What Happens When You Trade a Haunter in Pokemon GO?
Trading a Haunter in Pokemon GO has one very specific and sought-after outcome: it automatically triggers its evolution into Gengar without requiring the usual 100 Gastly Candies. This makes trading a Haunter a popular shortcut for obtaining the powerful Gengar quickly and efficiently.
The Haunter Trade Evolution Explained
The mechanics behind Haunter’s trade evolution are a nod to the main series Pokemon games, where certain Pokemon, including Haunter, evolve upon being traded to another player. Pokemon GO adopted this feature, albeit with a key difference: the evolution is free after the trade. This is a significant benefit, especially for players struggling to accumulate enough Gastly Candy.
Why Trade Haunter?
- Candy Conservation: The primary reason is to save on the 100 Gastly Candies needed to evolve Haunter into Gengar through the standard method. Candies can be scarce, especially in areas where Gastly spawns are infrequent.
- Faster Gengar Acquisition: Trading provides a much faster route to obtaining Gengar than grinding for candies.
- Stat Reroll (with caveats): Trading Pokemon rerolls their IVs (Individual Values) and CP (Combat Power). This can potentially result in a stronger Gengar than the original Haunter, though it can also lead to a weaker one. IVs are permanently assigned to a Pokemon, and they are a measure of a pokemon’s potential at various stats. CP is a measure of a pokemon’s overall strength and combat ability.
- Friendship Level Boost: Trading increases your friendship level with the player you’re trading with, unlocking various bonuses like increased XP gains and trade discounts.
The Trading Process
To trade a Haunter, you need to be within close proximity to another Pokemon GO player (typically around 100 meters). Both players must be at Trainer Level 10 or higher. The steps are as follows:
- Add each other as friends: If you aren’t already friends, exchange Trainer Codes and become friends.
- Increase Friendship Level (Recommended): While not strictly required, increasing your friendship level reduces the Stardust cost of the trade. Trading daily is the easiest way to build friendship levels.
- Initiate the Trade: One player initiates the trade request.
- Select the Haunter: The player offering the Haunter selects it from their Pokemon storage.
- Review the Offer: Both players review the trade offer, including the CP range of the Haunter and the Stardust cost.
- Confirm the Trade: If both players are satisfied, they confirm the trade.
- Haunter Evolves: Upon completion of the trade, the Haunter will automatically evolve into Gengar for the recipient. No candies are required!
Understanding the Trade Mechanics
Keep in mind that traded Pokemon receive new IVs. While this means you might get a Haunter that evolves into a stronger Gengar with better IVs, you could also get one that evolves into a weaker Gengar with lower IVs. There’s a significant degree of randomness involved, so don’t trade a Haunter with near-perfect IVs unless you’re prepared to risk losing them. The higher your friendship level, the better the IV floor for the trade, meaning a minimum IV is guaranteed.
The CP of the traded Haunter will also change, and its new CP after evolution into Gengar will reflect the rerolled IVs.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. Does trading a Shiny Haunter still trigger the free evolution?
Yes! If you trade a Shiny Haunter, it will still evolve into a Shiny Gengar upon trade completion, without requiring any candies. This is a popular way to obtain a Shiny Gengar more easily, although it involves the risk of potentially receiving lower IVs.
2. What happens to the Haunter’s moveset after it evolves into Gengar?
The moveset will be randomized when Haunter evolves into Gengar after a trade. The moveset is entirely random, so you may need to use TMs (Technical Machines) to get the desired moves.
3. Does the Haunter need to have a specific CP level to evolve through trading?
No, the CP of the Haunter doesn’t matter. Regardless of its CP, trading a Haunter will trigger the free evolution into Gengar. However, keep in mind the CP and IVs will be rerolled during the trade, and the resulting Gengar’s CP will depend on these new IVs.
4. Is there a limit to how many Haunter I can trade to trigger the evolution?
There’s no limit to the number of Haunter you can trade and evolve. However, keep in mind the Stardust cost for trades increases with lower friendship levels and may limit how many special trades (like for shinies or legendaries) you can do per day. Regular trades are usually very cheap on Stardust.
5. Does trading a Haunter guarantee perfect IVs on the Gengar?
No, trading doesn’t guarantee perfect IVs. The IVs are rerolled during the trade, and the outcome is random, although your friendship level impacts the minimum guaranteed IVs. Lucky Pokemon have a higher chance of good IVs.
6. What if I trade a Haunter with a nickname? Does the nickname transfer to Gengar?
No, the nickname does not transfer. The Gengar will revert to its default name unless you manually rename it.
7. Can I trade a Haunter back to the original trainer after it evolves into Gengar?
Yes, you can trade a Gengar back to the original trainer. However, just like trading Haunter, the IVs and CP will be rerolled again, so the Gengar may become weaker or stronger.
8. Does trading a Haunter affect its ability to be Mega Evolved?
No, trading a Haunter and evolving it into Gengar doesn’t affect its ability to Mega Evolve. As long as you have enough Gengar Mega Energy, you can Mega Evolve the Gengar regardless of how it was obtained.
9. What happens if I trade a Haunter that already knows a Community Day move?
The Community Day move will be lost upon trading and evolving into Gengar. Community Day moves are special, limited-time moves, and they do not carry over through trades. You will need to use an Elite TM to get the move back.
10. Is there a distance limit for trading a Haunter?
Yes, there is a distance limit for trading in Pokemon GO. You and the person you are trading with need to be in close proximity to each other, typically within about 100 meters. Remote trading is not possible.
11. Does the weather boost affect the CP range of a traded Haunter?
Yes, weather boost can affect the CP range of the Haunter you’re trading, but only at the time it was initially caught or hatched. The weather boost at the time of the trade itself doesn’t influence the rerolled CP.
12. What is the Stardust cost associated with trading a Haunter?
The Stardust cost varies depending on your friendship level with the other player and whether the Pokemon being traded is already in your Pokedex. Trading a Pokemon you don’t have registered in your Pokedex (like a Shiny or Legendary) will cost more Stardust. As you increase friendship levels, the Stardust cost decreases.
13. If I purify a Haunter, can I still trade it for a free evolution?
Yes, even if a Haunter has been purified, trading it will still trigger the free evolution into Gengar.
14. Can I use a Lucky Egg during the trade to gain extra XP?
No, using a Lucky Egg during the trade will not grant extra XP related to the evolution. The standard XP gain for the trade and friendship increase will be affected by the Lucky Egg.
15. If I already have a Gengar, is there any point in trading for another Haunter?
Yes, there are several reasons: You might want a stronger Gengar with better IVs, or you might be aiming to collect a Shiny Gengar. Additionally, the Stardust cost for trading regular Haunter is very low, making it an easy way to level up friendship with other players.