How to add, play with, and accept invites from friends in Pokémon UNITE

Some systems in Pokémon UNITE can be rather tricky, but thankfully, playing matches with your friends is a pretty simple thing to make happen. 

Since UNITE’s goal is to eventually allow crossplay between the Nintendo Switch version, which is out now, and the mobile version of the game that is supposed to drop in September, the friend system doesn’t rely entirely on the Switch’s friend codes. 

UNITE has its own unique friend system that is meant to make cross-platform integration easier for players. Every player has a unique Trainer ID, a seven-digit code that can be found on their Trainer Info card. 

Related: Pokémon UNITE ranked explained

All anyone has to do to add someone as a friend is access the Friends list, go to Friend Search, and enter their desired Trainer ID. Players can also enable a second invite friend feature that will allow them to add friends based on their Nintendo Account information. 

For that second method, all a player needs to do is hit the Minus Button on the Friend Search tab, enable Nintendo Account invitations, and add their friends. 

Once you have added a friend, inviting them to a match is easy. Head into the Unite Battle menu and click on one of the four big plus markings next to your avatar. From there, you can invite your friends to form a party of up to five players for Ranked or Standard matches, or four players for Quick games. 

If you receive an invite from a friend to join their party, click accept when the notification pops up, or, click on their player avatar icon next to the match start button.