Pokemon Go preps 'Buddy' system in upcoming update

Now that you’re armed with the Pokemon Appraisal system, it’s time to use that to help you decide which pocket monster in your Pokedex is your best bud. Up next for Pokemon Go: the Buddy Pokemon system.

Once the new system arrives and you designate a Pokemon as your bff, the two of you will enjoy special advantages from simply walking together. One of those shared benefits is Candy, which you can use to hurry the evolution of your Pokemon or boost its combat points. The Pokemon Go team didn’t offer more details about the “in-game rewards and experiences” generated from buddying up with a Pokemon from your collection, but alluded to more than just candy.

You can swap Pokemon buddies out of your collection anytime you want to do so. Whichever one you designate at your current buddy will appear next to your Trainer avatar on the game’s profile page.

So when is it coming? The introduction of Buddy Pokemon is “just around the corner.” The update logically follows the introduction of the Pokemon Appraisal system. If you’ve been away for a while, and there’s a fair chance of that, the recently released appraisal system gives you insights as to the effectiveness of a given Pokemon in battle.

In announcing the latest update heading to the augmented reality game, developer Niantic’s Pokemon Go Team declined to offer details about some of the highly anticipated features we know are embedded deep within the app.  Last month, some Reddit detectives unearthed artifacts of incomplete or stripped features for the game. Those features include the frequently requested trading system and PvP (Player vs Player) support. The dig also uncovered upcoming item variations, all of which is laid out in our previous coverage of the game.

So what do you think of the upcoming Buddy system and do you already know which Pokemon you’ll give a rose of they compete for you affection? And if you’ve stepped away from the game, are the latest developments temping you to return to Pokemon Go? Let us know you thoughts in the comments.