Like a lot of you, I'm working my way through Pokemon Legends: Z-A. I've fought some alphas, had my buns handed to me by some others, discovered the sewers, and plenty of fashion in Lumiose City. What I haven't done, though, is traded any Pokémon.
Will I ever get a Gengar or an Alakazam? At this rate, no, because to trigger their evolutions, you need to trade them. And what don't we have? A Linking Cord item in Legends: Z-A. In Legends: Arceus, you could get one and use it to evolve creatures without involving another person, but for some reason, the item hasn't returned in the latest game.
To trade your Pokémon, you need to either wrangle some friends to come and sit next to you or use a Nintendo Online Subscription to trade with them online. And while yes, Pokemon ZA trade codes are helpful, I remember the good old days of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon, where you could send off a Charjabug into the ether without having to pay for the privilege.
Unfortunately, my physically close friends didn't get Legends: Z-A after how disappointing they found Scarlet and Violet, and I currently don't have an NSO subscription, so I'm kind of stuck. Sure, I could sign up for a month, but I don't want to have to pay $5 just to evolve some 'mons.
There's also the issue of shinies. Let's say you set up a trade via Reddit or Discord, and you send your shiny Machoke off to another trainer. Then imagine they don't send it back. What can you do? Be sad, that's about it.
Please, Pokémon, give us back the Linking Cord. I'm thankful I caught an alpha Trevenant, but unless a Gourgeist, Machamp, or Gengar wanders into my path, they won't be making it into my Pokédex any time soon.
You can use Pokemon ZA evolution items to evolve a lot more critters, including a fair few grass type Pokemon, thankfully. Once you get to Pokemon Wild Zone 7 or Pokemon Wild Zone 8, you can find some second and even third evolutions out in the wild.