Your buddy Pokémon isn’t just cosmetic — walking, feeding, and battling with it unlocks free Candy, item discovery, and eventually a permanent CP boost. Here’s how the friendship system actually works and which Pokémon are worth keeping as a long-term buddy.
The Four Buddy Levels
Buddy friendship is measured in hearts, and each level unlocks a new perk on top of the last:
| Level | Hearts Required | Perk Unlocked |
|---|---|---|
| Good Buddy | 1 | Your buddy appears on the map and walks with you |
| Great Buddy | 70 | Catch Assist — your buddy can knock a Poké Ball back toward a Pokémon that deflected it |
| Ultra Buddy | 150 | Your buddy can discover new PokéStops and bring back souvenirs |
| Best Buddy | 300 | A CP boost in battles (raids, Gyms, and Trainer Battles), plus a visible ribbon |
Hearts are earned by walking together, feeding your buddy Berries or Poffins, battling with it as your lead Pokémon, and taking snapshots together — there’s a daily cap on how many hearts you can earn from each activity, so spreading them out across a few days is faster than trying to max a buddy in one sitting.
Walking Distance and Candy
Every Pokémon has a walking distance requirement to earn Candy as your buddy — 1 km, 3 km, 5 km, or 20 km depending on the species, generally scaling with how rare or powerful that Pokémon’s final evolution is. Setting a Pokémon you need Candy for as your buddy is usually the most reliable way to farm Candy for a specific evolution line, especially for Pokémon that rarely spawn in the wild.
Is a Best Buddy Boost Worth It?
Once a Pokémon hits Best Buddy status, it gets a CP boost equivalent to a small level increase beyond the normal level cap — a meaningful edge for a raid attacker or PvP Pokémon you’re trying to squeeze every bit of performance out of, though not a replacement for good IVs or the right moveset. It’s most worth chasing on a Pokémon you already plan to invest heavily in — a top raid attacker from our Best Attackers by Type guide, or a core PvP pick from the Great League Meta Report — rather than spreading buddy time across whichever Pokémon you happen to be carrying that day.
Picking a Buddy Worth Keeping
Since hearts and distance both take real time to accumulate, it’s worth being deliberate about who you set as your buddy. Good picks are usually either a Pokémon you’re actively trying to farm Candy for, or a Pokémon you already plan to power up to Level 40+ for raids or PvP — that way the eventual Best Buddy CP boost lands on a Pokémon that will actually use it, rather than one you’ll swap out of your roster later.
