Swapping your active buddy in Pokémon Go will cause any progress you've made with your current buddy to be lost. This primarily refers to the daily activities and distance walked towards earning a new candy, which will reset when you change your buddy.
Understanding the Impact of Swapping Buddies
When you decide to switch your buddy, the incremental progress for your current Pokémon will be reset. This includes:
- Daily Hearts: Any hearts you've earned that day through activities like walking, feeding, battling, or taking snapshots will be reset for that specific Pokémon.
- Candy Progress: The distance you've walked towards earning the next candy for your current buddy will be reset to zero.
The overall Buddy Level (such as Good Buddy, Great Buddy, Ultra Buddy, or Best Buddy) that you've achieved with a Pokémon is typically saved and is not lost permanently when you swap. However, the daily progress towards earning hearts and the current distance towards candy acquisition are indeed forfeited.
Why You Might Swap Buddies
Players frequently swap their buddies for strategic reasons, including:
- Evolving a Pokémon: If you have a specific Pokémon that requires a certain Buddy Level or a large number of candies to evolve, you might set it as your buddy to accumulate the necessary resources.
- Acquiring Candies for Other Pokémon: You might need candies for multiple different Pokémon to power them up or evolve them. Swapping allows you to focus on earning candies for a different Pokémon.
- Completing Research Tasks: Some Special Research or Timed Research tasks might require you to complete specific actions with your buddy, prompting a swap.
When Is the Best Time to Swap Buddies?
Given that progress is lost when swapping, the most opportune moment to change your buddy is immediately after receiving a candy from your current buddy. This ensures that you maximize the benefits of the distance you've walked without losing any significant progress towards the next candy. By doing so, you can efficiently gain candies for multiple Pokémon.
