Buddy Pokémon
- Buddy redirects here. For the third episode of Pokémon: Twilight Wings, see TW03.
A Buddy Pokémon (Japanese: 相棒ポケモン Partner Pokémon) is a walking Pokémon in Pokémon GO. They allow the player to earn Candy for the Buddy Pokémon's family by walking with them. They walk alongside the player, similar to partner Pokémon in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. Buddy Pokémon were added to Pokémon GO in version 0.37.0 (labeled 1.7.0 on the iOS App Store), which was released on September 13, 2016.
Mechanics
The player earns Candy after walking a certain distance while the same Pokémon is equipped as their Buddy Pokémon. The distance required (1 km, 3 km, 5 km, or 20 km) depends on the Pokémon's evolutionary family. The player can only have one Buddy Pokémon at a time, and can only swap their Buddy Pokémon up to 20 times per day. Prior to the launch of Buddy Adventure, changing or evolving the Buddy Pokémon resets the distance until the next Candy is obtained. Additionally, a Buddy Pokémon cannot be transferred, traded, or placed in a Gym.
Starting in version 0.49.1 (labelled 1.19.1 on the iOS App Store) of Pokémon GO, which was released on December 8, 2016, the total Candy collected by a particular Pokémon as a Buddy Pokémon is displayed on the Buddy information screen, and the total distance walked with a Pokémon as a Buddy Pokémon is listed on that Pokémon's information screen.
Originally, the distance corresponded to half of the Pokémon's family's Egg distance (rounded to the nearest whole number), but since the introduction of Buddy Pokémon, Egg distances have changed often, whereas buddy distance has not changed. Aside from baby Pokémon and starter Pokémon, all Pokémon with the same buddy distance require the same amount of Stardust and Candy to learn a second Charged Attack. The cost to purify a Shadow Pokémon also corresponds to its buddy distance.
- For a list of Pokémon by their Buddy distance and other properties, see List of Pokémon by Buddy Pokémon properties
Evolution
Certain Pokémon can evolve if it has walked with the player for a certain distance as their Buddy Pokémon.
This evolution mechanic does not override the ability of Eevee's nickname or a nearby Mossy or Glacial Lure Module to cause it to evolve into a particular Eeveelution.
| Previous evolution | Buddy evolution | Later evolution | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Galarian Slowpoke is the lowest in its line |  Slowpoke 
|
 +  50Catch 30 Poison-type Pokémon → |
 Slowbro 
|
Galarian Slowbro does not evolve | ||
| + 50 Catch 30 Psychic-type Pokémon → |
 Slowking
|
Galarian Slowking does not evolve | ||||
| Happiny is the lowest in its line |  Happiny 
|
+  25Walk 15 km → |
 Chansey
|
50 → |
 Blissey
| |
| Mime Jr. is the lowest in its line |  Mime Jr. 
|
+  50Walk 15 km → |
 Mr. Mime
|
Mr. Mime does not evolve | ||
| Eevee is the lowest in its line |  Eevee
|
+ Day mode +  25Walk 10km (evolve during day mode) → |
 Espeon
|
Espeon does not evolve | ||
| + Night mode + 25 Walk 10km (evolve during night mode) → |
 Umbreon 
|
Umbreon does not evolve | ||||
+  70 + 25→ |
 Sylveon
|
Sylveon does not evolve | ||||
| Bonsly is the lowest in its line |  Bonsly 
|
+  50Walk 15 km → |
 Sudowoodo
|
Sudowoodo does not evolve | ||
| Feebas is the lowest in its line |  Feebas 
|
+  100Walk 20 km → |
 Milotic
|
Milotic does not evolve | ||
| Woobat is the lowest in its line |  Woobat 
|
+  50Walk 1 km → |
 Swoobat
|
Swoobat does not evolve | ||
| Pancham is the lowest in its line |  Pancham 
|
+  50Catch 32 Dark-type Pokémon → |
 Pangoro
|
Pangoro does not evolve | ||
| Spritzee is the lowest in its line |  Spritzee
|
+  50Use an Incense → |
 Aromatisse
|
Aromatisse does not evolve | ||
| Swirlix is the lowest in its line |  Swirlix
|
+  50Give your buddy 25 treats → |
 Slurpuff
|
Slurpuff does not evolve | ||
| Galarian Farfetch'd is the lowest in its line |  Farfetch'd
|
+  50Make 10 Excellent Throws → |
 Sirfetch'd
|
Sirfetch'd does not evolve | ||
| Galarian Yamask is the lowest in its line |  Yamask  
|
+  50Win 10 Raids → |
 Runerigus
|
Runerigus does not evolve | ||
Position
Each species of Pokémon has a defined Buddy position. Medium Pokémon stand beside to the player, while large Pokémon stand behind the player. Flying Pokémon will fly or float next to the player.
