Will Feebas' distance travelled still count towards the evolution requirement if I unbuddy it now?

Feebas can be evolved to Milotic with 100 candies after walking 20km with it.

I've walked mine 20km, but I still lack candies and I would rather walk another Pokemon until I get those 100 candies. If I unbuddy my Feebas now, do I have to walk 20km with it again when I have the candies?

Solution 1:

No you are safe to equip a new buddy. I also had that problem and after achieving the required 100 candy I was free to immediately evolve my Feebas.

As credited to @yoozer8

Note that the distance walked is tied to the specific Feebas that was your buddy. If you have more than 1 (or if you hatch/catch a better one later), you'll have to walk the one you want to evolve, even if you've already walked another 20km