How to become your Pokémon's best friend!
Guide by Jay Castello Contributor
Published on
Friendship returns in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet to measure how happy your Pokémon are to have you as their trainer.
As before, it's important for evolving certain Pokémon and making them more powerful in battle.
There are a few different ways to raise your Pokémon's Friendship level in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
To find out how friendly your Pokémon are feeling towards you, you will need to visit the Friendship Checker.
On this page:
- What is Friendship?
- Friendship Checker location
- How to raise your Friendship level
- Which Pokémon evolve with Friendship?
What is Friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
Friendship is a stat that your Pokémon can raise and lower in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. Depending on certain actions, your Pokémon may feel more or less friendly towards you.
Friendship's main use is to evolve certain Pokémon.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, it also impacts battle occasionally. For example, Pokémon may survive a hit that would have knocked them, land additional critical hits, or avoid a move.
With all this in mind - how do you check friendship, and improve it?
Friendship Checker location in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
The Friendship stat cannot be checked from the menu screen. Instead, you will need to find the Friendship Checker.
In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the Friendship Checker is found in Cascarrafa.
They are in the middle section of the city, to the north of the large fountain. You can identify them by their Marrill.
You can show them any of your Pokémon, from your party or your boxes, to find out how friendly they are.
If you have recently caught a Pokémon, they might say something like "You two seem kinda neutral - like you don't mind each other. I hope you get closer!".
After a while, she might say "You're getting along well...but I'm sure you could get way friendlier!"
A Pokémon with a very high Friendship level will get the response "Whoa, you're the best friends ever! I can tell just being together gives you warm fuzzies!"
If you get this response from the Friendship Checker, they will also give you the Best Friends Ribbon.
How to increase Friendship level in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
At its most basic, you can raise your Friendship with your Pokémon by spending time with them.
In most Pokémon games, walking with them in your party and levelling them up increases Friendship levels, while causing them to faint decreases Friendship levels. It seems these methods also apply to Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.
However, Scarlet and Violet also have certain additional mechanics for raising your Pokémon's friendship. In particular, letting a Pokémon run around in Let's Go mode and autobattle lots of Pokémon in the wild is a fast way to raise their friendship level.
The picnic also has certain aspects which raise friendship. For example, washing your Pokémon by approaching them and pressing the X button can make your Pokémon become more friendly towards you.
Scarlet and Violet also include the Soothe Bell item which increases the effectiveness of other Friendship levelling methods. It can be found in Delibird Presents shops, one of which is in Cascarrafa and Mesagoza, under the general goods tab.
Finally, catching a Pokémon in a Friend Ball also increases the rate at which it gains Friendship.
Which Pokémon evolve with Friendship in Scarlet and Violet?
Certain Pokémon will only evolve when they have a high enough Friendship level. In order to evolve them, you'll need to level them up after raising their Friendship.
These are:
- Azurill - evolves into Marill
- Chansey - evolves into Blissey
- Igglybuff - evolves into Jigglypuff
- Pichu - evolves into Pikachu
- Riolu (must also be levelled up during the day) - evolves into Lucario
- Snom (must also be levelled up during the night) - evolves into Frosmoth
- Eevee (levelled up at night, without a Fairy-type move) - evolves into Umbreon
- Eevee (levelled up during the day, without a Fairy-type move) - evolves into Espeon
- Eevee (levelled up any time, knowing a Fairy-type move) - evolves into Sylveon
Have fun becoming friends with your Pokémon!
