Whether you want to call ’em buddy, companion, or sidekick, there’s no denying that having a friendly Pokémon at your side is helpful as you explore the world and polish your skills as a Pokémon Trainer. Pokémon GO’s Buddy Adventure lets you become better buddies with your Pokémon and get great bonuses and incentives along the way. Learn how to choose a Buddy Pokémon, which Pokémon you need to be buddies with for them to evolve, and how to make the most of Pokémon GO’s Buddy Adventure.

• How to Choose and Set Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

• How to Earn Candy with Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

• How to Earn Hearts with Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

• Pokémon GO Buddy Levels

• Pokémon You’ll Need to Make Your Buddy Before They Can Evolve in Pokémon GO

• How to See Your Entire Buddy History in Pokémon GO

How to Choose and Set Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

At any given point, you can select one Pokémon as your Buddy Pokémon—but how do you choose the right one? Here are four reasons you may choose a specific Pokémon to be your buddy.

• You need Candy for a particular Pokémon. You’ll receive Candy by walking with your buddy, so you may want to choose a Pokémon you need more Candy for that doesn’t often appear in the wild.

• You want to bring a Pokémon to the GO Battle League, particularly the Master League. If you’ve powered up a Pokémon as much as possible, but still want an extra edge in the Master League, this is a fantastic way to get it. Increasing a Pokémon’s Buddy Level to Best Buddy will grant you a small CP boost when that Pokémon is your buddy.

• You need to adventure with a Pokémon to evolve it. Certain Pokémon—such as Eevee, Feebas, Pancham, and Spritzee—require you to perform certain tasks with that Pokémon as your buddy to evolve it. These Pokémon will also provide all the other buddy benefits, like earning Candy and a CP boost, as well.

• You really like a particular Pokémon and want to spend some time adventuring together.

Because you can have only one Buddy Pokémon at your side at a time, make the most of Pokémon GO’s tagging feature to keep track of Pokémon you want to befriend. Create a “Future Buddy” tag, tag some potential buddies, and once you complete a specific task with one buddy, go to your “Future Buddy” tag to find your next buddy.

After you’ve decided on the Pokémon you want to be your buddy, tap your Trainer portrait at the bottom-left corner of the map. Then tap the Choose Buddy icon—it looks like two smiling faces linked together. You can then choose any Pokémon you’ve caught to be your buddy. Once selected, your buddy’s picture will appear next to your Trainer’s portrait at the bottom-left corner of the in-game map.

You can swap your buddy up to 20 times per day. To swap your buddy, tap the circle with your Buddy Pokémon’s face in it at the bottom-left corner of your screen. At the bottom, below your daily activities and walking progress, is the Swap Buddies button. Tap that, then choose your next Buddy Pokémon.

How to Earn Candy with Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

Once you have your buddy selected and can see its face at the bottom-left corner of your screen, simply start walking to earn Candy! Your buddy doesn’t have to be on the map with you to earn Candy, although it’s always fun to see them strolling along beside you! Different Pokémon require you to walk different distances to earn Candy. The walking distances to earn Candy are 1 km, 3 km, 5 km, and 20 km, depending on the Pokémon.

Here are some examples of Pokémon and the walking distances necessary to earn one Candy.

• 1 km: Caterpie, Pikachu, Magikarp, Aron, Wailmer, Bidoof, Purrloin, Sewaddle, Fletchling, and Skwovet.

• 3 km: Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, Vulpix, Machop, Ponyta, Slowpoke, Gastly, Chikorita, and Medicham.

• 5 km: Eevee, Snorlax, Dratini, Larvitar, Ralts, Beldum, Litwick, Stunfisk, Goomy, and Noibat.

• 20 km: Zapdos, Mewtwo, Lugia, Kyogre, Dialga, Giratina, Darkrai, Xerneas, Meltan, and Zarude.

You can give your buddy a Poffin to cut the distance you’ll have to walk to earn a Candy in half. Learn more about the effects of giving Poffins to your buddy in the next section.

How to Earn Hearts with Your Buddy in Pokémon GO

When you look at your Buddy Pokémon’s profile page, you’ll notice a list of activities with hearts next to them. Completing those activities will fill those hearts, which will in turn raise your Buddy Level. Gaining hearts also earns you rewards, as you’ll see below. Now that you’ve chosen a buddy and are ready to start earning hearts to raise your Buddy Level, simply tap the circle with your buddy’s picture, and you’ll be presented with a large Play! button. Tap the button to go into AR mode, and then tap a spot on the screen where you’d like your buddy to appear. Once your buddy has arrived, you’ll need to either feed your buddy three Berries or one Poffin in order to play together.

Poffins are treats that you can earn by completing research tasks or by purchasing them in the in-game shop for 100 PokéCoins each. If you choose to feed your buddy a Poffin, your buddy will earn Candy at half its usual walking distance and your Pokémon’s mood will display as Excited, meaning you will earn double the hearts for performing the same tasks. Your buddy will also stay on the map longer than if you fed it three Berries instead. If you feed your buddy three Berries, its mood will be Happy, which is one level below Excited.

You’ll earn a single heart for feeding your buddy three Berries and three hearts for feeding your buddy a Poffin. By feeding your buddy, you can earn a maximum of three hearts per day, but there are other things you can do with your buddy to earn hearts. Here are all the activities that will earn you hearts.

• Explore together. You’ll earn one heart for every 2 km you explore with your buddy for a maximum of three hearts per buddy, per day.

• Give your buddy a treat. As mentioned earlier, you can use this method to earn three hearts per buddy, per day.

