Pokémon Go Gets a Major Update That Might Make You Actually Start Playing Again

Pokémon Go is rolling out an update that allows Buddy Pokemon. Just don't expect to play it on your jail-broken phone.

Detective Pikachu takes a break.
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Image via IGN

Detective Pikachu takes a break.

Pokémon Go may be the most successful mobile game of all time, but that doesn't mean people haven't found stuff to criticize. One particular annoyance is the way it takes forever to level up your Pokémon after reaching level 20. Whether that frustration is responsible for the large drop in users after the game's initial explosion in popularity out of the gate is unclear (they've lost something like 10 million players since then), but the game's latest update could fix the problem, and maybe bring some of those people back. 

According to Wired, the update  is being rolled out to users over the next few days. The big change will be the addition of a feature called Buddy Pokémon. Once you select one of your Pokemon, they'll appear to be walking around with you on the trainer screen. Buddy Pokémon will earn candy as they walk around with you, candy which can be used to power up and evolve. Normally, getting candy is a massive pain that requires catching a whole lot of the same Pokémon. 

But don't get too excited if you're one of the many people out there with a jailbroken Android or iPhone. Ars Technica reports that anyone using a rooted or jailbroken phone will no longer be able to play the game if they install the latest update. The developers are doing it in order to cut down on the number of people using bots which play the game for them, so they don't actually have to put in the work. 

 

 

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