Buddy Pokémon Arrive in GO Update as Niantic Continues to Target "Bots and Scrapers"

Looking forward to trying this as soon as it rolls out to Android; I'm still playing semi-regularly (though admittedly I joined slightly after everyone else) and enjoying it.

I'm sure people will appreciate this.

I can't wait until gen 2 pokemon are released. i know it won't be for a while, but still.

So how much to you need to walk to get candy?...And how much candy anyways?

Hopefully the distance won't be that much and I can a decent amount each day. >.>

I'm excited for the buddy pokemon, it'll make it easier to level up pokemon that are rare in my area.
I'm not playing as much as I was when it first came out but I still head out about once a week.

@KingRamses I thought the rumor was that they might do sun and moon Pokémon next. Have you heard anything about that? I don't follow these things closely.

@aaronsullivan https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/08/talking_point_pokemon_gos_next_major_update_should_target_gen_vii_pokemon

@SM4SHshorts
Oh nuts! I filed it under rumor but I bet I got it from that story which was s just an idea and at best a speculation. Thanks!

It's quite sensible to me. I wouldn't expect it until after the sun and moon launch though. To get an extra push after all the people who were going to buy it anyway have their chance.

Looking forward to the update (still not seeing it). Still playing this game quite a bit.

I'm so excited. My Dratini would love to be a Dragonite.

@nf_2 i work and live on the water, and dratini spawn every couple days for me. Still took me from the day it launched til last week to get a dratini.

Still waiting to evolve my charmelion...

Yes sorry my name is Michael snoke I am a player of Pokemon go and I don't appreciate that it says that the update was done for all phones to have the buddy system I have an Android Verizon Optimus Zone 3 and I'd like to have the update before I'm 40 years old so if you could please get back to me I'd really appreciate it

Great way to evolve Pokemon a trainer rarely sees.

End of Pokemon go for me, 'cause they alienated all root users. Good job Niantic. (Unless they unblock root users...)
Also, blocking root doesn't block all GPS spoofing because it's an android DEVELOPER OPTION, and you don't even need to be rooted to utilize that!

@SuperDude95 blocking rooted/jailbroken phones is a bit much I agree. I have a jailbroken iPhone and have been able to play just fine so far. Of course I haven't updated my app yet.

So....Did they just give up on the new tracking system?

@SuperDude95 If people really wanted to, you can get around the root checks I'm sure. I'm rooted and have no intentions of doing that myself. I'm pretty irritated though. I've been putting my money into the app, now it's useless? Screwed up Niantic. :/

...and there's no mention of fixing the tracking! Seriously, it's the one feature we need fixed to make this game actually work. It's getting colder now and without proper tracking, it's not going to be fun wandering aimlessly just to find anything worth catching.

No update yet....

Aaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!

@meltendo BINGO, BINGO, BINGO!

We HAVE GOTTEN ALL 3 RESPONSES!!!

I am not as into it anymore. There are so many other things to do
However, I appreciate the exercise boost.

Walking with the buddy feature is the only way I will ever evolve my charmeleon and squirtle, and perhaps my nidorino since I no longer find nidoran in the wild...

@SuperDude95 I've been trying to look this up but I don't quite understand it...What is rooting/jailbreaking exactly and how do I know if my phone is rooted/jailbroken? I am assuming since I don't know what the heck this stuff is that my phone is not rooted/jailbroken? I am scared to download the update for fear of getting my account banned over something I don't even understand how to do.

I've needed 1 growlithe for about 3 weeks now to evolve into an Arcanine! This feature can't come soon enough

I like it every now and again but I'm more into Pokemon Silver to care about it.

@Joeynator3000 nice profile pic

@Crimzonlogic dont worry

@Crimzonlogic You probably are safe. If you can use Google Pay or Snapchat, you are safe.
But it's indeed a terrible move for them, and I'm done playing Pokémon GO as I like having control over my computers (also, my phone isn't officially compatible, so a custom ROM is the only way to play for me, but now that's out).

@Crimzonlogic Jailbreaking is something you have to go through an extensive process to do, and it basically let's you use programs and applications say on an iPhone that normally only Android users would have. It caused a lot of problems for Pokemon Go at launch because people were getting the game that way when t hadn't been released on iPhone yet.

Jailbreaking is technically legal (though oddly enough, illegal only on iPads for some reason) but it's incredibly risky to do and will void your iPhone warranty. You'd know you have a Jailbroken phone because it takes a fair amount of work to do so and can't be done accidentally.

You should be fine!

Rooting I'm not so sure about but I'm pretty sure it's the same thing wherein it's a process you have to purposely go through and doesn't just happen for no reason.

Is is ever coming out?

In other words...they still haven't fixed the tracker...what the shuck...

@GoshDangTravino Some android devices actually come pre-rooted, and some companies designing phones actually embrace rooting; alot of the negative stigma for preventing root access seems to be coming from potential lawsuits from the media industry, and much of the security measures apply to phones sold by the big phone companies (I'm looking at you, Verizon) Also, the main difference between iOS and Android OS is that Android already lets you do most of the things jailbreaking has to offer on iOS - sideloading apps, don't need itunes to transfer music, emulators, etc.

....Update has arrived huh? >_>

This is very cool. My starter is Squirtle and I think I've only ever encountered one other so this way I can level him up! Ditto for others I rarely see!

Anyone got hold of the update yet? Received nothing so far..

@samuelvictor I have a samsung android phone...How can I tell if it is a rooted phone? I am so worried that I will get banned for this, and I don't even know what it is.

Still nothing...

still no update here in Ohio either. Hopefully tomorrow. I want my Alakazam, and I'll get the candy anyway I can.

@Crimzonlogic You know if you are cheating the game. If you are, expect to pay the price.

@XCWarrior I've never once cheated in this game...From what I've read, rooting a phone is mostly just to make the phone run smoother and help with battery life. It has nothing to do with cheating in games, let alone Pokemon Go. And I don't know heads or tails about this stuff so I am certainly not cheating...And many who rooted their phones aren't either. They just rooted for a better phone. Now people are getting banned though are playing by the rules, because they happened to have rooted their phones before Go even came out. It would suck if I got banned for just happening to have some kind of store-installed root thing from when I bought the phone, since I have never heard of this stuff until I read about it on the PoGo subreddit a couple of days ago. I got all the way to level 22 and finally got my near-flawless arcanine with the perfect moves, and all legit. No cheating. I shouldn't have to worry about losing that like many other players already have...Niantic messed up on this one and are punishing the wrong people.

@Crimzonlogic Your phone is fine. Unless you specifically root it yourself there is practically 0 chance of it being rooted.

@Crimzonlogic we are not talking about a ban, but about the game not starting (on purpose) on “not-official-enough” systems. The difference is subtle, but it means that if you ever get a compatible, non-tinkered phone, you can play.

@XCWarrior While using custom ROMs or rooted devices makes it a lot easier to cheat, it's probably not necessary. Nor is everyone using a rooted phone cheating, far from it (I am using a custom ROM, with root, and a very unusual system, on my phone, but I haven't ever cheated nor have I ever planned to do so). Cheating or not, 0.37.0 won't care. If the phone is rooted or otherwise too different from a stock pre-installed Android with Google Apps, the game will refuse to start.