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Friendship as a game mechanic in the Pokémon franchise has been around since Generation II's Pokémon Gold & Silver. Since its introduction, it has become a mainstay in the games. For a few generations, Friendship and Affection were two different things, but in Generations VIII and IX, it is once again just Friendship.
There have been different ways of gaining Friendship with your Pokémon across the various installments of the franchise, and Pokémon Scarlet & Violet have their own unique takes on the tried and true bonding methods.
Updated by Jeff Brooks on September 20, 2023: This guide has been updated to include more in-text links throughout to help guide readers to relevant and valuable content to enhance their Pokemon experience.
Why Should You Increase Friendship With Your Pokemon?
Most players would be concerned about increasing their friendship with the Pokemon for the sole purpose of evolving them. There are a number of Pokemon such as the likes of Pikachu, Blissey, and Sylveon that can only be evolved if you have high friendship with them. However, there are several other benefits to increasing friendship with your Pokemon as well, which aren't known by a number of players.
For instance, your friendship with your Pokemon determines the damage inflicted by attacks like Return and Frustration, with the latter being inversely proportional to the friendship gauge. Additionally, status effects, knockouts, and missing attacks are also impacted positively by friendship — to some extent. Therefore, it is quite crucial that you have a healthy friendship with the Pokemon on your team. Thankfully, there are several methods to achieve this.
Best Ways To Increase Friendship With Your Pokemon
Battling
Using your Pokémon in battle will increase your friendship, but only if they don’t faint. Don’t let your Pokémon’s health get too low, and switch them out before they get knocked out. Auto Battles will also increase your friendship with your Pokémon, but again, you’ll have to make sure their health doesn’t get too low. If they lose a fight and come running back to you, make sure to heal them up!
Item Boosts
Items like the Shell Bell can make it easier for you to gain Friendship with your Pokémon. In Scarlet & Violet, you can buy one (or multiple) from Delibird Gifts. Feeding you Pokémon XP candies can also increase friendship. Whether the size of the candy impacts how much Friendship is gained is unknown.
Walking Around
Just walking around with your Pokémon in Let’s Go mode will have them growing closer to you in no time. It can be frustrating to walk at their pace, but it can be nice to take in the landscape and take your time.
If you're feeling patient, let out your lead Pokémon and thoroughly explore the world around you while they run around happily.
Picnics
The most surefire way to increase your friendship with your Pokémon is to have picnics with them. Making a sandwich or giving them a thorough wash will strengthen your bond like nothing else.
It’s really nice to take some time out of your adventures to just hang out with your little guys and watch them kick around a ball and nap like there’s no tomorrow.
How To Check Your Friendship
Of course, building your friendship with Pokemon is essential, but you can't strengthen your bond until you learn where you're currently at. Fortunately, there are some ways for players to check their friendship with any Pokemon.
During Picnics
When you're picnicking with your Pokémon, you can approach them and use the A button to interact with them. They might make a cute little sound and jump around, but hearts might also appear above their head. These can range from 1 to 5 and give you a reasonable indication of how they are feeling about you.
Don't be discouraged if they only have one heart, as you've still put in the effort to get to that point. If you're taking the time to feed and bathe your little friends, it'll only take a short time for them to have at least 3 hearts to show you.
Friendship Checker
In Cascarraffa, there is a woman with a Marill by the big fountain. She is the "Friendship Checker" NPC for this game, and she can tell you how your Pokémon feel about you.
She has a variety of different responses, each corresponding to the Friendship Stat of the Pokémon she's checking. If your friendship with one of your Pokémon is the highest it can be, she'll award them the Best Friend Ribbon, which you can use to give your Pokémon a special title.