Pokemon GO Remote Raid Pass Guide: How to Get, Use, and Win Raids in 2026

Legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo, Kyogre, and Rayquaza sit behind a wall most trainers can’t cross on their own: physically standing at a Gym the moment a five-star raid spawns. Remote Raid Passes break that wall. One pass lets you join any active raid visible on your Nearby screen from wherever you happen to be — couch, office, or country entirely different from the raid host.

But the system has changed significantly twice since passes launched in 2020. Prices nearly doubled in 2023. A daily participation limit arrived, then got raised in 2025. Shadow Raids and Max Battles became remoteable for the first time. And the damage penalty that once made remote raiders a liability in hard lobbies? It was quietly removed — permanently — in June 2023. Most guides haven’t caught up. This one has.

Verified on Pokémon GO Season 20 (April 2026). Limits and pricing may increase temporarily during special events.

What Is a Remote Raid Pass?

A Remote Raid Pass is a consumable item that grants entry to one Raid Battle or Max Battle at a Gym you can see on the Nearby screen, regardless of your physical distance from that Gym. It works for five-star Legendary raids, Mega raids, Shadow Raids, and now Max Battles too. One pass per raid entry — no refunds if the lobby fails to fill.

Before spending a single PokéCoin, know the current rules:

That damage parity row is the most important correction in this guide. Since June 1, 2023 — the Hidden Gems season update — remote Pokémon deal exactly the same damage as in-person raiders. Niantic confirmed it was a permanent change: “the damage dealt by Pokémon participating in raids remotely will be permanently increased to the same amount of damage dealt by Pokémon participating in raids in-person.” Build your team for the boss, not for a damage reduction that no longer exists.

Quick Reference by Play Style

How to Get Remote Raid Passes: 5 Methods

1. Buy from the in-game Shop

Open the Shop (Poké Ball icon at the bottom → Shop), scroll to the Items section, and you’ll find Remote Raid Passes sold individually and as a 3-pack. Single pass: 195 PokéCoins. Three-pack: 525 PokéCoins (saving 60 coins versus buying three singles).

One critical inventory rule: you can only acquire more passes if you have fewer than 3 in your bag. If you’re already holding 3, the Shop won’t let you buy more. The one exception: if you have exactly 2 passes and purchase a 3-pack, you’ll temporarily hold 5. Use passes down to 2 or fewer before shopping.

2. Pokémon GO Web Store

Niantic’s browser-based store (separate from the in-app Shop) offers the Web Store bundle: 2 Remote Raid Passes for US$2.99. That works out to roughly $1.50 per pass — meaningfully cheaper than the in-app rate if you’d otherwise be buying PokéCoins with real money. Check the Web Store before stocking up through the app. The bundle refreshes periodically and may not always be available, but it’s the best per-pass value when it is.

3. Research Breakthrough Rewards

Complete a Field Research task on seven different calendar days to fill your Breakthrough stamp card and earn a prize box. Remote Raid Passes are in that prize pool — not guaranteed every cycle, but consistent enough to act as a free pass source for active players. Our research tasks guide covers which Field Research tasks are fastest to complete if you want to maximize your Breakthrough pace.

Critical timing note: if you already have 3 Remote Raid Passes in your bag when you claim the Breakthrough box, the game substitutes a Premium Battle Pass instead. You lose the Remote Raid Pass entirely. Burn your passes down to 2 or fewer before claiming a stamp box reward.

4. Special Event Rewards

Pokémon GO Fest, seasonal celebrations, and timed research events regularly include Remote Raid Passes as rewards. During Pokémon GO Fest 2025, the daily remote raid limit temporarily doubled to 20 per day for the event weekend. When a major event launches, check the event research tasks before purchasing passes through the Shop — you may receive them free through event completion, making Shop purchases wasteful for that window.

5. Earn PokéCoins via Gym Defense

Pokémon defending a Gym earn you 1 PokéCoin per 10 minutes of defense time, capped at 50 PokéCoins per day across all defending Pokémon. At that rate, a single Remote Raid Pass (195 coins) takes about four days of consistent Gym defense to accumulate. Slow, but genuinely free — stack a week of Gym earnings before a new Legendary rotation lands and you’ll have passes without spending real money.

How to Join a Remote Raid: Step-by-Step

There are three entry paths for remote raids. Each uses a Remote Raid Pass; which you choose depends on how you found the raid.

Method 1: Via the Nearby Screen

This is the primary method for finding and joining raids you discover yourself.

