Niantic has begun a gradual rollout of the new features – trading, friends, and gifts – announced earlier this week for Pokemon Go. The first players to get it were those at trainer level 40 or above starting midnight Friday, and it expanded to level 30 or above in next few hours. At this rate, expect everyone to be on board by the end of the week.
A gradual rollout of a new feature is standard practice in the gaming industry, since it puts less stress on the servers and allows Niantic to deal with any issues that crop up.
According to those who got access the earliest, it will take about three months of trading, sending gifts, and participating in gym or raid battles to raise your friendship level to 'Best Friend'. Getting there allows you to trade Legendary, Shiny, and other Pokemon not in your Pokedex, as well as complete a trade with fewer Stardust.
Screenshots available publicly on Twitter also clarify what trainer codes will look like, which are needed to add friends. It seems to be a unique 12-digit number, similar to the friend codes on Nintendo services. Friend lists are currently capped to 200.
Friends will also be able to view each other's profiles, and even see the nicknames their friends may have assigned to their Pokemon. Receiving gifts from friends is also the only way to get 7km eggs that hatch Alonlan Pokemon.
Trading has been a heavily-requested feature since Pokemon Go launched in 2016, and those who've stuck with the game are finally getting what they want.
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