Tuesday Tips: The Buddy System!

[inkstone]

All right, I received the update a few minutes ago. Hopefully, this means that it's live for everyone on both Android and iOS!

Here are the official patch notes:

• Implemented Buddy Pokémon: Trainers will now be able to choose one of their Pokémon to be their buddy. A Trainer can earn Candy for their Buddy Pokémon by walking a certain distance


• Made it easier to select smaller Pokémon on the screen


• Fixed an issue where Eggs would sometimes hatch without displaying the animation.


• Improved performance reliability when a device switches networks to no longer cause the application to hang or stop updating


• Pokémon GO Plus support


• Minor text fixes

Other changes not mentioned in the patch notes:

• Your trainer journal now notes when you receive an egg from a PokeStop


• The design of your profile page has slightly changed.


• So has the design of the team leader appraisal overlay.


• PokeGo no longer works on rooted or jailbroken phones.

And now for details on the Buddy System!

• Each pokebuddy requires a certain distance to earn a candy. This distance is generally dependent on the type of egg they hatch from. If a mon hatches from a 2km egg, you need to walk 1km to earn a candy through the buddy system. If they hatch from a 5km, you need to walk 3km (2.5km rounded up). If they hatch from a 10km, you need to walk 5km.


• Starter mon (bulbasaur, charmander & squirtle) have a 3km requirement.


• Don't worry. When you add a buddy, the screen tells you the distance requirement!


• If an egg hatches while you're walking a buddy, your buddy will find an extra candy!


• If you evolve your buddy mon, you will lose all progress to the next candy. So time your evolutions!


• But if you switch your buddy to another mon and then back again to your original buddy, the system remembers the total distance. It just has to be the same mon (i.e. not evolved).


• Your buddy mon can train and fight at gyms. Yes, this means you can walk your buddy mon when they've fainted. Which, uh, is an unfortunate visual.


• But you cannot leave your buddy mon to defend gyms.


• There's an easter egg involving pikachu: after you walk 10km (or pikachu finds 10 candy, whichever comes first), pikachu will jump onto your shoulder. (It's a reference to the anime.)

I believe that's it. I'll update this entry if I stumble across anything else. If y'all discover other things, tell us in the comments!! Otherwise, tell us how you're planning to use the buddy system and who you're walking first!

Comments

[inkstone]

I'm first planning to use the buddy system to fill out my pokedex! I have a bunch of mon that only need a few more pieces of candy to reach their next evolution. Once I have a decent number ready, I'm going to have an evolution party. :D

I'm starting with Geodude because I am literally only one candy away from Graveler.

[jack]

Aha! Pokemon update at last. Just after installing android update and restarting.

Now I have an aerodactyl shadowing me! It looks awesome.

[malnpudl]

HOT DAMN! *chair dance*

My buddy is my Bulbasaur, which is my only 100% rated Pokemon. And it's a plant, so it's a favorite anyway. Double happiness! Double goodness! Woohoo!

[zhelana]

I really don't understand how you get a 'mon to start walking with you. Nothing says "buddy" on it anywhere?

[recessional]

AHAHAHAHA. Excuse me I have to walk my baby fire lizard. A LOT. x.x

[playswithworms]

Hooray! Finally got the update on iOS! I can't decide who to walk first though. I started with a Weepinbell, because I have a fondness for weird plants, but then I also love the little Poliwags, so I switched for one of those, and then of course, there's Pikachu, but EVERYONE buddies with Pikachu, right? Only I switched with one just to try and it's so adorable, OMG, I really want Pikachu as my buddy. HOW WILL I EVER CHOOSE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!

[lemon_badgeress]

Thank you for posting the update! Off to check for the update now. I do wish you'd put the spoiler about the easter egg behind a spoiler cut, tho :(

[lilacsigil]

I'm glad about the egg fix - almost all of my eggs have hatched with no animation, so I would look at my phone and suddenly I'd have a new pokemon!

[yuuago]

WHOOHOO, I HAVE THE UPDATE.

My buddy is an Omanyte for now, since they're really hard to come by over here. But I'll probably eventually switch him out for something I've only seen in other cities, like a dratini or a ponyta.

Looking forward to testing this tonight, yayyyy! <3

[umadoshi]

PokeGo no longer works on rooted or jailbroken phones.

I'm really bitter about this. ;_;

[tyger]

Yeaaaaah, charmader frand!

Also oh man, the egg fix is so great, I almost never see them hatching, hopefully I will now!

[brightknightie]

Shout out for the fix for "when a device switches networks"!

Whenever I walked out of the range of a known wi-fi network, and my phone has to heave itself over to cell data instead, or vice versa, the game would hang or stick.

[dickgrayson]

Yes! I am so going to walk with Ponyta!!! :D