Pokemon Go Update Lets Users Have ‘Buddy’ Pokemons For Unique Rewards And Experience

Ash gets Pikachu as a constant companion throughout his travels in the wildly popular anime series and movies while the rest of his interchangeable Pokemon are kept inside confined spheres in his pockets. With the next “Pokemon Go” update, Niantic Labs is allowing players to do the same with any critter in their possession via a system called “Buddy Pokemon.”

On a blog post by the developers, Niantic provided details regarding the next major update for its popular augmented reality app. Aside from a few bug fixes and gameplay tweaks, players will be able to choose any of their Pokemon to become their constant companion or “Buddy.” Doing so will earn them some unique rewards as well as experience.

“Trainers will now be able to choose one of their Pokémon to be their buddy,” the post reads. “A Trainer can earn Candy for their Buddy Pokémon by walking a certain distance.”

As Venture Beat notes, the company has not announced when the update would be coming. However, with it comes support for the “Pokemon Go Plus” that Nintendo will be releasing come September 16, so it should be some time before or after then. The device will cost players $35, but it comes with the advantage of allowing them to keep playing the game without having to constantly rely on their smartphones.

For those who are wondering, Niantic has not softened its stance on cheat tools such as bots or third-party software that could give some players a distinct advantage of others. The company has already made an example of cheaters in the past by banning their accounts permanently.

“We continue to focus on eliminating bots and scrapers from Pokémon Go,” Niantic Labs said. “Rooted or jailbroken devices are not supported by Pokémon Go. Remember to download Pokémon Go from the official Google Play Store or iTunes App Store only.”