Short answer: Gigantamax Pokémon are a rarer, visually different, harder-to-catch subset of Max Pokémon — but the friend mechanics don't change. You still fight in squads of 4, still invite remotely with a Remote Raid Pass, and trading a Gigantamax catch with a friend still counts as one of your special trades for the day, same Stardust table as any other special Pokémon.
Trainer school
What's the difference between Gigantamax and Dynamax Max Battles when playing with friends?
Gigantamax bosses like Gigantamax Cinderace headline their own Max Battle Days, and it's easy to assume a "Gigantamax battle" is a whole different multiplayer format from a normal Dynamax Max Battle. It mostly isn't — here's exactly what changes and what doesn't when you're bringing friends.
What's actually different
- Appearance. Gigantamax Pokémon change shape and size beyond the usual Dynamax growth — Dynamax just makes a Pokémon huge while keeping its normal look.
- Which species qualify. Only certain species can Gigantamax at all, and only specific, featured specimens of those species — most Pokémon can only Dynamax.
- Catch difficulty. Niantic's own help center is explicit that Gigantamax encounters are harder to win and catch than standard Dynamax ones.
- Unique moves. A Gigantamaxed Pokémon's first Max Move is a species-specific G-Max Move, which isn't necessarily the same type as its regular fast attack.
- Trading. Catching a Gigantamax Pokémon and trading it to a friend counts as a special trade — the same category as Shiny, Legendary or Ultra Beast — so it follows the special-trade Stardust table and one-per-day limit, not the flat 100-dust standard rate.
What stays the same for friends
- Squad size. Whether the boss is a run-of-the-mill Dynamax Pokémon or a headline Gigantamax one, you still fight in squads of 4 Trainers per battle — Gigantamax doesn't put you in a bigger single fight with more friends at once.
- Remote invites and the Raid Pass limit. Joining a friend's Gigantamax lobby remotely still costs a Remote Raid Pass plus the local Max Particle cost, and still counts against the same shared 10-a-day Remote Raid Pass limit as any other raid or Max Battle.
- Friendship interaction credit. Beating either kind of Max Battle with a friend still counts as that day's friendship interaction the same way.
For the full breakdown of lobby sizes, remote-invite batching, and the in-person reward bonus, see our Max Battles with friends guide — everything there applies to Gigantamax bosses too.
Why the "100-Trainer" bigger lobbies aren't a Gigantamax-only thing
Big, 100-Trainer Max Battle lobbies (split into 25 separate squads of 4) exist for Six-star Max Battles — a difficulty tier that both Eternamax Eternatus and high-profile Gigantamax bosses (like Cinderace's October 2026 Max Battle Day) can appear in. The bigger lobby is a property of the Six-star tier being active for that event, not something every Gigantamax encounter automatically gets — a lower-profile Gigantamax spawn outside a dedicated event can run at a smaller scale. Either way, you're always in a 4-Trainer squad once the battle starts.
FAQ
Do I need different gear to fight a Gigantamax boss with friends? No — the same Remote Raid Pass and Max Particle rules apply as any other Max Battle.
Does trading a Gigantamax Pokémon cost more Stardust than trading a regular Dynamax one? Only if the Gigantamax Pokémon is also new to your friend's Pokédex or not — Gigantamax status itself is what makes it a special trade; the Stardust table then depends on your friendship level like any other special trade.
Can my friend and I fight in the same squad in a 100-Trainer Gigantamax lobby? Squads of 4 are usually assigned by the lobby, not hand-picked — see our Max Battles guide for what's confirmed about squad composition.
Is every Gigantamax Pokémon a Six-star boss? Not necessarily — Six-star is a difficulty/lobby tier that some Gigantamax bosses are featured in for specific events, not an automatic rule for every Gigantamax encounter.
Do friendship raid bonuses (attack boost, Premier Balls) apply here? Same answer as regular Max Battles: Niantic hasn't confirmed in writing whether the friendship raid bonus carries over to Max Battles of either kind.
Need more Trainers to fill out a squad before the next Max Battle Day? Grab a fresh trainer code with one tap, or browse codes by country to build a raid circle across time zones.