Trading Pokemon with friends has always been a staple of the franchise andwhen the feature arrived inPokemon GOaround two years ago it was a welcome enhancement. So far players who want to trade Pokemon have had to have their phones very close to each other, but now Niantic is testing out a new feature to see how some longer distance trades might work.
The distance trading test launched on Thursday and offers players the chance to trade with Friends who are up to 12km away. Although that still limits players down to trading with their friends who likely live in the same town, it is anothermassive quality of life improvement. There’s not an option to trade across the country (or the world), which keeps the hunt for regional Pokemon alive and makes it harder to sell trades through some kind third party software or website, but it does free up players to trade with their actual local friends without having to meet up at a physical location. As coronavirus cases are still spiking in many areas, this is a great enhancement idea that could make social distancing much easier forPokemon GOplayers.
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Keep in mind that this is only a test and the feature will only be available from Thursday, July 17, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. until Monday, July 06, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. PST (GMT −8). At this point, it is unclear when Niantic plans to roll out a distance trading feature on a more permanent basis if the tests go well. Interestingly, the description of the test mentioned that, depending on the feedback gathered, future tests may increase the trade distance even further…
“As a limited-time test, from Thursday, May 22, 2025, at 2:30 p.m. until Monday, August 01, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. PST (GMT −8), trade range will be increased! Depending on information gathered from this test, we may include increased trade range as a part of future events.”
For now,Pokemon GOtrainers should be able to head out into the world (or play from home) and continue catchingthe best Unova Pokemon in the gameand getting closer to that complete Pokedex. Check back for morePokemon GOupdates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
For now, Pokemon GO trainers should be able to head out into the world (or play from home) and continue catching the best Unova Pokemon in the game and getting closer to that complete Pokedex. Check back for more Pokemon GO updates closer to the event. Until then, good luck out there, trainers!
Pokemon GOis available now in select regions on Android and iOS devices.