Pokémon with a position of "Shoulder" or "Baby" sit on the player's shoulder or ride in their arms, respectively. Pikachu initially stands beside the player, but moves to their arms if it collects a total of 10 Pikachu Candy.
Buddy Adventure
On December 17, 2019, Buddy Adventure was launched to further expand features for Buddy Pokémon.
Activities
There are several activities players may partake in with their Buddy Pokémon. Interacting with a buddy may increase its Affection, which increases its Buddy Level, and reward Emotion Points (EP), which improves its Mood.
Each activity has a maximum daily limit of Affection hearts that can be earned, which is reset every day at midnight, local time. Accumulating enough Affection hearts will increase the Buddy Level, unlocking various Perks specific to that buddy. Without an Excited Mood or Bonuses, a buddy can earn up to 12 Affection hearts per day.
Every activity also has an associated amount of EP and a cooldown. After earning EP from an activity, the player must wait out a cooldown period before earning more EP from that same activity. If a buddy accumulates enough EP, it will temporarily reach an Excited Mood, during which the maximum daily Affection is doubled for all activity categories except "Bonus", and the buddy will earn double Affection per action; this effectively increases the total maximum possible Affection to 24 hearts per day, without Bonus activities.
The following lists all the Buddy Activities that can earn Affection hearts and EP. Activities in italics denote that the buddy must be walking in the overworld map to count towards points for Affection and Mood.
| Activities | Details | Max Daily Affection | Emotion Points (EP) | EP Cooldown (minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walk together | Walk 2 km with buddy |
|
4 | 0 |
| Give your buddy a treat | Feed buddy one treat |
|
2 | 30 |
| Play together | Play with buddy by petting it in AR mode |
|
2 | 30 |
| Battle together | Buddy participates in a Gym, Raid, Trainer, team leader, or Team GO Rocket Battle. Buddy only has to have been present in the team that battled to count, even if it was never sent out. For Gym, Raid, Trainer, and team leader battles, the battle must be completed to count. For Team GO Rocket Battles, the user only has to attempt the battle; quitting it will still count. |
|
2 | 30 |
| Take a snapshot | Take a snapshot of buddy in AR mode |
|
2 | 30 |
| Visit a new place | Spin a PokéStop that hasn't been visited before. |
|
2 | 30 |
| Bonus | Each of the following earns one Affection heart and is not affected by an Excited Mood:
|
|
4 | 0 |
Buddy Levels
Similar to Friendship Levels, players can perform various related activities to increase a Buddy Pokémon's Buddy Level. As the Buddy Level increases, Perks are unlocked for having that same Pokémon as the Buddy. If a Pokémon that has been a buddy is traded, then its Affection and Buddy Levels will be reset.
| Buddy Level | Affection | Unlocked Perks | Perk Details |
|---|---|---|---|
Buddy
|
0 | Earn Candies | Receive one Candy per buddy distance walked. |
Good Buddy
|
1 | Adventuring Buddy | Buddy can walk with the player on the overworld map once fed full. |
| Readable Mood | Buddy view shows a face icon to indicate mood. | ||
Great Buddy
|
70 | Catch Assist | For any kind of wild encounter, if a wild Pokémon knocks away a thrown Poké Ball, buddy has a 20% chance of knocking it back to the same spot it would have hit. |
| Find Presents | Buddy may bring a bundle of Berries (Razz, Nanab, or Pinap), Hyper Potions, or Revives. Opening a present rewards affection. | ||
Ultra Buddy
|
150 | Find Locations | Buddy may draw attention to a nearby PokéStop it finds interesting. Spinning it rewards bonus items and affection. |
| Find Souvenirs | Buddy may bring a Souvenir. Receiving a Souvenir rewards affection. | ||
Best Buddy
|
300 | CP Boost | Buddy's CP is increased by one power up level (up to Lv. 51) if set as the current buddy. |
| Best Buddy Ribbon | Best Buddy Ribbon is placed onto the buddy's model. The ribbon can also be seen as an icon in the Pokémon Box. |
Hunger
A buddy's hunger can be gauged by its hunger meter, the circle around its icon at the lower-left corner of the map view. In order to walk with the buddy, it must be fed treats until the hunger meter is full. Each hunger point takes one hour to fully decay; so once fully fed, a buddy will walk with the player for six hours. Once that meter depletes completely, the buddy will return to its Poké Ball.
