Buddy Pokémon



Buddy Pokémon is a game mechanic that allows trainer to choose a one Pokémon from their collection that after walking certain distances will reward trainer with specific candy.

The chosen Pokémon will appear next to its trainer's avatar on the profile screen. The Buddy will be able to be swapped out with another Pokémon at any time. A Buddy cannot be assigned to a Gym nor transferred.

Buddy Pokémon types and rewards
Each Pokémon that is assigned as Buddy has specific amount of kilometers to be walked after which trainer is rewarded with a candy. There are currently four different distances to be walked for a candy reward:
 * 1 kilometers - distance mostly for common Pokémon and their families,
 * 3 kilometers - distance for most of Pokémon and their families,
 * 5 kilometers - distance mostly for rare Pokémon and their families,
 * and 20 kilometers - distance for Legendary Pokémon.

Also every Pokémon has its specific type of Buddy Pokémon that defines what size and where is placed Buddy relatively to trainer. There are five Buddy Types:
 * Medium - Buddy Pokémon is placed to the right of a trainer and it is smaller or equal to trainer's size,
 * Big - Buddy Pokémon is placed behind to the right of a trainer and it is bigger than trainer,
 * Shoulder - Buddy Pokémon is small enough that can be placed on trainer's right shoulder,
 * Baby - Buddy Pokémon is small enough to be held in hands of trainer,
 * and Flying - Buddy Pokémon flies, floats or hovers behind the trainer. Unlike four other types of Buddy Pokémon, this type doesn't define any range of Pokémon's size so Pokémon's size might differ. Most of Flying-type Pokémon have Flying as type of Buddy Pokémon as well, but not all of them.

Trivia

 * There is an Easter Egg about Buddy Pokémon. Initially when a Pikachu is assigned, it will show up on the ground beside the trainer. However, if a trainer walks a distance of 10km or more, the Pikachu will appear on top of the trainer's shoulder.
 * There is significant relation between Buddy distance for candy reward of specific Pokémon and what egg it hatches from, as:
 * Pokémon that hatch or originally hatched from 2-km Eggs have to walk 1 km for candy reward,
 * Pokémon from 5-km Eggs have to walk 3 km for candy reward,
 * Pokémon from 10-km Eggs have to walk 5 km for candy reward
 * and Legendary Pokémon that don't hatch from any egg have to walk 20 km for candy reward.
 * Shadow Pokémon or even fainted Pokémon can be assigned as Buddy Pokémon.