PTD: Trading
Pokemon Tower Defense: Catch Them All Through Trading
One of the many perks in playing Pokemon Tower Defense is that you get to collect all of your favorite core Pokemon; all 151 from the Red and Blue versions of the game to be exact. Although in essence you can spend months waiting for those elusive rare monsters, the faster and more efficient way to catch them all is to trade with other, dedicated Pokemon Trainers like yourself. This truly makes the game come alive in terms of immersing you into the growing community and putting you up to the task of being an ace trainer.
Getting Started
Understanding the system itself is like a walk in the Pokepark. If you are currently playing Pokemon Tower Defense, you will need to click on the "Trading" button to visit the Pokemon Center. Remember that you cannot trade in the Pokemon Center and play the game at the same time because you may lose your progress. At any rate, once in the Center, choose the Profile you want to use for trading. Upon doing so, several options open up for you.
Creating a Trade
In the Create Trade section, all the Pokemon in your Tower Defense account will be displayed for you to choose from. This works much like a Buy and Sell listing, only with the possibility of instant exchanges. From here, clicking on one of your monsters takes you to another page where in you can set up your Pokemon Requests.
Pokemon Requests are basically the conditions you want for a trade to take place. For people to be able to instantly exchange their Pokemon with yours, they will have to meet all of the parameters you set. Otherwise, if you do not set any requests or if someone still wants to try to trade for your monster, they will still have the option to offer their Pokemon to you. In that case, you will have notification in the Your Trade Request section of the Pokemon Center and you will have the chance to accept or decline their offers.
To ensure that you get exactly what you want, you may declare up to six particular Pokemon you want people to trade in return for a single one of yours. Furthermore, you also get to set the Pokemon type (Regular, Shiny or Shadow) as well as its level. You are also allowed to declare a "Trade for Any" condition in those categories if you have no specifics in mind. After you put in your specific requirements, a Trade ID will be assigned to your advertised Pokemon.
Asking Too Much
Remember that it is not always in your best interest if you declare the maximum amount of Pokemon Requests. Trading a Pidgey for a Snorlax, three Legendary Pokemon, a Mew and a Victini do not make much sense even to new players. The trick here is to keep your trades reasonable. The sheer amount of listings make it tough for people to find any kind of trade as it is. There are just so many unbalanced trade requests that just end up buried and forgotten.
Also, know your Pokemon and keep your trade expectations realistic. Do not expect that a Shiny Pokemon, readily available during the first few Challenge Maps, will get you a monster that has 0.1% spawn rate. Sure, flukes do exist but you will definitely spend too much time looking for something that may not exist.
Managing Your Trades
Whenever you make your Pokemon available for trade, it will be confined to the Pokemon Center and will not be usable in-game. Do not worry if you ever change your mind, you can always check your listing in the Your Trade Request page. Click on "Call Pokemon Back To Profile" and your Pokemon will be back in your game instantly.
The Your Trade Request section is broken down into two parts. All of the monsters you stored in Pokemon Center are listed by kind. Beside its basic stats, there is a "View Request" link which will display the number of offers you have received for each Pokemon. The second part displays the trades which you have requested for so you can see their status and whether or not your offers have been accepted.
Time to Go Shopping!
If you are the one doing the Pokemon shopping, you can visit the Search Trades page. In reverse, you will be able to look for a specific Pokemon, with the type and level you want. If you wish to trade with a friend, you may search for his Trainer Account Name to display his advertised Pokemon. If you already know the Trade ID, you may input that as well. Once you find what you are looking for and if the given specifics are acceptable to you, you may choose the Pokemon that meets the trade criteria from your available listings. If every criteria is met, your Pokemon is automatically swapped with theirs. You may then transfer the new monster to your in-game account by choosing "Send to Profile" from the Pokemon Center's main page.
Though the Search function is not elegant in any way, it does what it is supposed to do. Remember that some parameters are prioritized over others, so if you are not going to use an option, leave it untouched and only specify terms for that particular search.
In cases where you want your Pokemon to sell fast, you can always do your homework in the Search Trades page. Want to know if your Shiny Vulpix is highly sought after? There is an "Or Search for which Pokemon other trainers want" option which allows you to check what other people are willing to give up for one of your beloved Pokemon. Of course, this does not mean that everything listed is an instant swap. As long as that particular Pokemon is listed as a Trade Request, it will be displayed, regardless if the player is looking for five other monsters as well.
Things to Remember About the Trading System
There are a few quirks you have to keep in mind when trading in the Pokemon Center. Sometimes when accepting offers, there is a delay in delivering new monsters. Often at times it is nothing too problematic and will simply resolve itself in a matter of minutes. Otherwise, both Pokemon may have simply stayed with the original owners so you may just opt to initiate the trade once again.
Another thing to take note of is trade evolution. Since there are a few Pokemon which change form through trade, be careful when acquiring new ones which exhibit the trait. First, check if the trade evolving Pokemon meets the level requirements and decide on offers appropriately. For example, if you are vying for a Kadabra, you may want to get an Abra and evolve it yourself. Abra evolve in Kadabra at level 16. When placed into the trading system and retrieved, they automatically evolve into Alakazam. So, if you chance upon a listing for a Kadabra, you will most certainly end up with an Alakazam once you transfer that to your account.
While trading to catch all Pokemon, you will inevitably come across Hacked Pokemon. Just like the name implies, these are monsters which have been altered by other players to have certain advantages over regular ones. While it sounds like a good thing, these are undoubtedly seen as less valuable than legit Pokemon and do tend to exhibit traits that are game breaking. Due to the number of hacked monsters, you will have to keep a close eye on the listings. Hacked Pokemon are labeled appropriately so you can easily steer clear of them.
Everything Takes Time
Due to the sheer number of variants, the trick to getting the most coveted of Pokemon is to have a lot of patience. Unless you have been playing from the start, you may encounter some difficulty in getting event exclusive monsters. These are definitely going to be highly sought after and hard to come by but once in a while, a fair trade will come along. Perhaps from a veteran player who wants to give a chance to new fans or maybe from someone who is looking for a monster you have in excess. Regardless, be patient. Play the game and take part in the trading community, who knows what rarities you may come across.
You should also keep an eye out for easy trades. They may not be with Pokemon you are particularly interested in, but may be for monsters that are more in demand. Keep an eye out for available Pokemon that rank higher in terms of popularity or be rarer than what you have at hand. Like in real life, trading up is the key to exchanging a low level Pokemon for better ones.
While it may not be for everyone, trading is truly an important aspect of Pokemon Tower Defense. It is single handedly the fastest way to collect all of your beloved pets. Aside from giving you new monsters to raise, it also immerses you into the ever active Pokemon Tower Defense community. Just keep your wits about you and aim to be a fair trader to stay on top of the game.
Why Trade Matters
It should also be said that the game is completely playable without you ever having to trade Pokemon with other people. The question is, why? One of the best aspects of Pokemon is enjoying the great many types that are available, and chances are, you will not get any of the rare shiny ones or even the legendary types unless you do a bit of trading. PTD offers a large active community for players to participate in, all you need to do is join in on the fun.
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