How to play Pokémon Go with friends using Party Play

The new mode lets you squad up with as many as four people to complete challenges
Pokémon Go: working together can win players bonuses and rewards
Pokémon Go
Saqib Shah18 October 2023

Seven years after its launch, Pokémon Go is finally letting players team up to catch critters together.

Friendship is an essential part of the hugely popular franchise, so it’s no surprise to see the mobile game capitalising on it. Ash’s bond with his Pikachu is one of the most memorable friendships of many viewers’ childhoods.

The option to play with pals could also help introduce new people to the long-running game, which tasks you with finding and battling Pokémon in real-world locations.

Here’s how you can make a squad on Pokémon Go and play the game with your mates and loved ones.

What can you do on Pokémon Go party play?

Pokémon Go started offering a new Party Play feature on Tuesday October 17, which lets up to four people join forces in short bursts of up to an hour. 

You’ll even be able to see the other members of your team on the in-game map. But, just make sure not to stray more than 1km away from your crew or you’ll be kicked out.

As an incentive, participating with others can net you bonuses and rewards when you work together to complete challenges. You can also use the new “party power” attack to double the damage of charge moves during raids.

Challenges and their accompanying rewards include things like making throws in return for revives and poke balls, catching specific types of Pokémon for XP, and cosmetic items and Pokémon for completing a set of tasks.

How to create a party on Pokémon Go

It’s really simple to play with your pals as long as everyone has the game installed on their phones and has reached level 15.

To host a party, just head into the new party tab in the Pokémon Go app. Here, you’ll be given a choice between joining or creating a party. 

Tap create, and you’ll be given a QR code and pin code to share with people you want to play with. 

How to join a party on Pokémon Go

To join someone’s party on Pokémon Go, you can either scan the host’s QR code or enter the party code.

Pokémon Go party play reactions

The new mode has received a frosty reception from fans. In particular, users are miffed that they can’t explore routes with friends in party play. Some trainers have also expressed dismay at the lacklustre rewards in party play, though that oversight can easily be remedied by the game’s developer Niantic.

As is fairly common with big updates, party play has brought with it a number of bugs. Some Players have reported seeing inflated activity information during their one-hour session. Others claim the introduction of party play has deleted their search strings and pre-built PvE and PvP teams as well.

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