Friendship

Friendship (Japanese: なつき degree of emotional attachment), also referred to as loyalty in Generation II core series games, tame in Pokémon Stadium 2 and friendliness in Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness, and commonly referred to by fans as happiness, is a measurement of how much a is attached to its  and enjoys being in their care.

It affects the evolution of, the power of and , and the availability of a few in-game items and Ribbons. Certain events increase a Pokémon's friendship (gaining a level, walking a certain amount of steps) or decrease it (fainting, using herbal medicine).

Friendship was introduced in for the undefined's  only, and expanded to cover all Pokémon in Generation II.

Friendship is not the same as Affection, a stat introduced in Generation VI. However, in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the two appear to have been combined, since Affection does not exist in the game, but Pokémon with high friendship gain the same benefits as those that have high affection in other games.

In the core series games
Friendship debuted in Generation I as a mechanic that applied only to the undefined's in. In Generation II, it was expanded to cover all Pokémon. In all games, friendship is a value that ranges from 0 to 255 (stored as a single byte). In Pokémon Yellow, Pikachu's friendship is indicated by the expression it shows when the player talks to it, but in later games, certain NPCs in the games will evaluate the friendship of a Pokémon in the player's party.

A Pokémon's friendship is generally set when the player first obtains it. When a Pokémon is first caught from the wild, its friendship starts at its base friendship value. Trading a Pokémon also resets its friendship to its base value, unless it is being traded back to its original Trainer in Generation VI or later, in which case it regains the friendship it had before being traded away. A Pokémon caught in a starts with 200 friendship instead of its base friendship, while a Pokémon hatched from an  starts with 120 friendship.

Friendship is generally increased by taking good care of a Pokémon. Keeping a Pokémon in the player's party, raising it, using items on it, and getting it groomed will all increase a Pokémon's friendship. Letting it faint and using bitter herbal medicines on it will decrease a Pokémon's friendship.

Boosting friendship
In, if a Pokémon is leveled up at its met location, it will gain twice as much friendship from that level up as usual. Since only Pokémon caught in Pokémon Crystal have a defined met location, Pokémon caught in the Generation I games,, and Pokémon from in-game trades will not receive this bonus. If a Pokémon that has a defined met location is traded to a Generation I game, this data is permanently erased, so it can no longer receive this bonus.

Starting in Generation III, if a Pokémon was caught in a or is currently at the same location where it was  (its met location), any increase to its friendship is boosted by an extra point (two points if both apply). If a Pokémon is holding a Soothe Bell, increases to its friendship are boosted by 50% of the change. In Generation III, Soothe Bell applies directly to the original change in friendship, while in later games, it applies to the the friendship change after including Luxury Ball and met location bonuses. In Generation IV, being at its met location does not change the amount of friendship a Pokémon gains, but it does from Generation V onward.

In Generation V, the Befriending Power Pass Power boosts any increase to friendship by one to three points depending on the strength of the power used. In Generation VI, the Befriending Power O-Power has the same effect. Befriending Power does not exist in Generation VII.

None of these effects change the amount of friendship lost for negative changes or for changes of 0 (such as using an X Attack on a Pokémon with high friendship).

Mechanics using friendship
In Pokémon Yellow, friendship affected very little beyond the reactions Pikachu would show when interacted with.

Starting in Generation II, there are, which can only evolve if they have 220 friendship or more. Additionally, the moves and  vary in power depending on how high or low the user's friendship is.

From Generation IV onward, there is a Ribbon for Pokémon with maximum friendship, the.

Some NPCs also only give gifts or teach moves when the player's Pokémon has a certain amount of friendship. In particular, a Pokémon must have maximized friendship to learn in Generation IV, Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, and Pokémon Sun and Moon, or to learn, , , , , or  in any generation.

In Generation I
A prototype of the friendship system used by future games was introduced in, the last core series game of Generation I. This friendship system only worked on the the undefined  (or any Pikachu with the same original Trainer and original Trainer ID as the player). Pikachu starts with a base friendship of 90.

Friendship in Pokémon Yellow affects very little. Outside of interacting with Pikachu, the only place where it has any effect is in determining whether Melanie will give the player a in Cerulean City (which requires Pikachu's friendship to be at least 147).

