Short answer: you can invite up to 5 friends at a time into a raid lobby from anywhere in the world, no friendship level required, and you may use up to 10 Remote Raid Passes per day — raised from 5 in May 2025. Remote damage has been equal to in-person damage since June 2023, and every raid together counts as that day's friendship interaction.
Trainer school
Remote raids with friends: invites, the 10-a-day limit and lobby tricks
Raiding together is one of the best reasons to keep an international friend list: any friend, anywhere in the world, can pull you into a legendary raid — and it counts toward your friendship level the same day.
How invites work
- From a raid lobby you can invite up to 5 friends at a time — and after a short cooldown, invite more to the same lobby.
- No friendship level is required to be invited — a fresh Good Friend from a code you claimed this morning can invite you to a raid tonight.
- Friends at Great Friends or higher can even join your raid directly from their Friend List, no invite needed.
- Invited remote raiders join with a Remote Raid Pass.
The current remote raid rules (updated numbers)
Older guides are wrong on both of these:
- Limit: 10 remote raids per day — raised from 5 in May 2025.
- Remote damage is equal to in-person damage — the old remote-damage nerf was removed in June 2023.
- Passes cost 195 coins (single) or 525 coins (3-pack), and you can hold at most 3 at a time.
Why this loves a big friend list
Every raid with a friend is that day's friendship interaction — so raid invites are a gift-free way to push toward Best and Forever Friends (which unlocks remote trading). And friends in other time zones mean raids around the clock: when your town sleeps, Japan is raiding — codes by country here.
FAQ
Do I need to be friends with everyone in the lobby? No — only with the person who invites you.
Does the raid count for friendship with everyone present? It counts for friends who battled in the same raid as you.
Does this work for Elite Raids too? No — Elite Raids are the one raid type that blocks both Remote Raid Passes and friend-list joining entirely; see why Elite Raids are in-person only.
Can I invite someone who has no remote pass? You can invite them, but they need a Remote Raid Pass (or to be within range) to actually join.
Can I just gift them a Raid Pass instead? No - Raid Passes can't be gifted at all, free or paid; they need to buy or earn their own.
Is this the same as Party Play? No — Party Play is a separate, in-person-only mode that doesn't need a friend list at all. Remote raid invites are for your actual friends, from anywhere.
Does this work the same for Max Battles? Mostly — see our Max Battles with friends guide for the differences (shared daily limit, but no remote bonus rewards).