Niantic has revealed the top five most popular buddy Pokémon used in Pokémon GO, and they include the likes of Eevee, Mewtwo, and the Magikarp line. Each of these Pokémon have their own reasons as to why they're widely used, but of course personal preference cannot be discounted either.
The buddy system in Pokémon GO is extremely beneficial for a variety of reasons. Selecting a buddy Pokémon allows players to walk with them in order to earn candy. Some Pokémon are easier to earn candy with than others due to the kilometer requirement. The kilometer per candy can range from one kilometer to 20 kilometers per candy earned. Players can also do activities such as giving their Pokémon a treat or battling with them in order to raise their buddy hearts, which can grant a variety of bonuses. In some cases, this is necessary to evolve certain Pokémon.
The Pokémon GO Twitter account has posted the five most popular buddy Pokémon as part of Pokémon GO's fifth anniversary celebration. The top five most used buddy Pokémon are Magikarp, Gyarados, Noibat, Mewtwo, and Eevee. Of these Pokémon, Noibat is the most recent to be released, and it overtook both Magikarp and Gyarados despite those Pokémon both being in the game at launch.
There are a variety of reasons as to why these five Pokémon made the list. Magikarp and Gyarados are some of the fastest Pokémon to produce candies, with both only requiring one kilometer per candy. Magikarp also requires a whopping 400 candy to evolve into Gyarados, so it makes sense to get as much candy as possible by setting it as a buddy. Noibat also requires 400 candies to evolve into Noivern, but its kilometer requirement is five kilometers per candy. Mewtwo is one of the strongest Pokémon that can be used in Pokémon GO, so getting as much candy as possible to power it up is ideal. Eevee is not only a very versatile Pokémon due to its evolutions, it also has a unique buddy animation where it rides on its trainer's shoulder. This cute detail, along with Eevee's general popularity, have likely helped propel it to the number one space.
The most used buddy Pokémon may not be entirely surprising, but they show just how valuable the buddy system is. If not for the system, having to evolve Magikarp would be a lot less manageable than it is now. Back when the game launched in 2016, evolving Magikarp seemed like an impossible task, but even intensive Pokémon like Noibat can be evolved now using this brand new system. No matter what they are, plenty of trainers like having a variety of Pokémon by their side as their buddy in Pokémon GO.
Source: Pokémon GO/Twitter