Trainers in Pokémon GO have the opportunity to befriend their captured monsters and take them as buddies. We at MeinMMO have looked into which Pokémon you should definitely use for this and tell you why it makes sense.
What is a buddy Pokémon? Since the end of November 2019, there has been a buddy Pokémon feature in Pokémon GO. Through this, trainers can befriend their monsters and explore the area. Similar to Ash and Pikachu in the original series, players are also supposed to have a special bond with their Pokémon.
You can now not only view your monsters in your Pokémon storage, but take your favorite on journeys as a buddy. We have summarized the 30 monsters that are best suited for this below.
The 30 best buddy Pokémon
Which Pokémon are eligible as buddies? Of course, you can basically use any monster as a buddy. It can simply be your favorite Pokémon. However, if you want to earn a special CP boost and use your buddy in battles, you should focus on legendary and strong Pokémon.
Especially with rare specimens, you have the opportunity to farm appropriate candies to level them up. We have compiled the best 30 buddy Pokémon for you below.
Frigibax, Arctibax and Baxcalibur
Frigibax is a rare Pokémon that you can get from 10 km eggs. It can evolve into Arctibax and then into Baxcalibur. With the final evolution, you will have one of the best Ice attackers in the game.
If you want to collect a total of 125 candies to evolve Baxcalibur, you have to cover a distance of 5 km for each candy. Here you can also obtain XL candies.
Larvesta and Volcarona
Larvesta, the Bug Pokémon from Generation 5, has the types Bug and Fire. If you evolve Larvesta into Volcarona, you will get one of the strongest attackers that can be used both as a Bug and a Fire attacker.
Since you can only get Larvesta from eggs and it is very rare, it is worthwhile to take the Pokémon as a buddy. This way you earn an Larvesta candy every 5 km as well as the chance to get an XL candy. To evolve Volcarona, you need a whopping 400 candies from Larvesta.
Deino, Zweilous and Hydreigon
Another rare Pokémon is Deino. It belongs to the types Dark and Dragon and can evolve into Hydreigon through Zweilous. Hydreigon is also included in the list of the best attackers in Pokémon GO. To get a Deino candy through this buddy, it also has to walk 5 kilometers with you.
For developing this, 125 candies are also needed again, and more for the power-ups. Deino can be found in the 12 km eggs, various rewards from the battle league, and the special research “Pioneer-40-Challenge”. However, you can also encounter it in the wild. Especially in fog and wind, you should keep an eye out for it.
Gible, Gabite and Garchomp
A worthwhile Dragon Pokémon is also Gible. After the Pokémon of types Dragon and Ground has somewhat disappeared from the scene after the community day in June, only a few candies can be collected from it.
So, if you are looking for a strong specimen but haven’t collected enough candies to level up, you can get some this way. This monster also has to walk 5 kilometers for a candy.
To evolve it from Gabite to Garchomp, you also need 125 candies again. Leveling up is definitely worthwhile, as Garchomp is one of the strongest Ground attackers in the game and can also be considered one of the best Dragons.
Timburr, Gurdurr and Conkeldurr
The monster Conkeldurr also ranks among the strongest Fighting Pokémon. It can evolve from Timburr through Gurdurr. Timburr can be found in 10 km eggs and regularly in level 1 raids. For this reason, the candy yield here is rather not good.
To find a candy with your Timburr, the monster has to walk 5 kilometers with you again. However, Timburr is an exception when it comes to evolving, as it is one of the trade evolutions in Pokémon GO.
Besides an evolution that costs you a total of 250 candies, you can also trade the Fighting Pokémon. This way, it can be evolved from Gurdurr to Meistagrif for free. Thus, you only pay 50 candies and save the others for leveling up.
(Galarian) Darumaka and (Galarian) Darmanitan
The Pokémon Darumaka belongs to the Fire type but also has a Galar variant of the Ice type. Both forms can evolve into Darmanitan or Galarian Darmanitan, respectively. Both the Fire and Ice variant of Darmanitan are among the best attackers in Pokémon GO.
For this reason, it is worthwhile to collect a lot of candies here. Even though Darumaka is often found in the game, XL candies are especially sought after. To find a candy with (Galarian) Darumaka, it has to walk 3 kilometers with you. To evolve, you need 50 candies for each.
Charcadet, Armarouge and Ceruledge
Charcadet is also a Pokémon that you can only get from eggs. It can evolve into Armarouge or Ceruledge.
While Armarouge is not a strong Pokémon, Ceruledge can be a good Ghost attacker. Once you have obtained Charcadet, you can take it as a buddy Pokémon to gather enough candies for evolutions. You need 50 candies each for this.
