Short answer: you can challenge a friend to a Trainer Battle remotely once you reach Ultra Friend — below that you both have to be physically nearby. Battles are 3-vs-3 on a short clock, pay Stardust and Candy for up to three battles a day, and count as that day's friendship interaction.
Trainer Battles are the one-on-one PvP mode you play against a specific person rather than a matchmaking queue — and battling a friend is also one of the fastest ways to bank your daily friendship interaction.
Who you can challenge, and from where
- Nearby trainers: if you're at least level 10, Main Menu → Battle → Nearby Battle lets you challenge trainers physically near you, friend or not.
- Friends, remotely: once you've reached Ultra Friend or Best Friend with someone, you can challenge them to a Trainer Battle from anywhere — no need to be in the same room, city, or country. Lower friendship tiers generally need to battle in person.
If you're specifically trying to level someone up toward Ultra/Best Friend so you can battle remotely, gifts are the easiest daily interaction — see the friendship levels breakdown.
How a battle plays out
- Teams are 3 Pokémon each, not six.
- A battle runs on a clock — it ends automatically after a few minutes if neither side has won.
- You can swap between your three Pokémon mid-battle, but there's a short cooldown after each switch, so it's not free to spam.
Rewards
Both trainers get something for playing, win or lose — typically Stardust and Candy, sometimes better. Rewards from trainer-vs-trainer battles are capped at up to three battles per day; past that you can keep battling (and it still counts as your daily friendship interaction), the extra battles just stop paying out.
Does it count for friendship?
Yes — a Trainer Battle against each other is one of the interactions that moves your shared friendship bar for the day, same as a gift or a trade. Only the first qualifying interaction of the day counts, so battling and gifting the same friend on the same day only advances the bar once. Full mechanics in the friendship levels & XP guide.
FAQ
Do I need to be Best Friends to battle remotely, or is Ultra Friend enough? Ultra Friend is enough — Best Friend and Forever Friend also qualify, but you don't need to wait that long.
Can I battle a friend I haven't unlocked remote battling with yet? Only if you're physically near each other (or both level 10+ and using Nearby Battle) — otherwise wait until you hit Ultra Friend.
Does losing on purpose to a friend still pay out? Yes, both sides get rewards regardless of the result, up to the daily cap.
Where do I find people to build a battle-and-gift routine with? The front page hands you a fresh trainer code with one tap — grab a batch and work them up to Ultra Friend the same way described in stacking friendship level-ups.