Trading Pokemon has always been a staple of the Nintendo video game franchise, aiding players on their shared quest to become the very best by catching (or trading) ’em all. Sword and Shield together introduce a fun new way of trading via the Surprise Trade system, which removes the element of bartering and instead randomly switches designated Pokemon between players that have listed them. Many excitable early adopters are being left disappointed, however, due to their Pokemon Sword and Shield Surprise Trade not working. Here’s what’s most likely happening and how you can fix it.
Pokemon Sword and Shield Surprise Trade never finding a match fix
Some users have reported encountering difficulties getting Surprise Trades to work. The idea behind this newly added functionality is to allow players to continue on their Galar region adventure while trades are carried out by the game in the background, removing the need for long waits in specialized trading menus.
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That hasn’t quite been the case, though, with players listing and re-listing Pokemon for trade and subsequently having no luck finding a match across hours of playtime. It’d be easy to dismiss this as a Pokemon Sword and Shield network issue that will smooth itself out, but in reality, the solution for many will be even simpler than that.
As you can see in this article’s featured image, in the lower right-hand corner of the Y-Comm menu that houses the Surprise Trade option, there’s a prompt to press plus (+) On your Nintendo Switch controller to connect to the internet. Even if your Switch is already connected to a network, by default, Surprise Trades are set to local meaning that a match can only be made with somebody in your more immediate area.
Simply by changing this option, any issues with the Pokemon Sword and Shield Surprise Trade not working should evaporate. Now, you’ll be able to trade with countless players all over the world.
