Pokémon Go trainers have been searching for hints of what features will be coming to the latest Pokémon Go update. Some have taken to scouring for codes to reveal to them what might be coming. And according to DigitalSpy, they’ve found one particularly interesting piece of code on the Buddy System that will allow players to take a Pokémon buddy for a walk.
These Pokémon Go pros did some data mining and found a feature for a Buddy System. It will allow players to choose a Pokémon of their choice and let you bond with it. With all new animations to allow your Pokémon to walk alongside you (or sit on your shoulder, depending on what Pokémon you choose), once you’ve picked your buddy, the buddy system will work similar to Pokémon Eggs in that you’ll need to walk or cover a certain distance to earn your reward – rumored to be candy. The size of your Pokémon does not matter either, you can have Onix as your buddy or a Caterpie but there is no indication that the size of your Pokémon will limit your character’s speed or mobility.
However, for those Go players hoping to surround themselves with multiple Pokémons, the feature is rumored to only allow one buddy at a time, with a limit to the amount of candy you can earn with each buddy each day. Below is an image from Phandroid as to what the buddy system might look like:
There is no official announcement for when the update will come out, though it is believed that Niantic will roll it out sometime next week. At a time when the Pokémon Go hype has been dying down, and when the game has potentially already reached its peak – we’ve reported that Pokémon Go has lost nearly 15 million – this new feature hopes to add much needed layer of new game playing experience. Niantic has also announced they will reverse several bans they previously issued to Go players that tried cheating the game. Perhaps this new buddy feature will bring back some of those players that have left the game, hoping to lure them with the comfort of having a virtual Pokémon friend.