The Buddy System feature of Pokémon GO was first discovered by combing through the game's code. Developer Niantic Labs later confirmed that the feature was indeed coming to the next update for the popular mobile game, and that update is now rolling out.
Through the Buddy System, players will be able to select a Buddy Pokémon and collect candy as they walk with the Pokémon that they selected, in addition to unique in-game rewards and experiences.
Buddy Pokémon will be among the new features and improvements being added to the game in version 0.37.0 for Android and version 1.7.0 for iOS, which are both now being rolled out to users.
For aspiring Pokémon masters who are interested in the Buddy System, here is everything that you need to know about the new feature.
Choosing Your Buddy Pokémon
Players can choose any of their Pokémon to become their Buddy Pokémon, though it would be wise to select a Pokémon that will benefit from the candy that will be accumulated.
Pokémon that are already in their final form of evolution with maximum CP should not be selected as Buddy Pokémon, as there would be no use for the candy, unless you have another Pokémon of the same kind who would benefit. Buddy Pokémon should be a Pokémon that the player is looking to evolve or power up or a rare Pokémon that were caught a few times but were not seen again, as the candy that the Buddy System will collect for these Pokémon will help them become much stronger.
Once players have made their choice, they can tap on the photo of their avatar on the lower left part of the screen, tap on Menu and then on the Buddy option that will now be appearing in between Journal and Customize. Players can then select their Buddy Pokémon from there.
It should be noted that the Buddy Pokémon will not be appearing alongside the avatar on the main map. Instead, they will appear near the avatar photo and on the trainer information screen. In addition, Buddy Pokémon could not be chosen to defend a gym.
Collecting Candy
Collecting candy with Buddy Pokémon is similar to how players hatch eggs, and that is by walking while the game is open on the smartphone.
Pokémon have different distances that players need to walk before they collect a piece of candy, with common Pokémon needing shorter distances and rare Pokémon needing longer distances. The player will only receive one piece of candy upon reaching that certain distance for their Buddy Pokémon, with a prompt appearing that says their Buddy Pokémon has found a piece of candy.
The distances assigned to each Pokémon are 1 kilometer, 3 kilometers or 5 kilometers.
For players to check how far they have walked with their Buddy Pokémon and the distance they need to go to collect candy, they can go back into the Buddy option in the Menu. There is also a gauge on the avatar of the Buddy Pokémon on the map that shows the candy collecting progress.
Changing Your Buddy Pokémon
Players who decide to switch their Buddy Pokémon should know that if they do, they will lose all the progress that they have made with their current Buddy Pokémon. As such, players should make the switch after their current Buddy Pokémon has just found a piece of candy.
To change Buddy Pokémon, players will have to tap on the arrow button at the bottom right in the Buddy screen. From there, they can select the new Pokémon that they will walk alongside with.
The Rest of the Update
In addition to adding the Buddy System, the latest Pokémon GO update made it easier to select smaller Pokémon who appear on the map, fixed a glitch that skipped the animation for hatching eggs, improved performance reliability when devices switch networks, support for the upcoming Pokémon GO Plus accessory and minor text fixes.
The update also makes the game unplayable on devices that are rooted or jailbroken, in a bid to eliminate bots and scrapers and address the continued cheating on Pokémon GO.
