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A Long-Awaited Feature Arrives

After years of requests from the community, Pokémon GO is finally bringing remote trading into the game. The new feature arrived as part of this week’s major friendship overhaul, introducing a fresh tier called Forever Friends that sits above Best Friends and unlocks the ability to trade with players anywhere in the world.

It’s a massive step forward for a game that has always required trainers to stand next to each other to swap Pokémon. However, just like many updates in Pokémon GO, the new system comes with layers of rules, limits, and a few frustrating hoops to jump through.

How Forever Friends Works

Forever Friends replaces the old daily interaction system with a more detailed Friendship Points mechanic. Trainers now need 90 Friendship Points after reaching Best Friends to hit the new tier, which officially grants your first Remote Trade with that player.

Friendship Points can be earned by sending gifts, trading, battling together, or completing other friendship activities. Weekly Challenges offer an extra push, awarding up to seven bonus points if a group of four players completes a shared task. Event bonuses, such as double friendship gains, also apply.

Forever Friends is repeatable, meaning you can continue earning 90 points and unlock more Remote Trades with the same friend. There is one important limitation though: Remote Trades do not stack. If you earn one, you must use it before unlocking another.

Reaching Forever Friends for the first time also gives a special one-time reward, including XP and a new raid attack boost similar to the bonuses earned at lower friendship levels.

Setting Up a Remote Trade

Once you hit Forever Friends with another trainer, you can begin preparing for your first Remote Trade. Before you do anything, the game will prompt you to add a Remote Trade tag to the Pokémon you are willing to exchange. Only Pokémon with this tag appear to Forever Friends as tradeable options.

Starting a Remote Trade is a multi-step process where both trainers take turns choosing up to three Pokémon from the other’s tagged list as their “wish list.” Each trainer then selects one Pokémon from their friend’s wish list to offer in return. Both sides can confirm, cancel, or restart the trade at any point.

Remote Trades can be completed once per day across all friends, and they do not count as Special Trades. That means even Legendary or Shiny Pokémon won’t consume your daily Special Trade slot. Lucky Friends also work remotely, so the next trade will still produce a Lucky Pokémon.

The Big Catch: Heavy Restrictions

While Remote Trading sounds like a dream feature, Niantic has introduced several strict limitations. The most frustrating for many players is the 30-day rule. Any Pokémon caught in the last 30 days cannot be remotely traded, which prevents quick swaps of new species or freshly caught regionals.

Many familiar trading restrictions remain, including:

  • Mythical Pokémon
  • Shadow Pokémon
  • Previously traded Pokémon
  • Pokémon defending Gyms or Power Spots
  • Your current Buddy
  • Active Mega Evolutions
  • Fused Pokémon
  • Crowned Sword Zacian and Crowned Shield Zamazenta
  • Pokémon at Playgrounds

Players must also consider Stardust costs, which follow the same rules as local trading. Legendary, Shiny, and unregistered Pokémon will still cost more to trade.

A Boost to Social Features

Alongside the Forever Friends system, Niantic is expanding the maximum friends list from 450 to 650 over the next few weeks. Weekly Challenges have also been refreshed, letting players team up with up to three friends from anywhere in the world to complete group tasks for XP and Friendship Points.

A free Timed Research event will roll out from December 15 to December 29, offering rewards such as Stardust, XP, and an encounter with Scatterbug. All tasks must be completed before January 4.

A Step Forward, But Not Perfect

Remote trading is a feature the community has been asking for since Pokémon GO launched in 2016, and its arrival feels like a milestone for the game. Still, the new system is far more complicated than players expected, with long progression requirements and multiple restrictions that will slow down global trading networks.

Even so, this update finally opens the door for trainers to swap rare regionals, fill long-missing Pokédex entries, or complete collections with friends overseas. It may not be perfect, but for many players, it’s a long-overdue step in the right direction.