In Pokémon Yellow, the player can check Pikachu's friendship by talking to it as it follows them in the overworld. A window will pop up showing Pikachu's face, and the expression reflects Pikachu's current friendship (though certain special events may elicit special reactions unrelated to Pikachu's current friendship). At maximum friendship, Pikachu will jump up and down before the window appears.

In the table below, the HP-restoring items and status condition healing items can increase Pikachu's friendship even if they have no effect. For example, attempting to use a on Pikachu when it has full health will still increase its friendship.

In Generation II
In Generation II, friendship was expanded to cover all Pokémon. All Pokémon have a base friendship of 70, but any Pokémon caught in a starts with 200 friendship and any Pokémon hatched from an  starts with 120 friendship.

In, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party can be found at Goldenrod City.

The met location boost was first introduced in.

†: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, and Carbos ††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defend, X Speed, and X Special

In Generation III
In Generation III, different species of Pokémon were given individualized base friendship values. The and Soothe Bell boosts were also introduced.

In, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party can be found at Verdanturf Town. In, Daisy Oak will perform the same service in Pallet Town. In addition, in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, the degree to which a Pokémon moves towards the screen after an item is used on it will also indicate how high its friendship is.

In the table below, fainting in battle will not alter a Pokémon's friendship if it fainted from at the end of a turn.

†: Berries affected include Pomeg Berry, Kelpsy Berry, Qualot Berry, Hondew Berry, Grepa Berry, and Tamato Berry (No. 21-26) ††: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy †††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defend, X Speed, X Special, X Accuracy, Dire Hit, and Guard Spec.

In Generation IV
In Generation IV only, a Pokémon's met location does not affect the amount of friendship it gains. In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the massage at the Ribbon Syndicate is also not affected by any friendship boosts, and the Soothe Bell does not affect friendship gained when using a battle item.

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party can be found in Hearthome City, or the player may use the app on the Pokétch. In, an NPC in Goldenrod City will also evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party, or a walking Pokémon's friendship may also be gauged by its reaction when speaking to it.

†: Berries affected include Pomeg Berry, Kelpsy Berry, Qualot Berry, Hondew Berry, Grepa Berry, and Tamato Berry (No. 21-26) ††: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy †††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defend, X Speed, X Special, X Accuracy, Dire Hit, and Guard Spec.

In Generation V
Generation V introduced Befriending Power as a Pass Power to boost friendship gains.

Friendship boosts do not apply to the massage in Castelia City.

In the Generation V games, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of the Pokémon in the player's party can be found in Icirrus City, with a second NPC only found in Nacrene City during who checks the player's first Pokémon. In, the player may also contact Bianca on the Xtransceiver to have their Pokémon's friendship rated.

†: Berries affected include Pomeg Berry, Kelpsy Berry, Qualot Berry, Hondew Berry, Grepa Berry, and Tamato Berry (No. 21-26) ††: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy †††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defend, X Speed, X Special, X Accuracy, Dire Hit, and Guard Spec.

In Generation VI
In Generation VI, Befriending Power becomes an O-Power.

Friendship boosts do not apply to massages, drinks from the Juice Shoppe, or the Soothing Bag in Super Training.

In Pokémon X and Y, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party can be found early on in Santalune City, or later in Laverre City. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, an NPC in Verdanturf Town will also evaluate the friendship of the first Pokémon in the player's party.

†: Berries affected include Pomeg Berry, Kelpsy Berry, Qualot Berry, Hondew Berry, Grepa Berry, and Tamato Berry (No. 21-26) ††: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy †††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defense, X Speed, X Sp. Atk, X Sp. Def, X Accuracy, Dire Hit, and Guard Spec.

In Generation VII
Friendship boosts do not apply to massages.

In Pokémon Sun and Moon, an NPC who will evaluate the friendship of a Pokémon in the player's party can be found in Konikoni City.

†: Berries affected include Pomeg Berry, Kelpsy Berry, Qualot Berry, Hondew Berry, Grepa Berry, and Tamato Berry (No. 21-26) ††: Vitamins affected include HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, Carbos, PP Up, PP Max, and Rare Candy †††: Battle items affected include X Attack, X Defense, X Speed, X Sp. Atk, X Sp. Def, X Accuracy, Dire Hit, and Guard Spec.

