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Pokemon GO Shadow Raids and Max Battles can soon be played remotely

Pokemon GO is starting to get a little more accessible again.

Ozzie Mejia

May 7, 2025 10:00 AM

The Pokemon Company

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Part of Pokemon GO's ongoing popularity has stemmed from being able to catch them all from a remote location. It's not always possible to get together with friends for one reason or another, so the option to engage from far away has proven welcome. Pokémon GO Raids have been playable remotely, but Shadow Raids and Max Battles since their inception have not. Niantic is finally changing that this month by announcing that Shadow Raids and Max Battles will be playable remotely.

Pokemon GO Shadow Raids will go remote starting on Tuesday, May 13 with the upcoming Crown Clash: Taken Over event. It's an awfully good time for remote raiding to become an option, because Shadow Dialga will make its debut during this event. While Shadow Dialga can only be accessed via Special Research, Shadow Raids will introduce Shadow versions of Magnemite, Cyndaquil, Murkrow, Spoink, Lapras, Piloswine, and Gurdurr.

Max Battles have been a major part of the Pokemon GO experience since Dynamax Pokemon were introduced nearly a year ago. Starting on Monday, May 19, Max Battles can be joined remotely. That's just in time for the Gigantamax Machamp Max Battle Day, where a Gigantamax version of the final evolution of Machop will appear in Max Battle areas around the world.

Just as with other remote raids, joining Shadow Raids or Max Battles from afar will require a Remote Raid Pass, which is purchasable through in-game Gold or real money. The rollback of remote options for Pokemon GO play was met with deserved criticism after Niantic began reverting COVID-19 changes that allowed for players to come together from far away. Remote options have proven especially welcoming to disabled users who may not always be able to explore outside spaces.

More information on the upcoming raid changes can be found on the Pokemon GO website.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?