Should You Keep Your Old Pokémon in Pokémon Go?

Hey there fellow trainer! If you‘ve been playing Pokémon Go for a while, you may have accumulated quite a collection of Pokémon from 2016 onward. With storage space being limited, you might be wondering if it‘s really worth holding onto so many old monsters. From my own experiences as a day 1 player, I think keeping old Pokémon can be incredibly rewarding if you‘re strategic about it. Let me explain why I think it‘s an awesome idea and provide some tips!

Benefit #1: Lucky Trades

Trading older Pokémon from July/August 2016 practically guarantees lucky Pokémon! My friends and I have had incredible luck rates over 95% on most old trades. What makes lucky Pokémon so great? They take only half the normal stardust cost to power up! Here are the lucky rates based on age:

I‘ve saved hundreds of thousands of stardust by trading old Legendaries like 2016 Lugia and getting them lucky. A regular level 20 Lugia costs 100,000 dust to reach level 30, but a lucky one only costs 50,000!

Those stardust savings really add up over time, allowing me to power up raid teams faster. Even non-legendaries like Tyranitar can be costly projects, so trading old ones from a similar era is a huge benefit.

Speaking of raids, scoring weather boosted lucky legendaries means they require 0 stardust investment to hit level 25! That‘s huge for building raid squads on a budget.

Benefit #2: Unobtainable Event Pokémon

Event Pokémon that were caught during special in-game events cannot be obtained again if you transfer them. Some had exclusive moves too! Once they‘re gone, they‘re gone.

I still cherish my party hat Pichu from the first birthday event. Having old costumes like that shows you‘re an OG player. Plus who knows, Niantic may release some special research or quests in the future that require owning previous event Pokémon!

Some of my favorites in my collection are Safari Zone regionals and Go Fest Pokémon. Did you catch a Unown in Chicago 2018? Hold onto it! Who knows when Niantic will reshuffle which letters appear where. Legacy move event ‘mon like Meteor Mash Metagross also keep value for battles.

Benefit #3: Trading Distance & Legacy Moves

When trading Pokémon caught far apart, you get bonus candy. I picked up Pokémon from Brazil, Australia, Japan beforeever global friends lists existed. Trading those to local friends nets me 3 candies per trade rather than just 1 if they were local!

Some old Pokémon know legacy moves not obtainable anymore too. Rock Throw Omastar and Shadow Claw Gengar were staples in my raid teams for years. I couldn‘t bear to part with them after all we‘d been through! Their rare moves make them intriguing trade chips too.

If you have Poké pals who missed out on the early days, trading them legacy ‘mon helps fill their Pokédexes. Who knows what concealed gems lie in your ancient hordes?

Benefit #4: Memories & Sentimental Value

Even if some outdated Pokémon no longer battle well, keeping them reminds me of all the adventures we shared these past 6 years. My starter Bulbasaur (now Venusaur) from day 1 still comes out for community days occasionally to romp around.

I powered up an army of Espeon due to the old gym system favoring them as prestigers. They‘re mostly retired now, but I keep my high level Espeons around for nostalgia. We took so many gyms together back in the day!

Some Pokémon I keep just because I love their shiny forms – red Gyarados, pink Butterfree, etc. Others were hard fought raid wins from the early EX pass days. The effort makes them special.

Trading away old Pokémon makes sense sometimes, but consider their sentimental value too. They tell the story of your Pokémon Go journey.

Which Old Pokémon are Keepers?

Now obviously we can‘t keep every weedle and pidgey forever, our bags would explode! Try keeping:

• Event Pokémon with exclusive moves, costumes, etc.
• Strong meta relevant Pokémon like Tyranitar, Dragonite, etc with good IVs.
• Shiny Pokémon – even Gyarados stays a flex!
• Legacy move Pokémon for trade value and battles
• Sentimental favorites from your journey
• High IV Pokémon still useful for PvP and raids
• Max out lucky rates by keeping Pokémon over 2 years old

Trading in bulk with best friends nets guaranteed lucky trades, so don‘t worry about maximizing every single trade!

I like to tag old Pokémon with the year caught to easily audit them later. Anything 2016-2017 is an instant lucky trade. Going through my storage once a quarter and transferring excess helped me clear space too.

Hope these tips help you get the most out of your old Pokémon. They‘re treasures filled with memories awaiting the right trainer to unlock their potential once again! Trade smart, hold the best, transfer the rest. With a little work, you‘ll have an elite force of lucky legendary raid bosses in no time.

Time to reunite with some old pals and relive those nostalgic early days of Pokémon Go. Our adventure is just getting started!