🚨 December 11 update: Reports confirm the feature is now live across North America, Japan and Europe, with more regions expected soon. We are suspecting a worldwide release. Confirm your region by commenting here.
Trainers, get hyped for a whole new level of friendship in Pokémon GO, with the introduction of a new Friendship level called Forever Friends that unlocks Remote Trading with your Forever Friends!
Forever Friends and Remote Trading Overview
A new Friendship Level is coming to Pokémon GO — Forever Friends! This new level sits above Best Friends, and to reach it, you’ll need 90 interactions after becoming Best Friends with another Trainer.
Reaching Forever Friends grants valuable rewards and XP, along with two exciting new perks:
When you become Forever Friends with another Trainer, you’ll both receive a Remote Trade opportunity with each other!
Reaching Forever Friends unlocks a new attack boost, similar to those earned at lower Friendship levels. This bonus can be earned only once and is awarded the first time you reach Forever Friends with a Trainer.
This feature will not be retroactive. All Trainers will start from zero Friendship Points once it goes live, meaning your current Best Friends will be the fastest path toward reaching Forever Friends first.
How to Earn Forever Friends
To reach Forever Friends, Trainers must earn 90 Friendship Points with each Friend after becoming Best Friends.
Friendship Points are a new progression system that replaces the old “daily interaction” mechanic as the main way to track friendship progression between Trainers.
You can earn up to 1 Friendship Point per day per Friend by doing a variety of activities together:
Trading
Sending Gifts
Completing other friendship interactions
You can also speed up progress by completing Weekly Challenges with your Friends, earning up to 7 extra Friendship Points per week. Any event bonuses that boost friendship gain (for example, double friendship points during special events) will apply to Forever Friends progression.
Remote Trades and Re-Earning Forever Friends
Every time you earn 90 Friendship Points, you’ll unlock one Remote Trade with that Friend. Forever Friends is a repeatable level: you can continue earning Friendship Points and receive additional Remote Trades each time you hit 90 points again.
However, Remote Trades don’t stack. If you already have an unused Remote Trade, you’ll need to use it before earning another one.
Additionally, each Remote Trade is tied to the Friend you earned it with. It can’t be transferred or used with any other Friend. Trainers can complete one Remote Trade per day across all Friends, regardless of how many Forever Friends they have.
Note on Lucky Friends ✨
If you’re Lucky Friends, your next trade, local or remote, will result in a Lucky Pokémon. After completing it, you’ll no longer be Lucky Friends, just like with in-person trades.
Note on Lucky Trinket
If you have a Remote Trade unlocked and use a Lucky Trinket on that Friend, the trade will be Lucky as well. (Using a Lucky Trinket does not grant a new Remote Trade, it only affects the outcome.)
Remote Trading
Before your first Remote Trade, you’ll be prompted to use a special Remote Trade tag to mark the Pokémon you’re willing to trade with your Forever Friends.
Once you and another Trainer become Forever Friends, you’ll each be able to see one another’s Pokémon that are tagged for Remote Trading. These are the only Pokémon available for trade.
To start a Remote Trade:
- Trainers take turns selecting up to three Pokémon from their Friend’s tagged list that they’d like to receive.
- These selections are sent to the other Trainer as a trade “wish list.”
- Each Trainer then chooses one Pokémon from their Friend’s wish list to offer in return.
- Both Trainers review the final selections and can confirm or cancel the trade at any time.
You’re not locked in during the process. Either Trainer can decline or restart the trade at any point before confirming.
If you’re Lucky Friends, your next trade — even if it’s remote — will result in a Lucky Pokémon. After completing the trade, you’ll no longer be Lucky Friends, just like with normal in-person trades.
Trainers can complete one Remote Trade per day, and Remote Trades do not count as Special Trades, no matter which Pokémon are traded.
🚫 Pokémon That Are Banned from Remote Trades
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
Friends List Update
In addition to the introduction of the Forever Friends Level and Remote Trading, the maximum number of friends is being increased from 450 to 650 over the next several weeks by increments of 50.
Weekly Challenges Update
Weekly challenges allow you to team up with up to three other Trainers from your Friend List, no matter where they are, to take on a group challenge each week. You can earn rewards including XP, and additional friendship points.
Timed Research
There will be a free Timed Research opportunity available to Trainers starting Monday, December 15, at 10:00 a.m. to Monday, December 29, 2025, at 8:00 p.m. local time. Complete the Timed Research to claim the following rewards:
- An encounter with Scatterbug
- XP
- Stardust
- and more
Note on Timed Research
Please note that Timed Research expires. The tasks associated with this Timed Research must be completed and their rewards must be claimed before Sunday, January 4, 2026 at 8:00 p.m. local time.
