You can choose Buddy Pokémon to join you on your adventures. By selecting a Pokémon as your buddy, you can build a relationship with them and proceeds special perks as your relationship deepens.

As you interact with your buddy, you'll earn Amore hearts and amend your buddy'south Mood, a measure of how happy your Buddy feels. Past earning Affection hearts, you increment your Buddy Level. Your Buddy Level measures of the depth of your human relationship with your Buddy Pokémon. By improving your buddy'south Mood and reaching higher Buddy Levels, you lot'll unlock special perks equally recognition of the meaningful bond you've created with your buddy.

For the best user experience, make certain AR+ is turned on in your settings menu. To utilize AR+, your device needs to meet the following requirements:

  • iOS: AR+ mode is merely bachelor for iPhone 6s and newer models running on iOS xi+.

  • Android: AR+ mode is just bachelor to devices running Android vii.0+ and tin support ARCore. Supported devices must install ARCore from the Google Play Shop. A listing of supported devices can be establish here.

Selecting and Changing your Buddy

To select a Pokémon equally your buddy for the commencement time, tap your Trainer's portrait in the lesser left corner of the Map View, then tap the Buddy button to select your buddy.

Once you've selected a Pokémon as your buddy, you can access their Buddy Profile screen by tapping your buddy'due south portrait next to your Trainer's portrait in the Map View. You can also reach the Buddy Profile screen by tapping your Trainer's portrait, then tapping your buddy. You lot can view Pokémon you've previously gear up as your buddy by tapping the Buddy History button.

To swap out your buddy, become to their Buddy Profile screen and tap the Swap Buddies button. You tin too go to the Buddy History page and tap the Swap Buddies push button on the page with the Pokémon you would like to set as your buddy.

Notation: Trainers tin can only swap out their Buddy Pokémon 20 times per twenty-four hours.

Daily Activities and Affection Hearts

Engaging in Activities allows y'all to temporarily improve your Buddy Pokémon's mood and rewards you with Affection hearts. On the Buddy Contour screen, yous'll observe a list of each way to interact with your buddy under the "Today's Activities" section. Grey centre icons represent activities with your buddy that can advantage Affection hearts for that day.

Each time you engage in a listed activity with your buddy, the hearts will turn from grey to pink, indicating you've earned a center in that category. When all the hearts next to an activity turn pink, y'all tin can no longer earn hearts for that activity until the daily heart counter resets at midnight, local time.

Types of Buddy Activities:

  • Walk together - Walk around with a Pokémon set up as your buddy on the Map. Your buddy will only appear on the Map when its hunger meter is full, and will remain on the Map until the hunger meter is fully depleted.

  • Give your buddy a care for - Feed your buddy a Berry or Poffin in AR or Quick Treat mode. Feeding your buddy fills upward their hunger meter. The hunger meter appears at the meridian of the screen in AR and Quick Treat modes and indicates how much your buddy needs to eat before it appears on the Map with you lot. When your buddy'south hunger meter fills up, you lot will receive an Affection centre. If you feed your buddy a Poffin, y'all volition automatically earn the maximum daily number of Affection hearts in this category. Your buddy's hunger meter depletes over time, so feed them periodically to keep information technology from depleting!

  • Play together - Tap your buddy in AR way and pet them with your finger for a few seconds until you lot see them spin and spring with delight.

  • Battle together - Engage in a Gym, Raid, Team Go Rocket, or Trainer Battle with your buddy while they're with you on the Map.

  • Take a snapshot - Have a photo of your buddy in AR fashion while playing with your buddy lone or with friends.

  • Visit a new identify - While your buddy is on the Map with you, visit a PokéStop or Gym you've never visited before and spin its Photo Disc to earn an Affection heart. PokéStops y'all haven't previously visited are surrounded past white rings, which disappear afterward you lot spin their Photo Discs.

