How to play with your Buddy in Pokémon Go

Playing with your Buddy Pokémon is a feature that was added to the Buddy Update in Pokemon Go. It can reward you with specific things depending on when and how you use it.

First, you need to open the Buddy Menu on your phone and click the big play button under your current Buddy Pokémon. This will activate the game’s camera.

From there, throw your Pokémon onto an open stretch of land and it’ll appear in the AR function. Playing with your Buddy is then fairly simple.

All you need to do is hold your finger on the Pokémon and move it back and forth. Your Pokémon will visually look happy and small sparkles will appear after a few moments of spending time with them doing this. When a heart appears, that means you’ve successfully played with your Buddy Pokémon.

Then you can just quit. You’ve done what you needed to do.