How to raise and check friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Pokémon Legends: Arceus has a Pokédex of more than 240 monsters to catch throughout the Hisui region, but some of the game’s best creatures, especially Eeveelutions, require maxed-out friendship to evolve. In this guide, we’ll explain how friendship works in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Need to know all the ways trainers can max out their friendship level the fastest? Curious about how to check friendship levels? Want a full list of all the evolutions that rely on friendship to occur? We’ve got you covered with all the essential details.

How to raise friendship fast in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

If you’re reading this guide, you’re probably in need of an explanation of how friendship works in Legends: Arceus. Even though the game features a tutorial that tells you friendship levels exist, the details start and end there. When it comes to knowing precisely what friendship is and the best methods to increase it, the game largely leaves trainers to their own devices.

That said, for those who’ve played Pokémon games in the past, the compatibility mechanic should seem familiar. Trainers have a unique friendship level with each monster they catch, and maxing out that level may be required for certain Pokémon to evolve. For Pokémon Legends: Arceus specifically, Evee is perhaps the most coveted of such examples. If you want to complete your Hisui dex, you’ll need to make friends with some very specific party members.

Compared to past Pokémon games, the methods for maxing out a monster’s friendship are fairly streamlined.

• Friendship from battle: The most reasonable and cost-effective way to max out your friendship meter with any Pokémon is through battle. To achieve the highest friendship yield, go to a low-level area and battle wild creatures that the Pokémon in question can beat. Above all else, ensure your friendship target never loses or faints in combat. You’ll still get a smaller friendship yield for using the monster and switching them out if need be, but you should watch their HP closely at all times.
• Exp. Candy: In place of real-time battles you can also increase friendship by feeding Pokémon Exp. Candy in small, medium, or large varieties. You can get candy by purchasing it from Bonn near Galaxy Hall, farming Alpha Pokémon encounters, or by completing specific NPC requests. You’ll need lots of candy to have an effect, though, as it could require as many as 30 or 40 candies just to raise from level one to two. That candy threshold increases even more when going from level two to level three.
• Harvesting: A third way to get some small friendship gains is by having your chosen Pokémon harvest resources from trees and mineral deposits in the open world. Press the designated button to toss their Pokéball to gather resources in the area.

When a monster in your party is ready to evolve, the Pokéball icon next to them will start to glow.

How to check friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus

Now that you understand the basics of how friendship works, you might want to check the friendship level your monster is on. The only way to do that is by visiting a special NPC called Belamy, found near the southeast fences in Jubilife Village. You’ll see a man with glasses pontificating about the bond between Pokémon and people.

Talk to him, and he’ll kick off a short request, called Measuring Your Compatibility, that requires showing him one Pokémon from your party that likes you. Maybe show them your starter at first, as they’re likely the monster that’s battled the most. The request will quickly complete, and now you can talk to Belamy again to check compatibility levels in the future. It’s not an exact compatibility reading per se, but it serves a decent rough estimate nonetheless.

Which Pokémon evolve through friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?

The vast majority of Pokémon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus don’t need a specific friendship level to evolve, but there are a few noteworthy exceptions you should absolutely be aware of when filling out your dex.

• Budew
• Buneary
• Chansey
• Chingling
• Cleffa
• Espeon
• Golbat
• Munchlax
• Pichu
• Riolu
• Sylveon
• Togepi
• Umbreon

It goes without saying that the Eeveelutions and Munchlax are likely to be the most popular evolutions on this list, but there are nearly a dozen other options for trainers to bond with as well. That’s all you need to know about friendship and compatibility in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.