that can be safely transferred.

• Expand Storage: As you progress in the game, invest in expanding your Pokemon storage. The extra space will allow you to hold onto more valuable Pokémon and reduce the need for constant transfers.

• Community Days Check your local Pokemon GO community for news about Community Days and Spotlight hours to get the most out of them!

Don’t Overthink It

Ultimately, Pokémon GO is a game. Have fun, experiment, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes. You might regret transferring a Pokémon later, but that’s part of the learning process. Most Pokémon are easily obtainable, so don’t stress too much about every decision. The important thing is to enjoy the game! The study of learning through playing games has its own community with websites like the Games Learning Society dedicated to the intersection of education and gaming.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Should I transfer all my 0-star Pokémon?

As mentioned earlier, 0-star (0% IV) Pokémon are incredibly rare. While they might not be competitively viable, some players collect them for their novelty. The article excerpt mentions this exactly, stating, “A fully 0% IV Pokemon is extremely rare, even when compared to their 4-star/Perfect IV counterparts. Players may want to keep it just for the rarity.” If you’re a collector, keep it. If you need the space, consider transferring it after you have more high-IV specimens.

2. Should I transfer my extra Pokémon?

The article says, “As you catch more Pokémon, you may transfer some of them to Professor Willow to free up your Pokémon storage.” Yes, absolutely. The entire concept of transferring exists to manage your storage. Transferring duplicates and weak Pokémon is essential for keeping your storage manageable.

3. Should I transfer all my low CP Pokémon?

Not necessarily. While the article recommends getting rid of low CP Pokémon, remember that CP isn’t the only factor. A low-CP Pokémon with good IVs or a useful moveset might be worth keeping, especially if it’s a rare spawn.

4. Why do people put low CP Pokémon in gyms?

The article states, “Second they’re easier to beat, so if you want quick coins leaving multiple low CP Pokemon makes it faster for the coins to come to you. You get a few coins from each so you’re more likely to get to the 50 daily limit.” This is a valid strategy. Weaker Pokemon are easily defeated, so the quicker it leaves the gym, the faster your Pokemon will be sent back home, and the faster you can earn coins.

5. Is it better to max CP then evolve?

The article explains, “Cp is determined by base stats of a pokemon, the pokémon’s level, and its ivs. Because evolving a pokemon only changes the base stats not the level or ivs, it doesn’t matter if you power up a pokemon before evolving or after the cp it gets to won’t change.” The CP result is the same, so do whatever order makes sense for you.

6. Should I keep multiples of Pokemon in Pokemon go?

The article says, “By catching the same species of Pokémon consecutively over and over, you will build up your Catch Combo. As your combo count increases, you will earn more Candies to power up your Pokémon.” Outside of this feature, there is no true reason to collect many, unless they are worth keeping (High IV Pokemon).

7. Are 4-star Pokemon the best?

The article explains, “If a Pokemon’s IVs are maxed, the orange bar becomes red. A Pokemon with perfect IVs is classified as a 4-star Pokemon.” Yes, 4-star Pokémon have perfect IVs and represent the highest potential CP. They are generally the best to invest in for raids and battles.

8. Should I transfer bad Shinies?

Never! The article is very clear about this. It states, “However, DO NOT TRANSFER A SHINY POKÉMON! Shiny Pokémon are extremely rare (1/450 chance) and have serious trade value.” Keep all shinies, regardless of IVs.

9. Should I evolve my 4-star Pokemon go?

Yes, the article recommends evolving Pokemon with good IVs, stating, “So evolving a Pokemon with IV’s in the first or second tier is a good idea, you don’t need to wait for the perfect IV’s.”

10. How do you know which Pokémon to transfer?

The article states, “In general, you want to trade away your low-value Pokémon so you can build up your stronger ones.” Look at CP, IVs, movesets, and rarity. Transfer Pokémon that are weak, have poor stats, and aren’t useful in battles. Tag Pokemon to help organize what to transfer.

11. Is it safe to store cards in a binder?

This is not relevant to Pokémon GO.

12. Is it worth having both Pokémon games?

This is not relevant to Pokémon GO.

13. Should I get rid of duplicates in Pokemon go?

The article excerpt says, “I never keep duplicates, I always just keep the one with the highest CP. I guess the only one you may want to have more than one of would be Eevee for the different evolutions.” If you already have a better version of the Pokemon, consider transferring the duplicate, depending on your available storage.

14. Should I purify or keep Pokemon go?

The article states, “Purified Pokemon will have better Appraisal and receive 2 points towards all their IVs. This can potentially bring a 2-star Shadow Pokemon to a 3-star if it’s purified. Purified Pokemon will receive a significant boost in Combat Power (CP).” This depends on the individual Pokémon. Some Shadow Pokémon are more powerful than their purified counterparts, even with lower IVs. Research the specific Pokémon before purifying.

15. Is it better to purify Pokemon before evolving?

The article excerpt states, “Make sure you Purify a Pokémon BEFORE you evolve it so you can use less candies.” This is typically recommended, as it reduces the candy cost for evolution and gives the Pokémon a CP boost.