Pokemon Go's next big feature could be a buddy system that helps you evolve Pokemon by walking

Despite some stability improvements, new tracking mechanics, and minor text fixes, Pokemon Go is more or less the same game it was when it launched a little over a month ago. And well, that just won't do. Thankfully, some data miners seem to have uncovered what could be the game's next big feature: a buddy system.

According to a report from Pokemon Go Hub, the system would allow players to choose one Pokemon to walk with, and the more you walk with your designated Pokemon, the more candies of its type that you earn. Kinda like how eggs must be carried for a certain distance before they can hatch, if you want something to compare it to. Data also suggests that you could see your favorite Pokemon displayed on the game's map as you walk around.

Personally, I think the idea sounds great. Not everyone has access to the full variety of Pokemon in the world, and even if you do get a rare one from an egg, you've got to either find more in the wild or spin the wheel of chance for another egg of the same 'mon.

For example, I rarely see fire types in my neck of the woods. When I got a Ponyta from an egg, I was ecstatic. But there's very little hope of ever seeing that Ponyta become a Rapidash with the current system, where you earn candies mainly by catching and transferring Pokemon. If this buddy system would let me walk Ponyta in order to earn candies and thus eventually be able to evolve it, well that'd be just swell.

There's no word on when this system will be implemented, if indeed it ever will. But it's in the code right now, so hopefully we'll find out more soon.

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Sam Prell

Sam is a former News Editor here at GamesRadar. His expert words have appeared on many of the web's well-known gaming sites, including Joystiq, Penny Arcade, Destructoid, and G4 Media, among others. Sam has a serious soft spot for MOBAs, MMOs, and emo music. Forever a farm boy, forever a '90s kid.