Whether you’re trying to attain all starters quickly or consolidate version exclusives, trading with yourself has always been an alternative to the hassle of setting up trades with strangers.
Traditionally, past Pokemon games allowed players to do this by utilizing the Global Trade System. The only requirement being that player needed 2 copies of the game.
And while the method carried some risks, namely strangers stealing your trades, the process was mostly painless with some due diligence.
Can you self-trade in Pokemon Sword and Shield?
Unfortunately, it’s very expensive to do as of January 2020 due to the exclusion of GTS. The only way to trade with yourself is by owning multiple Nintendo Switch’s and 2 copies of the game.