Let's Go Play with Buddies

In a post three days ago, I noted that sometimes new innovations in some Pokémon games also bring new problems, and Pokémon Go was recently affected by one such innovation. That innovation would constitute an upgrade to the Buddy system, with it being hailed as a "version 2" of sorts. Previously, a Trainer can select a Buddy Pokémon, which would then "walk" along with the player and every so often collect Candies... and not much more than that. With the so-called "version 2", so much more can be done.

Trainers can now play with their Buddy Pokémon by going to the Buddy section (tapping the Buddy icon on the overworld or the Pokémon on the profile), then tapping the "Play!" button or even just the Pokémon. Here, Trainers can pet their Buddy, take a picture of the Buddy, or feed Berries to the Buddy until full. After becoming full, the fun begins, as the Buddy will then appear on the overworld directly, whether in the air for hovering or flying ones, or on land for walking and running ones. The Buddy will become a "real partner" for as long as it has "stamina", which may be increased by further Berry feeding; when it runs out, the Buddy disappears.

Buddy Pokémon also now have levels akin to Friendship levels - Good, Great, Ultra, and Best - that are augmented by getting hearts for the Buddy. Walking 2 kilometers, feeding Berries until full, taking a picture, battling, playing (petting), and visiting new places all count as getting a heart; three hearts can be obtained each for the first two and one heart can be obtained for the rest each day. Further, Buddy Pokémon now have moods that identify their feelings, and among these, the most important is the Excited mood, which allows a Buddy to earn double hearts for all of the above actions and cut Candy distance by half for as long as the mood persists. It may be quite tricky to achieve this mood, but the sure-fire way to do so is to feed the Buddy a Poffin, a newly introduced item that may be obtained in the Shop for 100 coins. It's up to Trainers and their Buddy Pokémon to see how they can really get close.

Achieving greater Buddy levels will unlock nifty bonuses with the Buddy Pokémon. They may assist in captures by heading back a thrown Poké Ball that got headed by a Pokémon to be captured; they may also find items, souvenirs, and new places, and even obtain a CP boost at the Best Buddy level. All these are neat, but they take time to earn, as it has been known that even with best efforts (the Buddy becoming Excited each day and all possible hearts earned), it takes a minimum of half a month to get to the Best level, and this feature has only been around for about a week. And if one is interested in putting to work as many Buddies as possible, one can do so, but it means a lot of work, not to mention the fact that swapping Buddies is now limited to 20 times a day. Therefore, more has to be seen as time goes on with this new system.

As mentioned, this innovation brought about a broken feature as a "problem", but it seems that that is not the only "problem". At present, those who play on phones that are incapable of AR+ can take pictures of the Buddy Pokémon - and only that; trying to take pictures of any other Pokémon leads to the loading of the AR+ intro, leading to a useless stub. I can imagine those who can play with AR+ are unaffected, but for those who can't, this is a major issue, especially for Research Tasks that demand specific pictures to be taken. The hope is that this will be fixed soon if not immediately, and that the "problem" train ends here.

Despite the "problems" that were brought along with it, this "version 2" of the Pokémon Go buddy system is truly an important upgrade. It's a way to get close to Pokémon and a proving ground for dedication to them. It's almost as important as the spirits of the times, which is why I've let this post take precedence in comparison to posts from earlier years below. Let's just say for now that the incredible advancement of this feature is a "present" for everyone, for all Trainers in Pokémon Go and their Pokémon.

One year ago: Keeping Homes in Hearts
Two years ago: Cool Wintry Song