Niantic has revealed a number of much demanded Pokémon GO features will be coming to the game. Sometime this week, people will get the ability to register other players as friends. This means Friendship Levels, Gifting and Trading will all be added.
To engage in any activities, you first need to befriend another Pokémon GO player. This means swapping Trainer Codes. Once you do, the person will show up in your Friends List. There, you can see their most recent catch and your Friendship Level.
Being on someone’s Friends List opens up other activities. When you visit a Gym or PokéStop and spin the disc, you might get a Gift that can only be given to someone on your Friends List. When they get it, they may get items or an Egg with an Alolan version of a Kanto Pokémon. You can also participate in Gym and Raid Battles together, giving both people attack bonuses if they are at a Great Friend Friendship Level or higher. Both of these kinds of actions increase the Friendship Level with another player.
Pokémon GO trading was also explained. People at Trainer Level 10 or higher near a person on their Friend List can use Stardust to trade Pokémon. When you trade, you get a new Pokémon and a bonus candy from the Pokémon you traded, possibly earning more candy depending on where the critter you are giving away was caught. Pokémon not yet in your Pokédex, Legendaries and ones that are shiny are considered Special Trades, which can only be done once per day with someone who you share a Great Friend or higher Friendship Level. These cost more Stardust than usual, with an example image showing a Special Trade with a Great Friend swapping an Arcticuno and Moltres costing 1,000,000 Stardust and a Special Trade with a Best Friend involving those two creatures costing 40,000 Stardust.
Pokémon GO is available for Android and Apple iOS devices.
