In the last four Pokemon generations, the Global Trade Station (more commonly known as the GTS) was a vital feature for making trades and completing the Pokedex. You could offer one of your own Pokemon and request something specific in return, or you could search through other people’s offers to see if you had what they were asking for.
Unfortunately, the GTS did not make a comeback in Pokemon Sword and Shield. This has been disappointing for a lot of players because its absence makes it harder to seek out and trade for specific Pokemon.
To trade with another player in Sword and Shield, the options are pretty limited without the GTS. You could search using a random link code, hope to match with somebody, and keep your fingers crossed that they offer something you like.
The other option is to send a Pokemon away on a Surprise Trade and get something totally random in return (usually common Pokemon from the first few routes of the game). This is not very helpful if you are looking for a specific Pokemon or if you are trying to complete the Pokedex.
Luckily, two players decided to develop a website that acts as a replacement for the GTS. Friends Rory (@rorylombardi) and Jacob (@cloutsocks) have created Wooloo Farm as a way for players trade more efficiently than the options provided in the game allow.
It works similarly to the GTS: list a Pokemon that you have up for trade, along with what you are looking for. Alternatively, you can search through what people are offering and requesting.
Wooloo Farm actually has more options for searching through trades than the GTS had. You can specify the Pokemon’s form, gender, ability, held item, type of ball its in, nature, IVs, language/region, moves, and whether it is shiny or not.
Also, unlike the GTS, Wooloo Farm allows you to offer and request multiple Pokemon at one time. For example, if you want to trade your Gigantamax Butterfree, you can say that you would accept any other Gigantamax Pokemon for it.
The website allows you to log in through Twitter, Reddit, or Discord, and potential traders can be contacted through these sites. There is also an official Discord channel where you can trade publicly if you don’t want to do it over private DMs.
Wooloo Farm is still fairly new, yet as of Dec. 18 there have been 8,319 trade offers posted with a 69% trade completion rate. The chances that you will find a trade for what you are looking for seems pretty high.
Unless the GTS or a similar system is someday added to Pokemon Sword and Shield, Wooloo Farm is a good replacement. Just head to wooloo.farm to get started. It’s a straight-forward way to find specific trades and work towards completing the Pokedex.
Plus, website’s name and Wooloo mascot are just way too adorable.
Published: Dec 20, 2019 12:00 pm