In a busy, bustling world like Pokémon Legends: Arceus, your Pokémon truly become your best friends. They fight alongside you, help you nab materials, and keep you company on your wild adventures. And, if you increase your friendship level enough, some might even evolve into something truly special.
So, if you’re wondering how to increase your Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship level, you’re in the right place. We’ll tell you how to earn the love of your sweet little ‘mons as fast as possible so you can snag yourself one of those fancy Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship evolutions in no time. We’ve also included a guide on how to get the Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship tracker, so you can keep an eye on how your buddy levels are doing.
If you’re looking for more help on your Pokémon Legends: Arceus journey, be sure to check out our Pokémon Legends: Arceus mystery gift codes, Pokémon Legends: Arceus shiny, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus noble Pokémon guides.
How do I increase friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Raising your friendship level in Pokémon Legends: Arceus can be super handy. Not only does it increase your critters’ battle prowess, but some will only evolve when you’ve earned their trust. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to raise your Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship level quickly.
Keep your Pokémon in your party
As with previous Pokémon games, one of the main ways of increasing your Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship level is to spend time with them. Putting them in your party and ensuring they’re safe and healthy is the easiest way to raise their reliance and trust as you gain EXP on your journey. But some Pokémon’s friendship levels increase slower than others, so they’ll need to spend more time at your side for the best results.
You can also play with your Pokémon outside of their ball, anywhere, any time. We’re not sure how much this raises your Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship levels, but even if it doesn’t, it’s super cute.
Fight battles with them (and win!)
Battling with your Pokémon increases their friendship level, especially if you keep it healed up. Feeding it certain healing items also gives their friendship a little boost, too.
Feed them EXP candies
Feeding your ‘mons EXP candy collected from defeating alpha Pokémon increases your friendship levels as well – about 20 small EXP candies should be enough to raise one level.
Use them to gather materials
You can also increase your Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship level by consistently using your Pokémon to gather ore and materials from trees. Some critters have higher growth rates based on what materials they gather. Here are some examples.
Pokémon | Growth Rate | EXP | Trees | Ores |
Chansey | Mid | High | Mid | Mid |
Budew | Low | Low | Low | Low |
Eevee | Mid | High | Low | Mid |
Buneary | High | High | Mid | High |
Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship checker
If you’re hoping to check how well your friendship levels are doing, you’ll need to unlock Bellamy, the Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship checker.
First, you have to quell Kleavor, then Bellamy appears by the Ranch in Jubilife Village. Then, you need to complete his request (request 28 – Measuring Your Compatibility). This just requires you to show him a Pokémon that you have high friendship with already – likely your starter ‘mon.
After this, Bellamy can evaluate the friendship between you and your Pokémon whenever you ask. While it’s not an exact figure, he’ll give you a general idea of how far you still have to go to be best buds with your critter. Here are his evaluations.
Best friendship level | What an excellent pair of friends you and (your Pokémon) make. You must mean a lot to each other! |
Great friendship level | You and (your Pokémon) seem to be fast friends. You must be quite good companions! |
Good friendship level | (Your Pokémon) seems to get on well with you. But I’m sure it could get on better! |
Base friendship level | I suppose (your Pokémon)’s become a bit friendly toward you, but you’ve a ways to go… |
Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship evolutions
Certain critters require you to raise your friendship level with them before they can evolve. While some only need to hit high friendship for the requirements to be met, others need both high friendship and additional conditions. Here’s a list of all the Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship evolutions.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship evolutions that require high friendship
Pokémon | Evolution |
Pichu | Pikachu |
Clefairy | Clefable |
Munchlax | Snorlax |
Golbat | Crobat |
Chansey | Blissey |
Buneary | Lopunny |
Togepi | Togetic |
Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship evolutions that require high friendship and additional conditions
Pokémon | Conditions | Evolution |
Budew | Evolve during the morning or daytime | Roselia |
Riolu | Evolve during the morning or daytime | Lucario |
Chingling | Evolve during nightfall | Chimecho |
Eevee | Evolve during the morning or daytime, without a fairy-type move | Espeon |
Eevee | Evolve during nightfall without a fairy-type move | Umbreon |
Eevee | Evolve at any time of day with a fairy-type move | Sylveon |
And that’s it for our Pokémon Legends: Arceus friendship guide. We hope you enjoy making pals with your ‘mons! If you’re looking for more exciting journeys in the wild world, be sure to check out our list of the best Switch adventure games to find something new to play today.