Remote Trading is Here
Remote Trading is already live in early timezones (such as New Zealand), and here’s everything you need to know about this new feature rolling out in phases starting on December 8th, 2025.
Remote Trading TL;DR:
- Forever Friends is the new highest tier of Friendship in Pokémon GO.
- It takes 90 days to go from Best Friends to Forever Friends.
- Hitting Forever Friends unlocks a Remote Trade.
- Keep interacting to earn more Remote Trades (they can’t be stacked).
- The maximum friend limit is increasing from 450 to 650.
New Friendship Level
Forever Friends takes 90 days
Images thanks to @pogo_central on X.
Remote Trading is similar to Lucky Trading in that it’s a one-time modifier to a trade — once you use it, it’s gone. Unlocking Remote Trading, however, is not a random chance like Lucky Trades.
Each day you interact with a Best Friend, you have a small chance to become Lucky Friends, meaning your next trade is guaranteed to be Lucky. With Remote Trades, trainers will earn friendship points by engaging with their Forever Friends, the new highest tier of Friendship in Pokémon GO. Earn enough friendship points to unlock a Remote Trade.
A Remote Trade is not always a Lucky Trade, so it may be best to wait for you and your friend to become Lucky Friends before using your Remote Trade. You can only have one Remote Trade available at a time; you can’t bank up multiple.
You can start earning friendship points towards your next Remote Trade, but you may start “wasting” friendship points if you don’t use your Remote Trade before earning another.
Earning friendship points will also reward XP, but the exact details about the amount of XP have not yet been revealed.
What are Friendship Points?
- New way to track your friendship progression.
- Earn one point per day by interacting with another trainer.
- Earn additional points by completing weekly challenges.
What Pokémon can’t be traded remotely?
Just like in-person trades, there are some limitations around which Pokémon can be traded. It’s worth noting that Pokémon must have been caught 30+ days ago to be able to be traded remotely.
The following Pokémon cannot be included in a Remote Trade.
- Pokémon caught in the last 30 days
- Previously traded Pokémon
- Shadow Pokémon
- Mythical Pokémon
- Pokémon defending Gyms or Power Spots
- Pokémon currently set as your buddy
- Actively Mega-Evolved Pokémon
- Fused Pokémon
- Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta
- Pokémon placed at Pokémon Playgrounds
Maximum Number of Friends Increasing by 200
The maximum number of friends will go from 450 to 650. Over the coming weeks, the limit will increase in increments of 50
Free Scatterbug Encounter
On December 15th, 2025, all trainers will get a Timed Research that rewards an encounter with 
Scatterbug, XP, Stardust, and more.
This Timed Research does expire and must be completed within the time window: Monday, December 15, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, December 29, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time.