Swinub, Piloswine and Mamoswine
Another strong attacker is Mamoswine. The Ice and Ground-type Pokémon is the final evolution of Swinub. It can evolve through Piloswine. Although Swinub is regularly found in the wild, it is particularly worthwhile as a buddy because of the XL candies and the CP boost.
Again, 125 candies are required for evolving here. Swinub only has to walk 3 kilometers with you for one candy.
Cranidos and Rampardos
If you evolve Cranidos into Rampardos, you can enjoy the current strongest regular Rock-type attacker. Therefore, it is worthwhile to get one or two specimens and level them up.
You can occasionally encounter Cranidos in the wild. If you take it as a buddy Pokémon, you can look forward to a candy every 5 km and the chance for XL candies. You need 50 Cranidos candies to evolve Rampardos.
Legendary monsters
Legendary monsters are particularly interesting for use as buddy Pokémon. They are usually only available for a short time in level 5 raids and then disappear from the game for a while. As a result, you rarely get candies for these specimens.
Specifically, the following monsters are particularly interesting:
- Mewtwo
- Kyogre
- Groudon
- Rayquaza
- Palkia
- Giratina (Origin Form & Altered Form)
- Zapdos
- Darkrai
- Reshiram
- Zekrom
- Landorus (Therian Form)
- Genesect
- Venicro
- Zarude
These are some of the strongest attackers in Pokémon GO that you should definitely level up. They are great for use in raids. But also in the Master League of PvP battles, most of them can prove themselves. Here you should primarily rely on Groudon, Lugia or Giratina (Altered Form).
To earn a candy, they need to walk 20 kilometers with you each. With a bit of luck, you will also receive valuable XL candies this way.
Strong PvP attackers
The legendary monsters are particularly suitable for use in the Master League of the GO Battle League, as they often have too high CP values for the smaller leagues and are therefore not allowed. For this reason, the following monsters are also alternatives in the Super and Ultra leagues (via pvpoke.com):
- Azumarill (Great League): The monster belongs to the absolute elite in the Great League.
- Feraligatr (Ultra League): The first stage of Feraligatr, Totodile, is rarely found in the wild.
- Lapras (Great and Ultra League): Lapras is not only a fairly rare Pokémon but also one of the best monsters in both the Great and Ultra League.
- Corviknight (Great and Ultra League): The Steel-Flying monster is also suitable for both leagues.
- Jellicent (Great and Ultra League): Jellicent requires only 3 km for a candy and also belongs to the absolute elite in both the Great and Ultra League.
To earn candies with them, you need to walk 3 km with Azumarill, Feraligatr, and Jellicent, and 5 km for Lapras. However, for Corviknight, you only need 1 km to receive candies.
By the way: To earn more candies while walking, you should feed your buddy a Snorlax. This halves the distance, which makes it find candies faster.
Other Pokémon that are suitable as buddy Pokémon
In addition to the mentioned monsters, there are other interesting Pokémon that you can use as buddies. These include other strong attackers in Pokémon GO, such as the following:
- Scizor
- Machamp
- Electivire
- Roserade
- Excadrill
- Rhyperior
- Gardevoir
- Salamence
But also with rare and regional specimens, you often lack the candies to develop the monsters for the Pokédex. So instead of investing precious special candies, you can also take these briefly as buddies and collect the required candies that way.
This is especially worthwhile with the regional Pokémon Tirtouga and Archen, but also with monsters like Varoom or Salandit, which are currently only available in 12 km eggs.
What you should know about buddy Pokémon
What is a buddy Pokémon good for? First and foremost, the buddy is supposed to build a special bond with you in the game. But that’s not all; you can travel with it, which brings you valuable candies. Especially players above level 40 can hope for a rare XL candy from this.
You need these XL candies to push your Pokémon from level 40 to 50. For each Pokémon, 296 XL candies are needed. By walking with your buddy, you can collect some of these with a bit of luck.
Furthermore, buddy Pokémon gain a special CP boost when reaching the final friendship level. You should not overlook this, as it can give you an additional advantage in battle.
How to switch buddy? If you click on your avatar icon in the map view of Pokémon GO, you have the option to set a buddy. In the opened mask, you will see the “Buddy Chronicle” point under your picture. There you will get an overview of which monsters you have assigned in the past and for how long.
Scroll down on this page. There, you will find the “Change Buddy” point. By clicking on this button, your Pokémon storage opens, and you can select your new buddy. Now you just need to play with your buddy to travel with it.
What monsters do you prefer to use as buddy Pokémon? And why is this your absolute favorite? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments on MeinMMO and exchange ideas with other trainers about it. In Pokémon GO, a trainer reached a crazy milestone for which he had to trade for over 1,000 hours. We show you what milestone this is and how he achieved it.
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