The closest thing to a multiplayer experience in Pokemon GO is the recently introduced Raid Battles, which debuted along with the Legendary Pokemon. Both trading and player-versus-player (PVP) battling are still missing in the hit mobile game. No word yet on when Niantic plans to include them.
But at least we now know that both features are definitely coming to Pokemon GO. In an interview with Bloomberg, The Pokemon Company big boss Tsunekazu Ishihara reconfirmed trading and PVP battling for Pokemon GO. This should be good news for players who are starting to lose hope.
Ishihara said that they have only accomplished 10 percent of what they set out to do in Pokemon GO and that "Pokémon trading and peer-to-peer battles" are still in the pipeline. Though like Niantic CEO John Hanke, who also made the same confirmation several months ago, Ishihara did not give an exact timeframe. Well, at least we heard it from Ishihara himself this time, who is more credible than Hanke.
Pokemon GO is due for a couple more major updates this year. Players can only hope that at least one of them is related to trading and PVP battling. Niantic has already made significant progress this year with the introduction of the Gen II Pokemon and the Legendary Pokemon. They should cap off the year with at least one of the two aforementioned features.
PVP battling probably has the better chance of arriving this year. Trading is a bit tricky to implement in Pokemon GO. If Niantic isn't careful, the game could give birth to a black market where players trade Pokemon in exchange for real-world money, which obviously poses a lot of security risks.
Niantic has also stated that trading will require players to be physically near each other. For players living in urban areas, this shouldn't be an issue. But for players living in rural areas where Pokemon GO players are uncommon, it will be difficult to find trade partners. Niantic needs to create an excellent workaround that benefits all players. So, yeah, the trading feature is going to be complicated.