Pokémon Go's new Trade Evolution mechanic is a cool nod to the main series Eurogamer.net If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy. Pokémon Go's new Trade Evolution mechanic is a cool nod to the main series Swapped in. News by Tom Phillips Deputy Editor Updated on 13 Jan 2020 3 comments Last Friday, Pokémon Go released another menagerie of creatures from the Unova region - those originally found in DS games Pokémon Black and White. But it also added a new gameplay mechanic - Trade Evolution - which is based on something found in the main games all the way back in Pokémon Red and Blue. In the main Pokémon series, some creatures can only evolve when traded from one Trainer to another. It's something Pokémon Go has had to work around in the past - as trading was only added to the game later on. Now, Pokémon Go offers this functionality too, sort of - and has backdated it to include Pokémon which in earlier generations evolved through trading in the main series games. This means creatures such as Kadabra, Machoke, Graveler and Haunter. And it comes at the perfect time. New Pokémon from Unova added in this wave include Karrablast and Shelmet, which in the main series games can only evolve when traded with one another. Fun Pokémon lore fact - this is because Shelmet loses its suit of armour, which is then picked up by Karrablast for its own evolution. In Pokémon Go, trading any of the species now marked with the Trade Evolution mechanic removes the full candy cost of evolving. You can still evolve creatures without trading, but it is heavily encouraged - both Karrablast and Shelmet require 200 Candy each to evolve otherwise. All together, around 30 species were added to Pokémon Go at the weekend, including the rock-like Roggenrola, tadpole-like Tympole, crab-like Dwebble, garbage-like Trubbish, new bugs Venipede and Joltik, plus Shelmet and Karrablast. Fossil Pokémon Tirtouga and Archen, plus the Larvitar-like Axew are also available wild, although are rare spawns. The Machop-like Timburr, which evolves into the top tier Fighting-type Conkeldorr, is a 10km egg and raid exclusive. And there are a bunch more Pokémon which are now available as regional exclusives. Throh and Sawk are divided across the world along the usual Solrock/Lunatone and Zangoose/Seviper lines. The pirannah-like Basculin has two colour forms split across the Greenwich Meridian line, just like Shellos. Finally, Sigilyph is available in/around Egypt and Greece, while the cacti-like Maractus is available in the Southern US, Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America. Become a Eurogamer subscriber and get your first month for £1 Get your first month for £1 (normally £3.99) when you buy a Standard Eurogamer subscription. Enjoy ad-free browsing, merch discounts, our monthly letter from the editor, and show your support with a supporter-exclusive comment flair! Support us View supporter archive More News Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 60 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Google announces cloud gaming Chromebooks less than a fortnight after Stadia shutdown GeForce Now preinstalled. 11 Latest Articles Preview Football Manager's new Console edition is the best you'll get without a PC Getting Touch-right. Splatoon 3 Amiibos will be out next month Ink-coming! 3 Fans think Phil Spencer's shelf is teasing the Xbox Game Pass streaming box UPDATE: Xbox confirms old Keystone prototype. 60 Modder dives into Demon's Souls files following PS5 jailbreak, discovers fabled Ring of the Chieftain Who knows what's nexus? 4 Supporters Only Premium only Off Topic: Take a minute to appreciate Cookin' with Coolio's incredible scallops recipe. What a great book. Premium only Off Topic: Reading City of Glass in comic form "Where exactly am I going?" Premium only Off Topic: Il Buco is a transporting film about a really big hole Underlands. Off-Topic Netflix handled Sandman brilliantly It was Dreamy. 9 Buy things with globes on them And other lovely Eurogamer merch in our official store! Explore our store