Pokémon GO Best Buddy Guide

This Best Buddy Guide will show you how you can quickly make a best buddy Pokémon in Pokémon GO. Although the fastest way is to use an item called Poffin, that item is, however, not readily available in Pokémon GO.

Best Buddy Guide Basics

Buddy Hearts

One of the basics of getting a Best Buddy Pokémon is to get a total of 300 buddy hearts for that Pokémon. If you do this, it will take you this long to get a best buddy.

• 6 Buddy hearts per day = 50 days
• 26 Buddy hearts per day = 12 days

This means you will need to get at least 25 buddy hearts per day. This will help you make a best buddy quickly in Pokémon GO.

Emotional Point

Emotional Point (EP) is a factor in Pokémon GO that helps your Pokémon get excited. A Pokémon requires 32 EPs to become excited. The more EP you get, the quicker your Pokémon becomes excited. The faster you get your Pokémon excited, the more buddy hearts you can get in a day.

Getting EPs is based on how often you interact with your buddy.

Before your buddy Pokémon gets excited, if you do not interact with your buddy Pokémon within 25 minutes, it will lose 1 EP. After which, it will continue to lose 1 EP every 10 minutes if there is no interaction with your buddy Pokémon.

After your buddy Pokémon gets excited, if you do not interact with your buddy Pokémon within 40 minutes, it will lose 1 EP. After which, it will continue to lose 1 EP every 10 minutes if there is no interaction with your buddy Pokémon.

Interactions

You can interact with your buddy by doing any or all of the following.

• Walking 2 km together
• Giving your buddy a treat
• Playing with your buddy
• Battling together with your buddy
• Taking a snapshot of your buddy
• Spinning a new PokéStop
• Following a route together with your buddy
• Your buddy brings you a souvenir (after you reach Great Buddy level with your Pokémon)

It is advisable to do all. Doing all will help you get your buddy Pokémon excited quickly.

Pokémon Buddy Levels

There are four (4) buddy levels. These are Good Buddy, Great Buddy, Ultra Buddy, and Best Buddy. You get a Good Buddy level when you earn one heart with your buddy Pokémon. The other levels and requirements are as follows.

• Great Buddy level when you earn 70 hearts with your buddy Pokémon.
• Ultra Buddy level when you earn 150 hearts with your buddy Pokémon.
• Best Buddy level when you earn 300 hearts with your buddy Pokémon.

These hearts are cumulative. Your buddy Pokémon keeps all the hearts it earned as it levels up.

How to get your buddy Pokémon excited without Poffin

The steps below outline what you need to do every day to step up your buddy Pokémon game.

• STEP 1: Select the Pokémon you want to get buddy hearts for. This gives you 2 EPs.
• STEP 2: Click the PLAY button and do the following
  • Give your buddy 3 berries +2 EPs
  • Play with your buddy +2 EPs
  • Take a snapshot of your buddy +2 EPs
  • Battle together with your buddy three times +2 EPs. You can battle with a Team Leader (Blanche, Candela, or Spark) if there is no Gym, another Trainer, or a Grunt member around you.
• STEP 3: Set a timer for 30 minutes
• After the 30 minutes, repeat STEP 2. By now, your buddy has gained 16 EPs.
• STEP 4: Set a timer for another 15 minutes.
• STEP 5: After 15 minutes, complete any of the activities in STEP 2. Your buddy will not gain any additional EP. It will not lose any EP either.
• STEP 6: Repeat STEP 2 to STEP 5 two more times. After which, your buddy will have earned a minimum* of 32 EPs. At this point, your buddy is now excited.
• STEP 7: Repeat STEP 2 to get the remaining buddy hearts you can get for the day. You can also choose to walk with your buddy Pokémon to get more hearts. Ensure your buddy earns at least 25 hearts per day. This is if you want to have it as a best buddy after 12 days.

*If you battle a Pokémon in a Gym, or a Pokémon in a raid/max battle, or a Trainer, or a Team GO Rocket member, you gain extra EP. Specifically, each gives an additional 2 EPs. If you do all, your buddy gets an additional 10 EPs.

More ways to earn buddy hearts

There are a few more things you can do in Pokémon GO to earn additional EPs. They are as follows.

• Spinning a new PokéStop: +2 EPs
• Tracking your sleep with Pokémon GO Plus+: +3 EPs
• Walking with your buddy: +4 EPs
• Receiving souvenirs from your buddy: +4 EPs
• Following a route with your buddy: +3 EPs

This is your current Best Buddy Guide. If anything changes, I will update the guide to include the changes.

Enjoy!