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Wondering how to raise friendship with your Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet? Stick around for a rundown of the process in addition to useful tips and tricks that you can use to bond with your ‘mons fast.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet turned the long-standing friendship mechanic on its head by implementing gameplay features like Let’s Go mode and picnics. Together, these additions have affected how you can bond with your Pokémon, offering up even more ways to increase friendship levels. Luckily, there are several methods to accomplish this in the base games and the upcoming DLC.
Not only that, but you can also stack the methods of your choice, shaving some time off time-consuming friendship evolutions and benefitting your partner in battle. Here’s how to raise friendship with each of your Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.
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How to Increase Friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
There are several ways for you to raise friendship levels with your Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet, including both new and returning methods. Let’s break down each method.
Travel Long Distances
From the start of your journey as a trainer, your bond with your partner Pokémon will strengthen as you travel long distances together. This method was pretty slow-going in the past, but it’s been helped by the new Let’s Go mode. Send your Pokémon out to travel at your side or battle other Pokémon to passively gain experience.
Win Tough Battles
In the same vein, winning battles is a great way to increase friendship with your Pokémon. This tried-and-true method does take a bit of time to yield results, but it certainly doesn’t hurt. Battle with your partners as much as you can to see your bonds grow. Just avoid letting them faint, or else risk losing some of the progress you’ve made.
Have Picnics
You can also have picnics with your Pokémon very early on in Scarlet and Violet. While taking a short rest won’t increase friendship levels with your Pokémon in and of itself, this new feature can help you bond with your partners by giving them sandwiches, bathing them, and playing with them. Speak with your Pokémon frequently to see how strong your friendship is.
Feed Pokémon Berries
You can also opt to raise friendship levels with your Pokémon by feeding them berries. However, some flavors aren’t particularly tasty to Pokémon, so they tend to hinder your bond. Here are the best berries to raise friendship levels.
- Pomeg Berry
- Kelpsy Berry
- Qualot Berry
- Hondew Berry
- Grepa Berry
- Tamato Berry
On the downside, each of these berries decreases a specific EV stat, like Attack or Defense. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend relying on these berries to increase your partner’s friendship unless you plan on EV training your Pokémon later on or intend to use a type of berry that won’t deplete the stats you’ve trained.
Equip the Soothe Bell
One of the most traditional methods to increase your bond with a Pokémon is to give them a Soothe Bell to hold. Fortunately, these items aren’t too hard to come by in Scarlet and Violet. Simply head over to the nearest Chansey Supply location and browse their general goods. The chain sells Soothe Bells for just 5,000 Poké Dollars, which is a great deal.
Catch Pokémon with the Luxury Ball
Lastly, catching a Pokémon in a Luxury Ball will help to increase friendship at a faster pace as you train with them. This special type of Poké Ball can be purchased from Delibird Presents locations throughout the Paldea region for 3,000 Poké Dollars.
How to Check Friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
In Scarlet and Violet, you can check for friendship in a couple of ways, including the following routes.
- Speak with your Pokémon during a picnic.
- Speak with the Friendship Checker NPC in Cascarrafa.
How to Check Friendship During Picnics
Friendship is generally indicated by the number of hearts that appear above your Pokémon when you speak to them during a picnic. The stronger your bond, the more hearts you’ll see. For example, three hearts or more signify a strong enough bond to help your Pokémon land critical hits or dodge attacks in battle. However, two hearts is enough for an affection-based evolution, such as Sylveon, which also requires learning a Fairy-type move.
How to Find the Friendship Checker NPC
Alternatively, you can also check your Pokémon’s friendship level by speaking with a young girl and her Marill in Cascarrafa. She can be pretty tough to locate since many of the NPCs in this city have a Marill, but you’ll be able to find the Friendship Checker near the fountain in the center of the second level, as pictured above. When you speak with her, she’ll examine your Pokémon and respond with one of the following phrases, indicating a friendship value between 0 and 255.
| Phrase | Friendship Level |
|---|---|
| Oh my gosh! What happened between you two?! There’s not even a smidge of friendship here! | 0 |
| Are you two just starting to get to know each other? I’m sensing some awkwardness here… | 1-49 |
| You two seem kinda neutral—like you don’t mind each other. I hope you get closer! | 50-99 |
| You’re starting to get friendly. I bet you’ll get along better soon! | 100-149 |
| You’re getting along well…but I’m sure you could get way friendlier! | 150-199 |
| You’re good friends, all right! You definitely enjoy each other’s company! | 200-229 |
| Wow, you’re pretty great friends! You sure mean a lot to each other. | 230-254 |
| Whoa, you’re the best friends ever! I can tell just being together gives you warm fuzzies! | 255 |
Benefits of High Friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet
When your Pokémon has a high friendship level in Scarlet and Violet, it will mostly benefit how they perform in battle. The stronger your bond, the more likely your partner will be to deal a critical hit or survive an attack that might have knocked them out, lending you another shot at taking out your opponent.
Additionally, there are many Pokémon that require high friendship to evolve, including a handful of fan-favorites like Pichu, Riolu, and Eevee. With a strong bond, Pichu will evolve into Pikachu, while Riolu will evolve into Lucario. Similarly, Eevee can evolve into either Umbreon or Espeon, depending on the time of day.
Apart from these perks, you can also obtain the Best Friends Ribbon from the Friendship Checker once you’ve reached the highest friendship level.
As you train your starter Pokémon and others to increase their friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, be sure to avoid certain practices that might hinder their growth. This means you should do what you can to prevent your partners from fainting in battle, and avoid using health-restoring items like Energy Powder and Revival Herbs, which decrease your Pokémon’s friendship level. With time and great care, the bond between you and your monsters will surely grow.
Check out these additional Scarlet and Violet guides to train up your Pokémon in time for the DLC: Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – How to Get a Pokémon’s Hidden Ability, How to Change Nature in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – Natures Explained, and Pokémon Scarlet and Violet – How to Change Tera Type.
How to Raise your Pokemon’s Friendship – FAQ
What is the fastest way to raise friendship in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
Taking care of your Pokémon during picnics is the fastest way to increase your bond. Feeding them berries is also a quick route if you have enough on hand.
Are friendship and affection the same thing in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
While the two terms differed in the past, friendship and affection are basically the same mechanic in Scarlet and Violet.
Where is the Friendship Checker in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet?
The Friendship Checker is located in Cascarrafa in Scarlet and Violet. The NPC is a young girl, who is standing with her Marill near the fountain in the center of the city.