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How to get all starters in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

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Picking a starter Pokémon in any installment is one of the hardest decisions you have to make, and you have to decide so early in the game. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet don’t make it easy — each starter Pokémon in the Paldea region is super cute and eventually evolves into formidable battle partners. While you technically have to pick one of Sprigatito, Quaxly, and Fuecoco to be your official starter, there’s no reason you can’t have them all. Isn’t that the whole point, after all?

You won’t be able to find any of the starter Pokémon in the wild, but you can get them all through trading. We’re here to walk you through the easiest way to trade for all starters below, even if you don’t have friends who are into the series.

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Trade with friends

Sprigatito smelling flowers.

If you want to kick in old school and only trust trainers you know to trade, you should trade with a friend.

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Just have your friend catch a Ditto in the wild and breed their starter to make eggs for trading. Trading starters with someone you know is always a grand time and a more wholesome way to catch ’em all.

Once everyone in your group has extra starters, get to trading. Just open up the in-game Main menu, go to the Poké Portal, and select Link trade. Enter a secret code, share it with your friend, and follow the on-screen instructions to trade.

Find a trade partner on Discord

Quaxly taking a bath in a fountain.

Don’t have any friends who are playing Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, or have all of your friends picked the same starter? No problem. Plenty of people around the world are trying to get all the starter Pokémon and have run into the same issue.

If you’re familiar with Discord, it’s super easy to find a trade partner online. Just make a Discord account, join this popular Pokémon Scarlet and Violet server, and jump into the trading channel in the lefthand sidebar. All you need to do is explain what Pokémon you’re looking to acquire and what you have to trade (usually version exclusives or other starters). There are usually friendly trainers who will be happy to trade you some starter Pokémon they have left over from competitive breeding.

When you figure out a link trade that works for you and another person, the game will prompt you to review the trade before finalizing it. This is so you can check out the Pokémon you’re getting in return and make sure you aren’t getting sent a dud Magikarp instead.

Use special link trade codes

Fuecoco eying an apple.

Players have also devised a special link trade code system to connect folks looking to trade starters and version-exclusive Pokémon. Created by YouTuber Austin John Plays, these codes allow you to put specific Pokémon up for grabs and know what Pokémon you should receive in return, all without talking to another player. There’s a video posted on Youtube explaining the system, but basically, you’re entering each Pokémon’s Pokédex entry number to facilitate the trade.

Here are my proposed #PokemonScarletandviolet trade codes! Trade for starters, Masuda Dittos, Version Exclusive Pokemon, and Paradox Pokemon with these codes. The more these codes spread, the better it works. Info on HOW this works here: https://t.co/AUg97pk4Ep pic.twitter.com/W0E8vYfb4C

— Austin John Plays (@AustinJohnPlays) November 20, 2022

The same rules apply here as above — make sure to review the trade before finalizing anything. Because codes for specific trades are shared between senders and receivers, you may need to make a few attempts before finding the right partner.

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Sam Hill
Sam Hill
Gaming Guides Editor
Sam Hill is a journalist and the gaming guides editor at Digital Trends. He's also written tech guides for Input and has…
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