• Play together. To play with your buddy, enter AR mode and touch the screen to make your buddy appear. Just as Pokémon enjoy being petted, your Pokémon will enjoy the interaction, earning you one heart per buddy, per day.

• Battle together. You can battle alongside your buddy in the GO Battle League, Team GO Rocket battles, or in training battles against Spark, Blanche, or Candela. You’ll earn one heart per battle for a maximum of three hearts per buddy, per day.

• Take a snapshot. When your buddy is on-screen in AR mode, simply press the camera icon to take a photo of your buddy. You can use this method to earn a maximum of one heart per buddy, per day.

• Visit a new place. Find a PokéStop or Gym you haven’t been to before and spin the Photo Disc while your buddy is on the map with you. You can use this method to earn a maximum of one heart per buddy, per day.

• Follow a Route together. You can use this method to earn a maximum of one heart per buddy, per day.

Pokémon GO Buddy Levels

There are four Buddy Levels you can achieve with your Buddy Pokémon: Good Buddy, Great Buddy, Ultra Buddy, and Best Buddy.

• Good Buddy (earn 1 heart together): As a bonus, a Good Buddy becomes an Adventuring Buddy and will appear on the map with you. The Pokémon also develops a Readable Mood, which means you can tap the Pokémon on the map and see its mood communicated via different smiling faces.

• Great Buddy (earn 70 hearts together): At this level, your Pokémon will offer the Catch Assist Perk. This means that when you’re trying to catch a Pokémon and it hits the Poké Ball away, your buddy might hit the Poké Ball back at the Pokémon, giving you another chance to catch the Pokémon. A Great Buddy will also find presents for you. Presents include useful items like Berries and Potions. You’ll also earn a heart when your buddy brings you a present.

• Ultra Buddy (earn 150 hearts together): At this level, your buddy will help you find locations and Souvenirs. Finding locations means your buddy will alert you to nearby PokéStops that it finds interesting. Spinning the Photo Disc at these stops will give you extra rewards. You’ll also receive a heart every time your buddy brings you a Souvenir, which can include a Lone Earring, a Marble, a Mushroom, a Snowy Pinecone, a Chalky Stone, and other interesting trinkets.

• Best Buddy (earn 300 hearts together): At this point, your Buddy Pokémon will receive a CP boost whenever it’s your buddy. It will also receive a jaunty Best Buddy Ribbon to indicate its status. The CP boost comes in handy when competing in the Master League, giving your Pokémon an added boost when you’ve already powered up that Pokémon as much as possible.

Pokémon You’ll Need to Make Your Buddy Before They Can Evolve in Pokémon GO

There are numerous ways to evolve Pokémon in Pokémon GO, but many Pokémon require you to perform certain tasks while they’re your buddy before they can evolve. If you’ve got a Pokémon that displays “Adventure together to evolve” below the Evolve button, then you should make that Pokémon your buddy. From there, you’ll need to complete tasks with your Buddy Pokémon; those tasks may often differ from those required to earn hearts.

Here’s a list of some of the ways to evolve a few of these Pokémon.

• Galarian Slowpoke to Galarian Slowbro: Make Galarian Slowpoke your buddy and then catch a certain number of Poison- or Psychic -type Pokémon while it’s your buddy.

• Galarian Farfetch’d to Sirfetch’d: Make Galarian Farfetch’d your buddy and then make a certain number of Excellent Throws.

• Eevee to Umbreon: Make Eevee your buddy. Walk with Eevee for a certain distance and then evolve it at night.

• Eevee to Espeon: Make Eevee your buddy. Walk with Eevee for a certain distance and then evolve it during the day.

• Eevee to Sylveon: Make Eevee your buddy and then earn a certain number of hearts together.

• Primeape to Annihilape: Make Primeape your buddy and then defeat a specific number of Ghost- or Psychic-type Pokémon.

• Hisuian Qwilfish to Overqwil: Make Hisuian Qwilfish your buddy and then win a specific number of raids.

• Hisuian Sneasel to Sneasler: Make Hisuian Sneasel your buddy. Walk with Hisuian Sneasel for a certain distance and then evolve it during the day.

• Feebas to Milotic: Make Feebas your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Bonsly to Sudowoodo: Make Bonsly your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Mime Jr.to Mr. Mime: Make Mime Jr. your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Happiny to Chansey: Make Happiny your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Woobat to Swoobat: Make Woobat your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Galarian Yamask to Runerigus: Make Galarian Yamask your buddy and then win a specific number of raids.

• Floette to Florges: Make Floette your buddy and then earn a certain number of hearts together.

• Pancham to Pangoro: Make Pancham your buddy and then catch a specific number of Dark-type Pokémon.

• Spritzee to Aromatisse: Make Spritzee your buddy and then use an Incense.

• Swirlix to Slurpuff: Make Swirlix your buddy and then feed it a specific number of treats.

• Pawmo to Pawmot: Make Pawmo your buddy and then walk a certain distance together.

• Charcadet to Armarouge: Make Charcadet your buddy and then defeat a specific number of Psychic-type Pokémon.

• Charcadet to Ceruledge: Make Charcadet your buddy and then defeat a specific number of Ghost-type Pokémon.

How to See Your Entire Buddy History in Pokémon GO

Keep track of the memories you make with your buddy by viewing your Buddy History. To access your Buddy History, tap your Trainer portrait at the bottom-left corner of your device’s screen. Right below your level, you’ll see an icon labeled Buddy History on the far left. Tap Buddy History to see all your previous buddies, how long you played together, and what Souvenirs they brought you. While on that screen, you can also swap your current buddy with a former Buddy Pokémon.

Get out there and buddy up, Trainers!