Partner Pokémon (game)

Partner Pokémon (Japanese: 相棒ポケモン Partner Pokémon) refers to the special or  the player starts with in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! As the names of the two titles imply, players of Let's Go, Pikachu! receive a Pikachu as their partner, while players of Let's Go, Eevee! receive Eevee. While the player can capture and train other Pikachu and Eevee in both games, the partner Pokémon have various special differences from their typical variants.

Differences

 * The partner Pikachu and Eevee are constantly seen riding on the player's shoulder, similar to Ash's Pikachu in the, even when not in the active party.
 * They can also wag their tail to indicate that a hidden item is located in front of the player.
 * Female partner Eevee have a special heart-shaped pattern around the tip of their tail, similar to a gender difference.
 * The partner Pokémon have higher base stats, and are fixed to join the party with a fixed all-perfect 31 s in every stat, but cannot be . Their gender can be also determined by the title screen during the start of game.
 * Similar to in, they prefer to be out of its Poké Ball and have no interest in evolving.
 * The game-exclusive partner the player starts with cannot be traded to other version of the games.
 * Because held items do not exist in the game, items such as Light Ball, Eviolite, and Eevium Z are not applicable.
 * They have special new moves that they can learn via Move Tutor, and can activate partner powers in battle once they have high enough friendship. If activated while they are in battle, they use an exclusive move— or —which increases in damage based on friendship. If activated while they are not in battle, they boost the stats of the current Pokémon.
 * The partner Pokémon can perform Secret Techniques that take the place of HMs. These Techniques do not take up a slot in the move set, nor are they moves intended for battle.
 * The player's partner can be interacted with and fed, similar to Pokémon-Amie and Pokémon Refresh in previous games, which can be done by pressing "Play with " on the menu.
 * They can also be dressed in different outfits, including sets made to match the player, and be given different hairstyles when pet in certain ways in the Switch's handheld mode.

Exclusive moves

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Gift items
Occasionally, the partner Pokémon may give the player a random item from the below list as a gift.

In the anime
The partner Pikachu and Eevee are based in part by the the undefined receives in, and, by extension, Ash's Pikachu. While a direct counterpart to the partner Pokémon hasn't appeared yet in the anime, elements of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! can be seen as early as The Power of Us, where Risa obtains an Eevee as a starter.

Though precursors of this feature were first seen in the original series with Ritchie's Sparky, Pikachu and Eevee with different hairstyles as identifying elements began appearing in the around the time of Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!'s release. These hairstyles are generally more varied and may not be ones attainable in the games. The first Pikachu with such a hairstyle appeared in Securing the Future!, under the ownership of an Alolan. In A Plethora of Pikachu!, several other similar Pikachu appeared under the ownership of Pikarla.

An Eevee with hair covering its eyes appears in the Eevee, Where Are You Going? series of shorts. It made its main series debut in SM099, where it was caught by, received the nickname Nagisa, and was given a haircut.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Both the Partner Pikachu and the Partner Eevee appear as. Starting in version 1.2.0 of the game, players of Let's Go, Pikachu will receive the Partner Pikachu spirit upon booting the game, while players of Let's Go, Eevee will receive the Partner Eevee spirit. Both spirits can also be found on the. Both spirits are neutral-aligned ace (3★) spirits. Pikachu grants a boost to the user's attack and speed at 0%, while Eevee grants an significant temporary stat boost after eating. Unlike most Pokémon series spirits, Partner Pikachu and Eevee use their boxart artwork from their titular games.