How to Choose and Walk with a Buddy in Pokémon GO

A Buddy Pokémon travels with your trainer, finds Candy after the required walking distance, and can earn daily hearts through Buddy activities. As your Buddy level improves, it can unlock practical perks such as catch assistance, gifts, souvenirs, and a CP boost while actively assigned.

The screenshots in this guide show an older interface, so menu placement may look different in the current app. The Buddy functions described below remain the important part.

Choose your first Buddy Pokémon

1. From the map, tap your trainer portrait.
2. Open the Buddy option. If you already have a buddy, tap its portrait to open the Buddy page.
3. Select a Pokémon from storage.
4. Review the choice and confirm.

A Buddy marker appears on that Pokémon in storage, helping you avoid transferring it accidentally. Favorite important Pokémon as an additional safeguard.

How Buddy Candy works

Each Pokémon family has a walking-distance requirement for finding one Candy. The Buddy page shows both the distance required and your current progress. Adventure Sync can count eligible walking while the app is not actively open if the feature and required device permissions are enabled.

Walking is useful when a species is rare in your area or when you need Candy for evolution or power-ups. Some higher-level upgrades may require XL Candy as well; Buddy activity can contribute under the game's current eligibility rules, but ordinary Candy and XL Candy are separate resources.

Bring your buddy onto the map

Feed the buddy enough Berries from the Buddy page to fill its food meter. The Pokémon will join you on the map for a period of time. While it is adventuring with you, eligible activities can earn hearts.

Earn daily Buddy hearts

Common heart activities include:

• walking together;
• feeding the buddy;
• playing with it in the Buddy screen;
• taking a snapshot;
• battling with the buddy included in the team;
• visiting an eligible new place;
• completing bonus activities when they appear.

Open the Buddy page to see which activities are complete and which can still earn hearts that day. An excited mood can reduce the distance needed for Candy and make additional heart opportunities available.

Buddy levels and benefits

The CP boost applies only while that Pokémon is your active buddy. Changing to another buddy does not permanently add the boost to the first Pokémon.

How to switch buddies

Open the Buddy page and choose the swap or change-buddy control, then select another Pokémon and confirm. The game limits how often you can swap within a day, and the current interface shows the remaining swaps.

Switching does not erase the Buddy level or total relationship history already earned with a Pokémon. When you assign it again later, that established progress remains. Check any partially completed walking or daily activity progress before changing if you are close to a reward.

Choose a buddy based on your goal

• Need an evolution: walk the exact Eevee, Feebas, or other Pokémon whose evolution requirement specifies Buddy activity.
• Need Candy: choose a rare species you cannot catch regularly.
• Building for battle: use the Pokémon whose Candy or Best Buddy boost supports the planned team.
• Completing research: select the species or activity required by the task.
• Collecting ribbons: focus daily hearts on one Pokémon until it reaches Best Buddy.

The Buddy system works best when the choice has a clear purpose. Check the Buddy page before a walk, feed the Pokémon so it joins the map, and complete several heart activities during the same session.