‘Pokemon Go’: Updated Buddy Distances for Generation 2 & Generation 1

pokemon go

Pokemon Go Buddy Changes (Niantic)

Now that Pokemon Go has introduced Generation 2 Pokemon, a lot of changes are happening in the game, including changes to movesets, candy rewards, and even the distance you need to walk a Buddy Pokemon in order to get candy. Here are the changes that trainers have noticed so far related to how Buddy Pokemon work. We will update this story as more information is available.

Trainers on Reddit’s The Silph Road community have been pooling their resources to figure out which Buddy candy distances have changed and what the distances are for Generation 2. Here are preliminary findings on the Buddy walking distance needed to get one candy for Generation 2, as compiled by Redditor johnivan-cosmo on The Silph Road. These are preliminary findings, as they come from a self-reported spreadsheet and still need to be confirmed. Do these match what you’ve seen so far?

1 km Generation 2 Pokemon Buddies 

  • Hoothoot
  • Ledyba
  • Remoraid
  • Sentret
  • Slugma
  • Spinarak

3 km Generation 2 Pokemon Buddies

  • Aipom
  • Chikorita
  • Chinchou
  • Corsola
  • Cyndaquil
  • Dunsparce
  • Girafarig
  • Heracross
  • Houndour
  • Hoppip
  • Marill
  • Misdreavus
  • Murkrow
  • Natu
  • Phanpy
  • Qwilfish
  • Shuckle
  • Sneasel
  • Snubbull
  • Stantler
  • Sunkern
  • Swinub
  • Teddiursa
  • Togepi
  • Totodile
  • Wobbuffet
  • Wooper
  • Yanma

5 km Generation 2 Pokemon Buddies

  • Gilgar
  • Larvitar
  • Mantine
  • Mareep
  • Miltank
  • Pineco
  • Skarmory
  • Sudowoodo
  • Tyrogue

In addition, some changes have been noted for Gen 1 Buddies, but many more will likely still be discovered. Some of the changes reported early on February 16 were due to temporary glitches in the game, while some appear to be more permanent. Here are just a few changes noted in Gen 1 so far:

  • Machop has dropped from 3 km to 1 km (but Machoke has stayed the same) (However, some trainers are saying this was a bug.)
  • Abra needs only 1 km per candy now, but Kadabra needs 3 km per candy

Some trainers are speculating that the Buddy candy changes for Gen 1 are related to the evolution changes. Some evolutions give more candy (such as second evolutions giving five candy and 300 stardust, and third evolution giving 10 candy and 500 stardust.) This might account for some Buddy changes.

Other trainers have looked at the Pokedex and are guessing that we might be seeing some new perks for Generation 2 buddies. On Reddit, Splashycat noted that Blissey’s description says it will bring a lucky egg. And Murkrow says it has an interest in things that sparkle. Could these descriptions indicate special items these Pokemon might find as Buddies?

We will add more Buddy changes as they become available. If you see anything that isn’t listed in this story, let us know in the comments below.