Pokémon Trades: Anytime or Friend Unlock Only?

March 22, 2026 Priya Shah – Business Editor Business

Pokémon GO trainers globally gained the ability to trade Pokémon remotely with designated “Forever Friends” as of December 11, 2025, according to Niantic, the game’s developer.

The new feature, long-requested by players, requires a friendship level exceeding “Best Friends,” now designated as “Forever Friends,” achieved by earning 180 friendship points with another trainer. Upon reaching this status, players unlock one Remote Trade. Additional trades with the same friend require earning another 90 friendship points, tracked via a progress bar within the game’s friend list.

Unlike standard trades, Remote Trades necessitate a pre-tagging system. Trainers must use a “Remote Trade tag” to identify Pokémon they are willing to trade with their Forever Friends. These tagged Pokémon are then visible to the designated friend, streamlining the selection process. Both trainers select up to three Pokémon marked with the tag to initiate the trade, a process that does not require simultaneous action.

The ability to tag Pokémon for remote trade is not universally available until the Forever Friends status is unlocked. According to Niantic’s support center, the Remote Trade tag becomes available automatically when a trainer is within five friendship points of achieving Forever Friend status with another player. Prior to this point, trainers cannot designate Pokémon for potential remote exchange.

The rollout of Forever Friends and Remote Trading began with a test group in New Zealand on December 8, 2025, before becoming globally accessible three days later. The update is available to all trainers who have updated their Pokémon GO application to the latest version.

While the introduction of Remote Trading has been met with enthusiasm, the system is designed with limitations. Each Forever Friend pairing is initially limited to one Remote Trade, with subsequent trades contingent on accumulating additional friendship points. Trainers can only have one Remote Trade available with each Forever Friend at a time, encouraging continued engagement to unlock further trading opportunities.