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!
In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, friendship is factored into all of a Pokémon's stats, except HP. At maximum friendship, a Pokémon will receive a 10% boost to its stats, before AVs are added in. The friendship multiplier scales directly with the level of friendship, starting from a 0% boost at 0 friendship to receiving the full 10% at 255.

Evolutions
Several evolve after being leveled up when their friendship value is 220 or higher.

Raters
Friendship raters are NPCs that will indicate the friendship of the first in the undefined's party when spoken to.

Locations
The Johto and Hoenn raters in the Goldenrod Department Store and Pacifidlog Town will give out or  (or neither) depending on the friendship of the player's lead Pokémon.

Stadium 2
While there is no NPC that rates friendship, when viewing a table with, its value is listed there (along other elements such as type, Trainer ID number or item), in levels. Pokémon data read from a Generation I game will always be rated as Not quite, even for in, which does have its friendship tracked.

XD: Gale of Darkness
The friendship rater is located inside the Krabby Club in Gateon Port. He is upstairs, straight to the rear of the club (not the ones backstage) and standing near the bartender. He looks like a boat captain. He is present after starting the events in Pyrite Town.

Misconceptions
Although frequently reported to the contrary, the following factors do not affect friendship (note that these are focused on the system that has been in place since Generation II):
 * Depositing a in the Pokémon Storage System
 * Healing a Pokémon with low or with a status condition
 * Giving a Pokémon an item to hold (except the Soothe Bell)
 * Evolving a Pokémon, regardless of method (level up, held item, or evolutionary stone, with the exception of trade evolutions, which reset the Pokémon's friendship)
 * Using a Pokémon in
 * Winning battles with a Pokémon
 * Letting a Pokémon's HP fall to critical status
 * Letting the undefined's Pokémon get a status condition like
 * Walking when the player's Pokémon has a status condition
 * Increasing Affection

Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia
Friendship also has an effect in the second game of the Pokémon Ranger series. Partner Pokémon:0:0 can have the condition of Fine, Happy, or Very Happy. When it is in a Happy Mood, black musical notes appear to come out of it. Multicolored musical notes come out when it is Very Happy. This may happen whether or not it is with the undefined. This state of mind increases the speed the Partner Gauge fills up due to more Partner Energy being provided.

In the anime
In the, the bond between s and their has been a theme since the first episode, in which  had trouble to form a friendship with his newly obtained. After risking his own safety to protect his starter Pokémon from a flock of angry, Ash earned Pikachu's trust, and the two have been inseparable ever since.

Pokémon that have friendly relationships with their Trainers are said to perform better in s. Ash believes that befriending a Pokémon will make it grow stronger, and he treats with utmost care and respect. However, over the course of the series, some Trainers have been shown to focus on raw strength alone, disregarding their Pokémon's feelings and well being. Examples include Paul and Cross.

Aside from regular battles, friendship is valued in Pokémon Contests, since the level of cooperation between and Pokémon is observed by the panel of judges during the Performance Stage. Additionally, in the Battle Stage, Coordinators are expected to be in synchronicity with their Pokémon the entire time. In Cruisin' for a Losin', the Director of the, Mr. Contesta, stated that a Pokémon's well being must be the number one priority of a Coordinator.

In Our Cup Runneth Over!, Contest Master Wallace stressed out the importance of kinship. He also said that playing with Pokémon can help Trainers and Coordinators in learning how to bring out the potential of their Pokémon. In addition to enhancing a Pokémon's appearance, is said to make them happier. Trainers who devote themselves to the development of techniques that improve a Pokémon's health and happiness are known as s. There are also people who study to become Pokémon Connoisseurs in order to be able to identify the compatibility between Trainers and Pokémon, and then offer advice on how to strengthen their friendship.

As in the, friendship affects the power of. This was shown in Going for Choke!, in which Harley's received a boost while using the move under the command of Jessie, a Trainer it does not like. Although the concept of has not been addressed directly, the Soothe Bell has appeared in the anime. In the, the friendship between Ash and his triggered a temporary transformation known as Bond Phenomenon.

In contrast with the games, where a Pokémon of a certain level will only obey its Trainer if he or she possesses specific achievements, disobedient Pokémon in the anime will gain respect for their Trainers after realizing how far the Trainer is willing to go to befriend, protect, and care for the Pokémon.