Short answer: Friendship Friday is a weekly Pokémon GO bonus, active on Fridays through the Twilight Trails season, that gives up to two extra Special Trades, a better chance at a Lucky trade, 20% less Stardust on trades, and two guaranteed Candy XL for trainers level 31+. It only applies to in-person trades — Remote Trades between Forever Friends don't qualify — and it skips one Friday in November 2026 while GO Wild Area pauses all Daily Discoveries.
Trainer school
What is Friendship Friday in Pokémon GO, and what do the trade bonuses actually do?
Twilight Trails (the season running September 8 – December 1, 2026) added a recurring friendship-focused day to Pokémon GO's weekly rotation, alongside existing days for raids, Max Battles and Showcases. If you've been saving a special trade, Friday is the day to spend it.
What Friendship Friday actually gives you
- Up to two additional Special Trades on top of the usual one-per-day limit — so up to three special trades in a single day if you have the partners and Pokémon for it.
- An increased chance of a Lucky trade on any trade you make, not just special ones.
- 20% less Stardust on trades — your friendship level with the trade partner still sets the base price; the discount applies on top of it.
- Two guaranteed Candy XL from trades, for trainers level 31 and up.
The catch: in-person only
All of the above requires a standard, in-person trade — both of you within the usual ~100 m trading range. Remote Trades, including the one-per-day Remote Trade that Forever Friends unlock, don't get the Friendship Friday bonuses. If your only trade partner is a Forever Friend you never see in person, this event doesn't change anything for you.
One skipped Friday: GO Wild Area week
Friendship Friday is a Daily Discovery, and Niantic pauses all Daily Discoveries during GO Wild Area, Global GO Fest and GO Tour weeks. For GO Wild Area: Global 2026, that pause runs November 9, 2026, 12:01 a.m. through November 15, 2026, 11:59 p.m. local time — which swallows the Friday that falls in that window, November 13, 2026. There's no Friendship Friday bonus that day; GO Wild Area's own ticket perks (extra Special Trades, discounted trade Stardust) are the only trade bonus running. Friendship Friday resumes as normal the following Friday, November 20, 2026.
How to actually use it
- Line up a partner before Friday. Grab a fresh trainer code a few days ahead so you've cleared Good Friend (ideally Great or Best) by the time Friday's discount kicks in — friendship level still sets your base Stardust cost.
- Save special-trade-eligible Pokémon for Friday, the same way you would for a Community Day — shinies, Pokédex-new catches, and anything else that qualifies as a special trade.
- Meet in person. Since remote trades don't count, this is a weekly excuse to actually meet up with local trainers rather than trade with codes from /codes.
FAQ
Does Friendship Friday run every week, or just once during the season? Every Friday for the duration of the Twilight Trails season (September 8 – December 1, 2026), not a one-off event — with one exception: it's paused on November 13, 2026, during GO Wild Area week.
Do Remote Trades get the Stardust discount or extra Special Trades? No — the bonuses are scoped to in-person trades only, so Forever Friends trading remotely don't benefit.
Does this stack with Community Day trading bonuses? Community Day has its own separate trading window with its own bonuses; check whether a Community Day happens to land on a Friday that month, since Niantic's own event page is the source of truth on stacking.
Do I still need to be Best Friends to get the cheapest trades? Yes — Friendship Friday adds a bonus on top of, not instead of, the normal friendship-level Stardust table.
Is this the same as the monthly GO Pass's trade bonus? No — they're separate systems that happen to overlap. See how the GO Pass's own trade Candy bonus compares to Friendship Friday.