page_title: Gameplay of Pokémon
section_title: Pokémon trades
hierarchical_section_title: Gameplay of Pokémon / Connectivity / Pokémon trades
caption_attribution_description: A photo of the Nintendo Game Boy (1989) handheld game console's right side, displaying volume control and its link cable port. This picture was taken by me, I Jethrobot, August 23rd, 2006.
context_page_description: Pokémon involves the catching and training of fictional creatures called "Pokémon" and using them to battle other Trainers. Each successive generation of games builds upon this concept by introducing new Pokémon, items, and gameplay concepts. Some of the general concepts were featured elsewhere in the franchise before being introduced to the games; double battles appeared in the anime long before appearing in the games, and Pokémon Abilities are similar to the Pokémon Powers introduced in the Pokémon Trading Card Game, which also introduced Shiny Pokémon, the phenomenon of Pokemon being different colors than the original. Pokémon competitive play is where players around the world battle each other with Pokemon however, it requires some strategy involving having pokemon with high stats and picking supereffective moves.
context_section_description: Players have the ability to trade their Pokémon with one another by connecting two compatible games. Trading is an important aspect to the Pokémon games, being the crux upon which much of the franchise is based. This is because the slogan, and consequently the goal, "Gotta catch 'em All," is logistically impossible without trading. Each game released in a generation has certain Pokémon that are exclusive to that version. For example, in Pokémon Red players can catch the Pokémon Ekans and its evolved form, Arbok, while both are absent in the wild in both Pokémon Blue and Pokémon Yellow. Other Pokémon are only available when offered up as a choice. The most obvious example is the choice between three starter Pokémon at the beginning of the game; the only way to get the other two is by trading. Some NPCs offer to trade Pokémon with the player, allowing them to acquire Pokémon otherwise unavailable without connecting to another game. For example, the only way to get a Jynx in Pokémon Red and Blue (other than trading with another game cartridge) is through an in-game trade. The other way that trading is made instrumental in gameplay is that some Pokémon, like Haunter and Machoke, only evolve into their final forms when traded.
  Trading between games on the Game Boy and related systems is accomplished through a Game Link cable that attaches to ports found on all Game Boy incarnations. The size of the ports varies between consoles, so several hybrid cables have been created that allow, for example, linking between the original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color. Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen include a special wireless dongle which plugs into the game link port for local wireless communication. On the Nintendo DS, DS Wireless Communications is used instead. Diamond and Pearl also introduced the Global Trade Station/System (or GTS), a place where people all around the world may trade Pokémon using the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. In the GTS hall, the player can input their own location and pinpoint the locations of other players they have interacted with. The Nintendo WFC records this data when they trade successfully with someone over the GTS or in their Pal Pad. For the Nintendo 3DS line, two successors to the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection were implemented in each generation. In the Player Search System in Pokémon X & Y and Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, the function is simply called Trade, while in Sun, Moon, Ultra Sun, and Ultra Moon in the Festival Plaza, the function is called Link Trade. The second successor is called Wonder Trade; players choose a Pokémon to trade and are randomly paired with another player around the world.
caption: The game link port is located above the volume control on the original Game Boy handheld system.
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