You can cull Buddy Pokémon to join you on your adventures. Past selecting a Pokémon as your buddy, you lot can build a relationship with them and gain special perks as your relationship deepens.

As you collaborate with your buddy, you'll earn Affection hearts and improve your buddy'south Mood, a measure out of how happy your Buddy feels. Past earning Amore hearts, you increase your Buddy Level. Your Buddy Level measures of the depth of your relationship with your Buddy Pokémon. By improving your buddy's Mood and reaching higher Buddy Levels, y'all'll unlock special perks as recognition of the meaningful bail you've created with your buddy.

For the all-time user feel, make sure AR+ is turned on in your settings carte. To use AR+, your device needs to meet the following requirements:

  • iOS: AR+ way is only available for iPhone 6s and newer models running on iOS xi+.

  • Android: AR+ style is but available to devices running Android seven.0+ and can support ARCore. Supported devices must install ARCore from the Google Play Store. A listing of supported devices tin can be found hither.

Selecting and Changing your Buddy

To select a Pokémon as your buddy for the first time, tap your Trainer's portrait in the bottom left corner of the Map View, and so tap the Buddy push to select your buddy.

In one case you lot've selected a Pokémon every bit your buddy, you tin can access their Buddy Profile screen by tapping your buddy'due south portrait next to your Trainer's portrait in the Map View. You tin also achieve the Buddy Profile screen past tapping your Trainer's portrait, and then tapping your buddy. You can view Pokémon you've previously set as your buddy by tapping the Buddy History button.

To swap out your buddy, go to their Buddy Profile screen and tap the Swap Buddies button. You can also go to the Buddy History page and tap the Bandy Buddies button on the page with the Pokémon you would like to prepare as your buddy.

Note: Trainers tin can only swap out their Buddy Pokémon 20 times per mean solar day.

Daily Activities and Amore Hearts

Engaging in Activities allows yous to temporarily improve your Buddy Pokémon'south mood and rewards you with Affection hearts. On the Buddy Profile screen, you'll find a listing of each style to interact with your buddy under the "Today'southward Activities" section. Gray heart icons stand for activities with your buddy that can advantage Amore hearts for that day.

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

Types of Buddy Activities:

  • Walk together - Walk effectually with a Pokémon ready every bit your buddy on the Map. Your buddy will simply announced 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 treat - Feed your buddy a Drupe or Poffin in AR or Quick Treat mode. Feeding your buddy fills up their hunger meter. The hunger meter appears at the top of the screen in AR and Quick Care for modes and indicates how much your buddy needs to eat earlier information technology appears on the Map with yous. When your buddy's hunger meter fills upwards, you volition receive an Affection center. If you lot feed your buddy a Poffin, you will automatically earn the maximum daily number of Amore 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 see them spin and bound 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 - Take a photo of your buddy in AR mode while playing with your buddy alone or with friends.

  • Visit a new place - While your buddy is on the Map with you, visit a PokéStop or Gym y'all've never visited earlier and spin its Photo Disc to earn an Affection heart. PokéStops yous oasis't previously visited are surrounded by white rings, which disappear afterwards yous spin their Photo Discs.

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

Mood

Interacting with your buddy improves their Mood. Your buddy's Mood is determined past how frequently and recently yous've interacted with them. Moods subtract over time, and then y'all'll need to keep interacting with your buddy to keep their Mood upwardly. Shown below are all possible Moods from least to most positive:

Excited, the nigh positive Mood, increases the number of possible Affection hearts you can earn that twenty-four hours. While your buddy is Excited, y'all'll see double heart icons next to each activity. The walking altitude required to collect a Processed will also be reduced while your buddy is Excited.

Notation: Reaching Excited Mood won't increment the number of hearts in the Bonus category.

If your buddy is no longer Excited, you'll need to interact with your buddy and achieve Excited Mood again to proceed earning the extra hearts for that twenty-four hours. All the same, y'all won't lose any extra Affection hearts that yous've already earned that day.

Buddy Gifts

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

Your buddy may occasionally bring y'all Gifts from nearby PokéStops. Unlike other buddy perks and activities, you tin receive Gifts from buddies at any Buddy Level. When you lot meet a Gift icon above your buddy'southward profile picture, tap their picture and the Gifts will be added to your inventory.

You won't receive Gifts from your buddy if you already have 10 or more Gifts in your Bag, and receiving Gifts from your buddy won't advantage Amore hearts.

Buddy Levels & Perks

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

Proficient Buddy

  • Take chances with Buddy - Your buddy will appear on the Map when you've fed them enough to make full up their hunger meter. While on the Map, your buddy will earn Processed at a reduced walking distance.

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

Corking Buddy

  • Catch Assistance - When a Pokémon you're trying to catch hits a Poké Brawl back at you during an Encounter, there'southward a chance your buddy will assistance yous out by billowy the Poké Ball back at the Pokémon.

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

Ultra Buddy

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

  • Discover Locations - Your buddy may draw your attention to a nearby PokéStop they find interesting. If yous visit the PokéStop and spin its Photo Disc while there is an indicator above the PokéStop, y'all volition earn bonus items and an Affection middle in the "Bonus" category.

Best Buddy

  • CP Boost - While set as your buddy, your Pokémon gains a CP Boost, making it more powerful in Raids, Gym Battles, Team Become Rocket, and Trainer Battles. The CP Boost won't be applied if the Pokémon isn't currently fix as your buddy.

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