1. Tap the Nearby button in the bottom-right corner of your Map View (it shows nearby Pokémon and activities).
2. Tap the Raid tab at the top of the Nearby panel (the egg or raid icon).
3. Browse the list of available raids. Raids marked Active are live right now — the boss has hatched and the battle window is open. Tap View beneath the raid you want to join.
4. On the raid detail screen, tap the pink “Battle using Remote Raid Pass” button. If this button doesn’t appear and you only see a standard white battle button, you’re physically close enough to the Gym to raid in person — you’ll use a free standard Raid Pass instead.
5. Select your battle party and tap Go to enter the lobby. You can wait for additional trainers to join or start immediately if you’re confident in your team.

Method 2: Via a Friend’s Active Raid

1. Open your Friend List by tapping your trainer avatar (bottom-left), then selecting Friends.
2. Look for friends displaying a raid icon next to their name — this indicates they’re currently in an active raid lobby.
3. Tap the friend’s entry, then tap Battle to spend a Remote Raid Pass and join their raid directly.

Two requirements for this method: you must be Great Friends or higher with the trainer, and they must have “Share Raid Attendance with Friends” enabled in Settings (it’s on by default). Once you join via a friend’s lobby this way, you can’t then send additional friend invitations from that same lobby — the option is one-directional per entry.

Method 3: Tap a Gym on the Map

Any Gym showing an active raid boss icon on the map is tappable. Even if the Gym is far out of your physical range, tapping it opens the raid detail screen and the pink Remote Raid Pass button appears just as in Method 1. Useful when you spot a specific raid boss you want while scrolling the map.

Using the Group Code to Fill a Lobby

Once inside a raid lobby, the game shows a group code — three Pokémon silhouettes in sequence. Share this code via Niantic’s Campfire app, a Discord server, or Reddit’s r/PokemonGoFriends and other trainers can enter it to join your exact lobby rather than a random one. This is the fastest way to guarantee a full lobby for a hard Legendary raid when raiding with strangers worldwide.

New Remote Features Added in 2025

Two major expansions to the remote raid system launched in May 2025 and are now permanent features of the game.

Shadow Raids are now remoteable. Starting May 13, 2025, Remote Raid Passes work for Shadow Raid Battles. Previously, Shadow Raids were in-person only — a significant barrier for trainers without a local raid group. The change is permanent and counts toward your daily 10-remote-raid limit. If you’re new to the format, our Shadow Raid guide covers counter strategies and the Purified Gem mechanic you’ll need once in the lobby.

Max Battles are now remoteable. Starting May 19, 2025, you can join Max Battles remotely by combining a Remote Raid Pass with the usual Max Particle cost for the battle. In-person Max Battle participants still receive more Premier Balls and XP as a deliberate incentive to gather locally, but the remote option now exists for trainers who can’t reach a Power Spot. See our Max Battles guide for particle costs, team composition, and how Gigantamax Pokémon differ from standard Max battles.

Both changes are covered in the official May 2025 update announcement. The daily limit increase that accompanied them — from 5 remote raids per day to 10 — is also permanent.

Tips and Tricks

1. Only spend passes on Tier 4 and 5 raids

Tier 1, 2, and 3 raids are generally soloable by any trainer at level 35 or above with decent counters. Spending 195 PokéCoins — or a pass earned through a Research Breakthrough — on a Magikarp or Sneasel raid is a clear waste. Reserve Remote Raid Passes for five-star Legendary raids, Mega raids when the Mega is worth farming, Shadow Legendary raids (now remoteable), and Max Battles. The best raid attackers guide is worth bookmarking so you can check team viability for each new Legendary rotation quickly.

2. Coordinate before burning the pass

Joining a remote Legendary lobby solo is risky: if no other trainers enter, you might time out or fail the raid and lose the pass with nothing to show for it. Before spending a pass on a Tier 5 Legendary, confirm via Campfire, a Discord raid channel, or r/PokemonGoFriends that a group is ready to fill the same lobby. Share your group code the moment you enter — three images, posted in the coordination channel — so others can join your specific lobby rather than scattered random ones.

3. Check the raid timer before committing

Once a raid boss hatches, the battle window stays open for 45 minutes. If you tap a raid in the Nearby tab and the remaining time shows under 2 minutes, the lobby may close before you can battle — and you’d lose the pass. Always glance at the countdown timer on the raid detail screen before tapping the pink battle button.

4. Build your Great Friendships now

The friend-list joining method (Method 2 above) requires Great Friend status — which takes 30 days of daily interactions to reach from a fresh friendship. If you’re planning to rely on friend invites for remote raids, start exchanging gifts and opening them with your key raid partners today. Every daily interaction counts toward the level threshold. The full XP table is in our friendship levels guide.

