What is Party Play in Pokémon Go? How to start, Party Power explained

By James On Oct 17, 2023

Party Play There is a local co-op feature that allows you to team up with fellow teachers and earn unique bonuses Pokémon Go.

Released in time for 2023’s Halloween event, the headline benefit is the ability to see players on the screen as they explore, displaying their locations in the world for the first time.

Other benefits include the opportunity to complete a series of challenges for rewards, and a boost to raid damage by participating in the game.

How to start Party Play in Pokémon Go, Party Play work

Party Play is scheduled for the week of 2023’s Halloween event, and can be accessed by selecting the “Party” tab on the Trainer screen. Players can invite others to the party by entering a code or scanning a QR code.

Invites a player to Party Play in Pokémon Go

If you don’t see the option on the party menu, developer Niantic said the “rolling out” feature will be available to everyone as of Monday, Oct. 16, and as part of an advance briefing with Polygon. players starting Thursday, Oct. 19

Note that Party Play has a trainer level requirement of 15, and those with the party do not need to be friends to play with – so feel free to join the players if you prefer.

What is Party Play in Pokémon Go?

Three phone screenshots showing the Party Challenge feature in Pokémon Go Party Play

Party Play allows you to create teams of two, three, or four local players. By doing this you have the following benefits;

A chance to see your member avatars explore the map around you.
Everyone can contribute to a rolling series of party challenges – such as catching Pokémon under certain conditions, or hitting a certain number of PokéStops – that will reward them with items of difficulty, such as Poké Balls, Berries and Mega Energy.
Completing Challenges in Party Play can unlock new avatar items as part of the “Welcome Party” Special Quest.
Party members have access to the Party Tab to show incoming stats from the session (such as Pokémon caught) which can then be shared as a visual recap when the Party releases.
If one member enters the raid, the others in the party will automatically be sent a raid inviting them to join.
During raids, Party members can use the Party Power mechanic, which is a guess that increases the amount of damage each player loses to a boss. Once filled, the next attack’s damage will be doubled.

Let’s take a closer look at perhaps the most useful feature Party Play has to offer: Party Power’s damage boost.

How does Party Power work, and does Party Power increase damage?

Using Party Power during a raid in Pokémon Go

By filling out the faction mechanic in the raid line – guess what you collectively increase by attacking the boss before hitting full – your then the unbidden move’s damage is doubled.

For players eager to min-max their raids and take down powerful bosses with fewer players, the new feature is tantalizing. In the preview, the feature used an example of three players working together to bring down Mega Pokémon, which would usually require more population participants.

However, at the drop of a feather, exactly how powerful this will be in practice is unknown: it is confirmed that the faster your party completes the guesswork, the greater the size of the Party, meaning that they will be able to withstand their attacks more often. But how fast does the guess work? Do all players use a double charged attack, or should we use them first? We’ll know more when the feature launches later this week.

Finally, be aware that Party Strength works on raids of all difficulties, including – and probably most on – legendary shadow raids, which are local in nature only.

What else do we know about Party Play in Pokémon Go?

Here’s some other intel about Party Play ahead of launch:

The largest part is size four. If the Party is not full, any player – not just the guest – can invite new members to the group during the session.
Players must be within a close radius of each other while using Party Play (the specific range is unknown), with a warning issued if they stray too far. (In case it’s not clear – Party Player is a local player only, so no remote sessions!)
You can’t explore routes when in a party (thanks valuequest returns to confirm).
Party stats do not carry over to future sessions, even if playing with the same group of players.

With Party Challenges players can choose between one of three objectives at any time, being presented with a new challenge once the current one is completed. Everyone in the team gets the same reward for completing it.
Outside of the game’s Party Play-exclusive Eevee avatar item from completing the “Party Welcome” Special Quest, which revolves around completing the Party Challenge, there are no other rewards (such as the chance to find an exclusive Pokémon) for the tie-in. feature