Ever since the pandemic has come with an array of shelter-in-place orders, Niantic has been changing Pokemon GO to help people adapt to the (temporarily) new normal. One part of that endeavor would be a raid from home function, which would allow people to participate in raid battles against strong Pokemon without leaving the house. Now, Pokemon GO Remote Raid Passes have been detailed alongside updates to allow Buddy Pokemon to get gifts for you and daily Field Research tasks being doled out to people.
First, the Pokemon GO Remote Raid Passes will be an item sold for 100 PokeCoins in the shop. However, at launch a 1 PokeCoin Bundle with it will be released to help let everyone try it when it is introduced. Once someone uses a Remote Raid Pass, they will be able to join a Raid happening in a gym that can see in the Nearby screen by tapping on it. 20 people can be in the same fight and will temporarily have the same power, though eventually a balancing adjustment will give people at the gym in-person more power than a person taking part in a Raid from home. Also, people will eventually be able to invite people they have designated as friends worldwide to join a Raid with them.
The other bonuses are designed to keep people from feeling like they have to leave the house when playing Pokemon GO. If someone has a Buddy Pokemon set, it will be able to get you a gift you can send to other people if you have room for one. This is because it will be “going” to PokeStops in your place. Also, to make up for people not being able to visit a PokeStop and spin to get a Field Research task, everyone will be given one new one each day and involve at-home assignments. These at-home tasks will appear in their own fourth slot aside from the standard three slots.
Some other updates are also coming. The Shop icon will show a “new” message if new items are there. Battle screens will have a different UI. People could use additional Incense, Lucky Egg, and Star Piece items to increase the timer beyond the original’s 30 minutes. Also, it won’t take as much time to increase a character’s CP level when applying Candy and Stardust to it.
Pokemon GO is available for Android and Apple iOS devices.
