I Wish My Pokemon Go Buddy Was Permanent
We’ve been able to have a buddy in Pokemon Go for a really long time. Your buddy adventures alongside you, collecting candies when you’ve walked specific distances. The new buddy system added last year however allows you to have your buddy out in the real world. They actually get to explore the map with you! However, like all good things, there’s a cost. You need to feed your Pokemon berries, to make them motivated.
That totally sucks.
I wish my Pokemon Go buddy was permanent!
Or, at the very least, a toggle you can turn on and off.
And frankly, I don’t see why not. In the Pokemon Anime, Ash has his Pikachu following him around all the time. Most people will have their favourite Pokemon by their side. For people in Pokemon Go though, your buddy is only permanently stuck on your profile. It takes 3 berries to get a buddy Pokemon to come out of its Pokeball and walk alongside you. You basically have to bribe it to appear.
I mean, are Pokeballs REALLY that comfortable? So comfortable that you want to remain inside it forever, instead of wandering around with your new (forced) best friend? Okay, sure, I force-fed my buddy candy after sealing him inside a Pokeball after defeating him in a raid using a horde of Kyogres, but that’s not the point. I want my buddy, whatever Pokemon I choose, to be like Ash’s Pikachu. Or at the very least like the little Pikachu that follows you around in Pokemon Yellow.
Buddies brighten up the map.
No matter what buddy I pick though, having a buddy wandering around gives Pokemon Go a little bit of life. You’re no longer looking just at stationary Pokemon and the odd gym or Pokestop. You can see something else moving around alongside you. Alright, I admit, it’s a very rudimentary and simple way to introduce some life to the otherwise boring map, but it’s a start. Your buddy is something that runs around at random and follows you around.
It could be more though, especially if you add more functions to your buddy. Like being able to send them to a Pokestop and watching them scamper off. Considering how many Pikachus with hats we have, I’m surprised we haven’t had a Buddy Dress Up Feature yet. It would be pretty cruel to force a Yamask to wear a hat, but it’d be cute as fuck.
Buddies don’t get in the way at all.
Surprisingly, even if you walk something big, buddies tend to not get in the way. They seem to always be prioritized last when it comes to tapping on your screen. Even if my massive buddy plonks his butt on a wild Pokemon, you can still tap on the Pokemon with ease. If you do, your buddy just disappears. Simple.
In fact, I’ve not actually had a problem with my buddy being in the way. The only problem I’ve had is when my buddy stomps off somewhere and never comes back. Luckily, restarting the app fixes that issue. But I swear it affects some Pokemon more than others. My former buddy Mewtwo, Wonderous, used to do it all the time.
Make it a toggle.
At the very least give us the option to make our buddies permanent. Because I understand that some people don’t want their buddies out all the time. Especially if they’re walking a Gible or something and keep on mistaking their buddy for a wild Pokemon.
But as it stands, I would like to see a Pokemon that’s by our side for long periods of time to actually adventure with us. It sucks that we have to literally bribe our buddies to make them play with us…