Pokemon GO‘s Johto Throwback Challenge is live for the next week, and one of the tasks you need to complete as part of your timed Field Research is to play with your Buddy. If you’re just coming back to the game after a break (gotta kill that quarantine time somehow, right?), you might not have any idea how to do that. Here’s what you need to know about advanced Buddy features in Pokemon GO.
Pokemon GO: How to Play With Your Buddy for the Johto Throwback Challenge
Since Pokemon GO first went live, you’ve always been able to pick a Pokemon from your crew as your Buddy, who’d hang out with you in the world like Ash’s Pikachu from the television show. As an incentive to do so, as if you need one besides having a monster pal, you receive candy for walking certain distances with a Buddy at your side.
Back in December of 2019, Niantic Labs released a new feature called Buddy Adventure that expanded the Buddy system. Now you can engage in various additional activities with your Buddy Pokemon, like being able to Play with them.
To do so, you’ll need to reach at least Trainer Level 2 and assign one of your Pokemon as your Buddy. Next, pull up your world map and tap on the picture of your Buddy in the lower left-hand corner. This pulls up a close-range view of them, along with a big button marked “PLAY!”
This activates your device’s camera. Find a flat surface nearby and point towards it until you see yellow footprints appear. Tap again to place your Pokemon in the world.
From this screen, you can feed your Buddy and Play with it by rubbing your finger back and forth on them like you’re petting them. If you’ve got a task that involves Playing with your Pokemon, you should get a notification on the bottom-right corner of your screen that the task is now complete. Make this a regular habit from here on out, as you can level up your Buddy’s Affection and get some cool bonuses.
In the Johto Throwback Challenge event that began today, several of the Field Research tasks include feeding your Buddy three treats, playing with them, and taking a snapshot of them. If you haven’t already chosen a Pokebro to have at your side during your Pokemon GO adventures, now’s a particularly good time to make one your Buddy.
The Johto Throwback Challenge is live all over the world for the next week, and we’ve got our Pokemon GO crew working on the tips, tricks, and guides you want to get that much closer to becoming the Challenge Champion 2020. Check out some of our other articles, like:
- How to catch a Shiny Wobbuffet
- Get the most out of your Ditto with these tips
- How to get more Pokeballs
Thanks to the Pokemon GO experts at Superparent for their assistance with this article. You might even say that this article involved… the Buddy system. I’m not sorry. Follow us on Twitter for hundreds more amazing jokes just like that one, @PrimaGames.
