Pokémon GO – How to Get Remote Raid Pass and Join Raids

Raids have been a major component of the Pokémon GO experience since they were added years ago. However, until now you had to be physically present at the gym the raid appeared at. This sort of system worked well when everyone could come together in big groups, but with the Coronavirus pandemic and social distancing measures, many players find raiding to be impossible. Niantic has responded with the remote raid pass, a new item that will allow you to join any raid you see on the nearby screen. But how does it work? Here’s how to get the remote raid pass and join raids in Pokémon GO.

How to Get Remote Raid Pass

To get a remote raid pass you need to purchase one from the in-game store (they will be added soon, so if you don’t see them you will have to wait). At launch the remote raid pass will be a part of the one Pokécoin, one-time purchase bundle, so be sure to pick that up while it’s available. After that the new passes will be available for 100 Pokécoins a piece, though this price will increase at an unknown future date.

Unfortunately there is no equivalent to the free daily raid pass for the remote version, so you need to buy one in order to get it. There may be giveaways at some point in the future, like we’ve seen with raid passes before, but don’t count on it. Bundles are typically the best way to get a lot of these premium items, so watch for them to appear in them and buy them up while you can. Once you have them, you’ll want to know how to use them.

How to Join Raids

This process is pretty simple, mirroring how the raids work in the current environment. To join a raid and use a remote raid pass you just need to be able to locate the gym on your screen or in the nearby list. If it’s too far away to appear there, you’re out of luck and either need to relocate or wait for a raid to appear closer to you. Once there is one to join just select the gym and you should zoom into it like normal, showing the raid information and allowing you to use a raid pass to join. There will be limits on how many can join remotely versus in-person, though like the damage reduction, these limits will likely be removed during the Coronavirus pandemic.

As with anything in Pokémon GO, this whole process could get shaken up by future updates. We’ll keep this updated so that you always know how to get the remote raid pass and join raids in Pokémon GO.