Data miners going through the code of Pokémon GO's latest update discovered a new Buddy System feature that could be coming soon to the massively popular mobile game.
The strings of code that hinted at the Buddy System, and what it would add to Pokémon GO, was discovered by AeonLucid and elfinlazz in the most recent update for Android that gave team leaders a bigger role in the game. The findings were posted on AeonLucid's PogoProtos Github page, which is typically used for monitoring traffic statistics.
Upon looking through the code posted on the PogoProtos Github page, the most vivid hint for the upcoming feature and what it does can be seen in the solitary data string named "GetBuddyWalkedResponse." The string features the "family_candy_id = 2" subset.
Another string, named "BuddyPokemon," mentions "double start_km_walked = 2" and "double last_km_awarded = 3".
The code may look complex, but it is easy to conclude that the Buddy System mechanic will award players with candy for certain Pokémon depending on the distance that they walk.
The feature will likely be introducing walking Pokémon to the mobile game, with players able to choose the Pokémon that they would like to walk with. They will then be earning candy rewards, most likely candy that can be used for their buddy Pokémon, as they walk certain distances.
There appears to be the option for players to select multiple Pokémon buddies, but there will likely be some kind of limitation on how much candy each Pokémon or the player can earn over a single day. It can also be inferred through the code that different kinds of Pokémon will have different animations while walking, as there are four mentioned buddy sizes of "medium," "shoulder," big" and "flying." The medium and big sizes speak for themselves. Flying Pokémon will most likely be floating, while the smallest Pokémon could be perched on the shoulder of the player's trainer avatar.
Through the Buddy System mechanic, if this is really how the feature would work, players will be able to farm for candy easier, especially for the Pokémon that are difficult to find and catch. With more ways to collect candy, it would become much easier to evolve the rare Pokémon into their stronger forms or to power them up in preparation of gym battles.
There is no indication on the distance that players have to walk to acquire candy, and how many pieces they would receive upon reaching that certain distance. However, even without knowing this information, the Buddy System already looks like a great addition to Pokémon GO.
