Everything You Need to Know About Pokémon GO's Buddy System and New Update

A new update to Pokémon GO is already rolling out this week. The most significant change will be implementing the Pokémon GO buddy system. This is the biggest feature update to the game since it released in July.

However, this update is causing frustration for some players, as it seems entirely random who has been able to access it. Some people have the update, while their spouses or children do not. Unfortunately the best solution to this is to just be patient. The update will likely be available to everyone by next week.

If you do have the update, you will be excited to learn that you can now partner with you favorite Pokémon and embark on your Pokémon adventure together, much like Pikachu and Ash.

Photo Credit: Giphy

What this means for trainers is you can now choose a Pokémon to be your “buddy” and walk it to earn candy for evolutions and power-ups. No longer will you have to camp out at nest locations to stockpile candies for evolutions. Now all you have to do is get outside and exercise and explore!

Distances needed to walk vary from Pokémon to Pokémon. Check out our earlier article to get exact distances for each individual Pokémon.

Your buddy Pokémon will display on your profile screen either standing or flying next to you. Certain Pokémon, like Pikachu, move from standing next to you to riding on top of your shoulders after you walk 10km with them.

SOURCE: SlashGear

Data miners of the update have also found some other interesting info regarding Legendary Pokémon!

All Legendary Pokémon will need to walk 5km per candy awarded. It is smart to release this buddy update before releasing any Legendary Pokémon, as the buddy system will likely be the only way to level up your Zapdos or Mewtwo. The elusive Ditto was also found in the code, needing to walk 3km per candy.

This new update also fixes a few annoying issues some players were experiencing. It fixed a bug where an egg would hatch but you would see no animation and have to check your recent Pokémon to see what you got. It also will make tapping on small wild Pokémon on the map easier.

Lastly, the new update provides support for Pokémon GO Plus, the new bluetooth device that lets you collect from PokéStops and catch Pokémon while your phone is in your pocket. You can read more about Pokémon GO Plus in our previous article.

Have you been able to update yet? Are you liking the new buddy system? Let us know in the comments!

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