Friendship guide
The friendship system has 5 tiers — each unlocks meaningful gameplay perks. The Best Friends discount turns prohibitive 1 000 000-dust special trades into 40 000 dust. Schedule the grind early; you can’t shortcut it.
The clock advances at most one day per friend per calendar day — there’s no way to speed it up. Best Friends takes 90 calendar days minimum; Forever Friends takes 200.
| Level | Days needed | Damage in raids | + Premier Balls | Trade dust |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good Friends | 1 | +3 % | +0 | −1 % |
| Great Friends | 7 | +5 % | +1 | −5 % |
| Ultra Friends | 30 | +7 % | +2 | −50 % |
| Best Friends | 90 | +10 % | +4 | −96 % |
| Forever Friends | 200 | +12 % | +4 | −96 % |
Standard trades unlocked. Gift exchange becomes routine.
Special trades unlocked (Legendary, Shiny, regional, etc.).
Trade dust drops by half — special trades start being affordable.
Massive trade discount. Each trade has a chance to roll a Lucky Friend, which adds a guaranteed Lucky to your next trade with that friend.
Bonus damage tier added on top. Doesn’t change ball count or discount; this is a flex tier.
- Open / send 1 gift per friend per day — Either side counts toward +1 friendship-day. Both sending AND receiving on the same day still only count once.
- Daily gift cap — Send up to 30 gifts per day. Hold up to 20 in inventory. Gifts come from spinning stops.
- Stickers + postcards — Gifts include items, stardust, and sometimes a 7 km egg with regional / Alolan / Galarian / Hisuian forms.
- Friendship-day banking — Skipped days don’t roll back, but they don’t advance either. Three weeks off = three weeks behind.
At Best Friends or higher, opening a gift or trading has a small chance (~1 / 100) to roll “Lucky Friends” status. The next trade with that friend is guaranteed Lucky on both sides — meaning both mons get the 12 / 12 / 12 IV floor + 50 % power-up cost reduction. The state persists until you trade. Save your highest-IV mons for when this triggers.
See the Lucky trade page → for the full Lucky mechanic.
- Add 9 friends and start gifting on day 1. In 90 days you have 9 Best Friends and can rotate Idol-medal trades.
- Schedule big trades for Best Friend day. A Legendary special trade drops from 1 000 000 dust → 40 000 dust at Best.
- Forever Friends doesn’t change ball count or discount — it’s a flex tier with +2 % extra damage. Don’t grind toward 200 days unless you’re also raid-pushing.
- The damage bonus stacks with type effectiveness, weather boost, and Mega-Evolution boosts. Bring a Best Friend to every raid.