Lucky Pokémon & Family Trades

What is a Lucky Pokémon?

A **Lucky Pokémon** needs **50% less Stardust** to power up. They also tend to have **better IV floors** when received from a trade (not guaranteed perfect, but often cleaner than wild catches).

Luckies happen when:

• You trade with a **Lucky Friend** (guaranteed lucky that day)
• A normal trade **randomly** rolls lucky (higher odds the older the Pokémon's catch date)
• Some **Special Research** rewards grant lucky status

When to hunt luckies (family rule of thumb)

| Goal | Lucky worth it? | |------|-----------------| | Legendary raid attacker you'll max | **Yes** — Stardust savings are huge | | PvP Great/Ultra League pick | **Maybe** — IVs still matter more than lucky badge | | Shiny trophy / dex filler | **Optional** — pretty, not required | | Shadow raid DPS | **Usually no** — keep Shadow; lucky is nice bonus only |

Family trade workflow

1. **List in Family Trades** — mark shinies and note "want lucky" in notes 2. **Check trade cost** — use the in-app cost helper before accepting 3. **Older Pokémon** — Pokémon caught in **2016–2018** have the best lucky odds in regular trades 4. **Do not trade away** your only meta legendary until everyone agrees in the proposal panel

Lucky vs Shadow

• **Shadow** = combat bonus (+Attack / −Defense)
• **Lucky** = power-up discount

You can have **Shadow + Lucky** after a lucky trade. That is a premium raid attacker — worth protecting.

Mom checklist before a big lucky trade

• [ ] Both players at the trade screen in GO (local or remote)
• [ ] Stardust cost confirmed in Companion
• [ ] IV / size / shiny match what the wishlist said
• [ ] Proposal marked **accepted** in-app so nobody forgets who owes what

See also: **Best Friends & Lucky Friends** for guaranteed lucky days.