How to play and battle with your Buddy in Pokemon Go

Daniel Megarry
A Pokemon Go trainer playing with their buddy

If you’re wondering how to play with your Buddy, battle with your Buddy, or take a snapshot of your Buddy in Pokemon Go, we’ve got all the answers you need right here.

Buddy Adventure is a great feature in Pokemon Go that lets you assign yourself a ‘partner’ Pokemon. As well as following you around on the map, you can adventure together to earn extra items, Candy, and XP.

Occasionally, there will be Special Research or Field Research tasks that require you to complete tasks with your Buddy. This could be anything from playing together to battling together or earning hearts.

So whether you’re looking to play, battle, walk, or even take a snapshot with your Buddy, you’ll find instructions for all of these Buddy Adventure mode activities below.


Contents


A screenshot of Buddy Pokemon in Pokemon Go

How to play with your Buddy in Pokemon Go

Before you can play with your Buddy in Pokemon Go, you’ll need to be at least Trainer Level 2 and have a Buddy assigned. Then, tap your Buddy’s icon at the bottom left-hand corner of the overworld screen.

From here, press the ‘Play!’ button and your phone’s camera will activate. You need to find a flat surface that’s big enough to display your Pokemon, then tap on the yellow footsteps when they eventually appear.

If you don’t want to use the camera, or you’re finding it hard to get your Pokemon to appear, you can disable AR mode by visiting the settings menu.

Once your Buddy has appeared on the screen, you can play with them by rubbing them. You can also take snapshots of your Buddy by tapping the camera icon or feed them berries by tapping the berry icon.

How to battle another trainer with your Buddy in Pokemon Go

If you want to battle with your Buddy in Pokemon Go, you’ll need to make sure you have a Buddy assigned and then begin a Trainer Battle or a Team Go Rocket Battle with that same Buddy on your team.

If you’re trying to earn hearts or complete a task that involves battling with your Buddy, your Buddy will first need to be walking with you on the map. You can find instructions on how to do that below.

Playing with your buddy in Pokemon Go

How to walk with your Buddy on the map in Pokemon Go

If you want to walk with your Buddy on the map in Pokemon Go (also known as Buddy Adventure mode), you’ll need to feed them three Berries so that their mood increases and they spawn beside you.

Your Buddy will continue to walk alongside you until their hunger meter depletes, which is usually around three hours. You can always feed them more Berries to keep them around for longer if you want.

Walking in Buddy Adventure mode is an important feature, as you’ll need to do this before you can complete certain tasks or earn hearts for activities like walking together or battling together.

How to take a snapshot of your Buddy in Pokemon Go

To take a snapshot of your Buddy in Pokemon Go, you need to tap on your Buddy’s icon at the bottom left-hand corner, select the ‘Play!’ button, then press the camera icon at the bottom of the screen.

You might need to take a snapshot of your Buddy to complete a Special Research task or a Field Research task, so it’s good to know how to perform this simple trick.


That’s everything you need to know about Buddy activities! Check out some other Pokemon Go guides below:

How to get Best Buddy status | How to catch a Ditto in Pokemon Go | Best Eeveelutions | Promo codes for free items | How to get Pinap Berries | How to defeat Giovanni | Rarest Pokemon | Best Mega Evolutions | Community Day schedule | How to get free Remote Raid Passes | Team Go Rocket Grunt guide | Sierra counters | Arlo counters | Cliff counters

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About The Author

Daniel graduated from university with a degree in Journalism and English Language, before spending five years at GAY TIMES covering LGBTQ+ news and entertainment. He then made the switch to video game journalism where he produces news, features, and guides for Pokemon, Fortnite, Nintendo, and PlayStation games. Daniel also has a passion for any games with queer representation.