  • Bonus - Yous'll occasionally see an additional action chosen Bonus on the Buddy Contour page. This activity will only be visible upon receiving an Affection heart in this category. You lot'll receive a Bonus heart when your buddy gives y'all a present or Souvenir, or if you visit a PokéStop or Gym that your buddy wants to visit. Presents contain useable items like Berries or Potions, and Souvenirs are collectible items stored on your Buddy Contour screen that serve as reminders of all the places you've traveled with your buddy.

Mood

Interacting with your buddy improves their Mood. Your buddy'due south Mood is determined by how frequently and recently yous've interacted with them. Moods decrease over time, so you'll need to keep interacting with your buddy to proceed their Mood up. Shown beneath are all possible Moods from to the lowest degree to most positive:

Excited, the virtually positive Mood, increases the number of possible Affection hearts you lot can earn that day. While your buddy is Excited, you'll see double heart icons next to each activeness. The walking altitude required to collect a Processed volition also be reduced while your buddy is Excited.

Note: Reaching Excited Mood won't increase the number of hearts in the Bonus category.

If your buddy is no longer Excited, yous'll demand to interact with your buddy and achieve Excited Mood over again to keep earning the actress hearts for that twenty-four hours. Nevertheless, yous won't lose any extra Amore hearts that you've already earned that 24-hour interval.

Buddy Gifts

Notation: This is a new feature; details related to this feature may alter in the coming weeks or months.

Your buddy may occasionally bring you Gifts from nearby PokéStops. Different other buddy perks and activities, yous can receive Gifts from buddies at any Buddy Level. When you see a Souvenir icon above your buddy's profile picture, tap their picture and the Gifts will be added to your inventory.

You lot won't receive Gifts from your buddy if you already accept 10 or more Gifts in your Bag, and receiving Gifts from your buddy won't reward Affection hearts.

Buddy Levels & Perks

Earning Affection hearts allows you lot to progress toward improving your Buddy Level. Unlike your buddy'southward Mood, Buddy Levels don't decrease over time, much like Friendship Levels. Each Buddy Level unlocks special perks:

Adept Buddy

  • Adventure with Buddy - Your buddy volition announced on the Map when yous've fed them plenty to fill upwardly their hunger meter. While on the Map, your buddy volition earn Candy at a reduced walking distance.

  • Readable Mood - The Mood indicator appears on the Buddy Profile screen, and you lot tin now achieve Excited Mood. If your buddy is on the Map, you can also tap your buddy to see its Mood.

Peachy Buddy

  • Catch Assist - When a Pokémon you're trying to catch hits a Poké Ball back at you during an Run into, there's a adventure your buddy volition assist y'all out past bouncing the Poké Ball dorsum at the Pokémon.

  • Presents - While exploring with your buddy, your buddy may pick upwardly consumable items like Berries and Potions and deliver them to you equally presents. You'll receive a notification when your buddy finds a present, and you lot tin can open the present while playing with them in AR mode. Opening the present will grant an Affection heart in the "Bonus" category.

Ultra Buddy

  • Souvenirs - Your buddy can now gift you Souvenirs. The kinds of Souvenirs your buddy will detect vary depending on your environment, and each Souvenir indicates the location where your buddy found it. Receiving a Souvenir will grant an Affection heart in the "Bonus" category.

  • Observe Locations - Your buddy may draw your attending to a nearby PokéStop they detect interesting. If you visit the PokéStop and spin its Photo Disc while there is an indicator above the PokéStop, you lot will earn bonus items and an Affection heart in the "Bonus" category.

Best Buddy

  • CP Boost - While set up as your buddy, your Pokémon gains a CP Heave, making it more powerful in Raids, Gym Battles, Squad Get Rocket, and Trainer Battles. The CP Boost won't be applied if the Pokémon isn't currently prepare every bit your buddy.

  • Best Buddy Ribbon - Your buddy now wears a special ribbon indicating you've reached Best Buddy status.