5. Stay below 3 passes when a Research Breakthrough is due

Claiming a Breakthrough box while holding 3 Remote Raid Passes gives you a Premium Battle Pass instead — the game automatically substitutes the lower-value item. There’s no way to recover the lost Remote Raid Pass after the fact. If you’re approaching your 7th Research stamp day, use a pass or two before you claim so you can actually receive the Breakthrough reward.

6. Raid Hour is the optimal remote raiding window

Every Wednesday from 6:00–7:00 p.m. local time, Raid Hour fills Gyms with five-star raids featuring the current Legendary rotation. This is the single best time to use Remote Raid Passes: maximum active lobbies across all time zones, the highest density of coordinating trainers, and the shortest wait times between lobby fills. Our Raid Hour guide covers each week’s boss and the best counter picks to prepare in advance.

7. Optimize your team — the damage penalty is gone

Since June 2023, remote Pokémon deal full damage. There’s no reason to run extra bulk or redundant attackers to compensate for a reduction that no longer applies. Build a tight team of 6 best-in-slot counters for the raid boss’s typing and you’ll perform exactly the same as an in-person raider.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Using passes on Tier 1–3 raids

A 195-PokéCoin pass spent on a Tier 2 raid that a single trainer with average counters can clear in-person for free is a poor trade. If you can physically reach the Gym and solo it with a free Raid Pass, save the Remote Raid Pass for something that actually needs a coordinated multi-person lobby — Legendaries, hard Megas, Shadow Legendaries.

2. Trying to buy passes when your bag is already full

The game blocks Remote Raid Pass purchases when you’re holding 3 or more. If you’re heading into an event and want to stock up, check your item bag first — Open Menu → Items. Buy early so you’re not scrambling when the raid you want goes live.

3. Missing the Research Breakthrough free pass

This is the most common and most avoidable loss. Claiming a Breakthrough box at full inventory (3 passes) silently replaces your Remote Raid Pass with a Premium Battle Pass — a 95-PokéCoin value instead of 195. There’s no warning prompt. Make it a habit: on Day 6 of your stamp card, check your bag and use a pass if you’re at 3.

4. Attempting to join Elite Raids or Community Day Raids remotely

These two raid types explicitly block Remote Raid Passes — they’re designed to require in-person attendance. Elite Raids in particular often feature exclusive moves or Pokémon that Niantic uses to incentivize local gatherings. If you’re not physically near the Gym when an Elite Raid is live, you cannot participate at all. Plan Elite Raid attendance on the calendar in advance.

5. Overbuilding your team for a damage penalty that doesn’t exist

Trainers who haven’t seen the June 2023 change sometimes stack extra tanky Pokémon in remote raid teams, assuming they need to outlast a disadvantage. They don’t. Remote and in-person damage have been equal since the Hidden Gems season. Build your team to maximize DPS against the boss’s typing, not to absorb extra hits from a nerf that was reversed two years ago.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Remote Raid Passes can I hold at once?

The standard inventory cap is 3. However, there’s a one-time edge case: if you hold exactly 2 passes and purchase a 3-pack from the Shop, you’ll end up holding 5 passes temporarily. The cap of 3 prevents acquiring more, but doesn’t delete passes already in your bag from a bundle purchase. In practice, keep your count at 1–2 before shopping so you’re never blocked from buying when a Legendary you want appears.

Can I use Remote Raid Passes for Elite Raids and Community Day Raids?

No. Both raid types explicitly exclude Remote Raid Passes. Elite Raids require in-person attendance by design — they use that restriction to create genuine local gather events around exclusive rewards. Community Day Raids (the bonus raids that appear after the main Community Day window) follow the same rule. If you can’t get to the Gym physically, you’re locked out of those specific raid types regardless of how many passes you have.

Is there a way to get Remote Raid Passes without spending real money?

Yes, through three paths. First, Research Breakthroughs include Remote Raid Passes in their reward pool — complete Field Research on 7 different days and the Breakthrough box may contain one (not guaranteed, but it appears regularly in the rotation). Second, major events like Pokémon GO Fest distribute free passes through timed research tasks; always check event rewards before buying. Third, Gym defense earns up to 50 PokéCoins per day for free — four days of consistent Gym holding accumulates enough for a single pass with no real-money spend required.

Sources

1. Raid Pass — Bulbapedia
2. Joining Battles Remotely — Pokémon GO Help Center
3. Joining Raids from your Friend List — Pokémon GO Help Center
4. Updates to Pokémon GO’s Shadow Raids and Max Battles — Pokémon GO Official
5. Updates to Pokémon GO’s Remote Raids — Pokémon GO Official
6. Pokémon GO Remote Raids quietly buffed — Dexerto