A little over a week ago Trainers gained the ability to become friends in
Pokemon Go, which has been in many players' opinions, a long time coming. As long as you know someone's twelve digit friend code, you can send them a friend request. The new addition to Niantic's mobile game brought with it multiple features including Pokemon trading, Gift sharing, and Friendship Leveling.
Ignoring the obvious here, like the fact that there is still no Player vs. Player battle feature, the fact that Pokemon trading takes obscene amounts of Stardust (one million for a shiny; yes,
really), or that Friendship Leveling takes ninety days to fully complete, there are several other problems as well. It didn't take long for Niantic to discover that with the ability to receive items from friends through Gifts, that there was less of a need for them to seek out Pokestops, or more specifically the Poke
shop in game. So, they immediately dumped the number of items you receive from friends when you get a Gift, decreasing the number of balls, berries, and eggs that you'll receive, with some items, like the berry, dropping from a bunch of as much as ten to two.
While that might not seem like a major problem, couple it with the fact the Trainers are limited to how many gifts they can carry at once. Initially it was five, and Niantic has since raised it to ten, likely after numerous complaints. Keep in mind that Raids, Gym Battles, Community Day, and other
Pokemon Go Events all require communities of Pokemon Trainers to work together, and as such, many people have many friends who play together. If a player can only send one gift a day, can only hold ten gifts, and needs to dedicate a minimum of ninety days of gift trading with each friend to max their friendship level, just imagine what that would entail for a regular player with dozens of friends.
What do you think? Check out the new
Pokemon Go friend feature trailer below!
Connect with friends and explore the world of Pokemon Go together. To add a friend, enter their Trainer Code!