The hunger meter is broken up into six segments, each representing one hunger point. The amount of hunger points satisfied depends on the treat.
| Treat | Hunger Points |
|---|---|
  
|
2 |
 
|
3 |
|
6 |
Mood
A Buddy's Mood is determined by the amount of Emotion Points it has accumulated from engaging in activities. Players can check a Buddy's Mood by viewing the Buddy screen or tapping an Adventuring Buddy on the map. Feeding a Poffin instantly puts the Buddy in an Excited Mood. Mood can decay over time, and players can maintain or improve it by engaging their buddy in further activities. Mood decays by about one EP every 30 minutes of non-interaction, regardless of whether that interaction was on an EP cooldown.
The following lists all the possible moods in increasing positivity, along with the minimum EP needed to maintain each mood.
|
|
|
|
|
| Neutral (2 EP) |
Content (4 EP) |
Happy (8 EP) |
Delighted (16 EP) |
Excited (32 EP) |
If the Buddy Pokémon reaches an Excited Mood, it temporarily unlocks the following Perks:
- Half the walking distance required to find a Candy
- Double Affection hearts earned per action
- Double the daily limit for Affection hearts per action
Souvenirs
Once a Buddy Pokémon becomes an Ultra Buddy or higher, it may collect Souvenirs for the player, similar to gifts from a Partner Pokémon in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!. However, these items are not placed into the player's Bag, but instead added to the Buddy Pokémon's information. A player may view the Souvenirs collected from a Buddy at the bottom of the Buddy screen.
| Souvenir | Description | |
|---|---|---|
|
Beach Glass | Many Trainers like to carry a piece of beach glass like this as a lucky charm. Knowing this, some Pokémon like to collect pieces as gifts for their favorite Trainers. |
|
Cactus Fruit | A cactus fruit that bears some resemblance to fruit commonly found in the Desert Resort in the Unova region. A fun gift from a loving Pokémon. |
|
Chalky Stone | A small, whitish stone picked up at the edge of the road. Your buddy thought you'd like it! |
|
Confetti | A colorful memento often found at special events. This confetti celebrates Team Mystic, Team Instinct, and Team Valor by using their identifying colors. |
|
Flower Fruits | These fruits can't be eaten, but some Pokémon enjoy collecting them regardless. |
|
Lone Earring | A lone earring. Its sparkle probably inspired your Buddy Pokémon to gift it to you! |
|
Marble | A marble with colored glass inside. Your buddy was probably drawn to its intricate pattern. |
|
Mushroom | Mushrooms similar to these tend to grow on Mushroom Pokémon, such as Paras. Some Pokémon enjoy collecting these as gifts for their Trainers. (Don't eat them, though.) |
|
Pikachu Visor | A stylish accessory worn by Trainers at special events to show their love of Pikachu. Pika Pika! |
|
Pretty Leaf | Many Pokémon like to collect these pretty leaves and gift them to their favorite Trainers. |
|
Skipping Stone | A smooth stone that is the perfect shape for skipping on water. It appears to be a sentimental keepsake from your buddy! |
|
Small Bouquet | A small bouquet that was made with heart and soul for a single Trainer. It made your buddy think of you! |
|
Snowy Pinecone | A hefty pinecone that amuses some Pokémon. A surprisingly thoughtful gift from a friendly Pokémon. |
|
Stretchy Spring | A thin, small spring that's totally stretched out. |
|
Torn Ticket | A ticket, torn from use and with faded text. Your buddy probably just thought it was neat! |
|
Tropical Flower | This tropical flower looks similar to those found in the Alola region. Some Pokémon love to collect flowers! |
|
Tropical Shell | A beautiful white shell that may have drifted from a sea in a warm region. Your buddy was probably drawn to its beauty! |
In other languages
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External links
- GO Help Center
- Buddy Adventure coming soon—even more ways to explore, grow, and bond with your buddy!
|
This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games. |
