The buddy system is Pokémon Go’s latest cloying grab at my ’90s kid nostalgia. Think about it: you, your favourite Pokemon, together, walking, forever into the sunset; growing as one and traversing the unknown. It’s just like Ash’s journey in the Pokemon TV show, except if you’re attempting it with the IRL buddy system, you might realise halfway through that your legs have become bloody stumps.
Illustration by Sam Woolley
Want to evolve your Diglett into a Dugtrio? No sweat! Just take a small jaunt from New York to Philadelphia. Your feet hurt? Don’t complain — you’ll be raking in those Diglett candies the whole way!
Below is a visual aid for the distances necessary to evolve Pokémon exclusively using the buddy system. Check it out — and don’t get any ideas…
Charmander to Charmeleon: 75 km (the length of Los Angeles, CA)
The length of Los Angeles
Charmeleon to Charizard: 300 km (the distance from Dallas, TX to Austin, TX)
Dallas, TX to Austin, TX
Charmander to Charizard: 375 km (the width of Italy)
Pidgey to Pidgeot: 62 km (the distance from Washington, DC to Baltimore, MD)
Pikachu to Raichu: 50 km (up and down the length of Manhattan, NY)
Magikarp to Gyarados: 400 km (a bit less than the width of England)
Kabuto to Kabutops: 250 km (Washington, DC to Philadelphia, PA)
Dratini to Dragonite: 625 km (the distance from Barcelona to Madrid)
Comments
12 responses to “The Heroic Lengths You Have To Walk To Evolve Buddy Pokemon”
Never liked the ‘it’s nostalgia!’ stuff, I always tend to read it as the author is airing some sort of superiority over someone for it.
“You like this? Well, yeah. Same here. Then I GREW UP.”
Perhaps it’s just me.
I think it’s just recognising how our brains work, the way we store memories and how powerful nostalgia can in shaping our behaviours.
Distance needs a midider to factor in the poor distance tracking and intermirtent disconnects from server robbing you of kms walked… I would have to double those distances to even get a chance.
Yeah but you’re going to be walking to play the game anyway? A few extra candies doesn’t hurt!
Geezuz, WTF are you even on? the buddy system isnt there to replace the need to catch Pokemon or hatch eggs or gather candy in other ways its to supplement your candy intake.
The article is written as “i want to get free stuff without having to put in effort Waaaaaa”
This just in… 625km is No Effort
I think the article is just highlighting the one mechanic as proof the game asks you yo go thr extra mile to facilitate its Grind. For some people some pokemon they get was a rare chance encounter they will never get to occur often enough to evolve or max out.
Given that im close to the 600km mark and atm and have not gotten anything for it other than enjoying playing the game yea, the distance is no effort its a side affect of me playing.
People are missing the point of the buddy system, its to ASSIST in getting you candies, its not there to replace the core mechanic of travelling and hunting the Pokemon.
Im at 1435km at the moment, so yeah, I could have upgraded a Magicarp or three by now, and I often don’t have the game on when walking.
I think people must walk very, very little if they see these numbers as ‘crazy’
The point is that people will use the buddy system to get candy for rare pokemon. For those pokemon it’s usually the only reliable way to get their candy at all.
Wow….
There are a few pokemon that are so rare I’m going to have to walk a fair bit for them I think. Grimer, Koffing and the two fossils to start with.
Yeah I have started with less common Pokemon that only have a few more candies needed to evolve.
Once I get through those I will begin focusing or rarer ones for now.