Befriending Pokémon in Legends: Arceus – A Comprehensive Guide
Want to forge strong bonds with your Pokémon in the Hisui region? In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, friendship, or friendship level, is crucial for evolving certain Pokémon and unlocking their full potential. While the game doesn’t explicitly show a friendship meter, several actions influence your Pokémon’s affection for you. The core strategies are quite straightforward:
- Keep Pokémon in your party: Simply having a Pokémon in your active party grants passive friendship gains as you explore.
- Utilize Pokémon in battle: Engaging in battles and emerging victorious strengthens the bond.
- Provide care through healing: Regularly healing your Pokémon after battles or when they’re afflicted with status conditions significantly boosts their friendship.
- Delegate task to gather materials: Entrusting your Pokémon with gathering materials demonstrates trust and affection.
Now, let’s delve into each method and provide tips for maximizing your Pokémon friendships.
Enhancing Friendship Bonds in Hisui
Passive Friendship Gain: The Constant Companion
The simplest method is to keep the Pokémon you want to befriend in your active party. The game subtly rewards this constant companionship with small increments to the friendship stat over time. Think of it as the Pokémon appreciating your willingness to have them by your side during your Hisuian adventures. This is particularly helpful for Pokémon like Eevee, whose evolutions often hinge on high friendship levels.
Engaging in Battle: A Test of Trust
Battles aren’t just about winning; they’re about demonstrating trust and reliance on your Pokémon. Frequently use your Pokémon in battles, especially against challenging opponents. Even if they don’t always win, the act of choosing them to fight conveys your faith in their abilities.
Prioritizing Healing: Showing You Care
A hurt Pokémon is a vulnerable Pokémon. Promptly healing your Pokémon after battles, whether through items, rest at a camp, or visiting a medical corps, signifies your concern for their well-being. This is a tangible way to show them you value their health and safety.
Delegating Material Gathering: Building Mutual Respect
Sending out your Pokémon to gather materials isn’t just convenient; it’s also a sign of trust. It shows you believe in their abilities to perform tasks and contribute to the team. Plus, they get to stretch their legs and explore!
Decoding the Friendship System: Hidden Cues
Unfortunately, Pokémon Legends: Arceus doesn’t have a direct friendship meter. So, how do you know when a Pokémon is ready to evolve? You’ll primarily rely on visual cues and evolution prompts. Keep an eye out for these signs:
- Evolution prompt: Once the friendship level is high enough, the Pokémon’s profile in the menu will display a notification indicating it’s ready to evolve.
- General feel: You can get a sense for the Pokémon’s affinity based on how well it performs in battle and its overall disposition.
Friendship Evolutions: A Rewarding Endeavor
Many Pokémon in Legends: Arceus evolve based on friendship levels, including iconic ones like Eevee, Pichu, and Golbat. Focusing on the friendship-building activities listed above will eventually trigger the necessary evolution conditions.
Soothe Bell
While not explicitly mentioned in the base game mechanics of Pokémon Legends: Arceus, the Soothe Bell, traditionally used to boost Friendship gains, could be seen as conceptually similar to the perks gained by having the Pokémon gather materials or just carry them around with you in your party. You are indirectly making the Pokemon happier just by spending time with them. To learn more about how games can impact social skills, check out GamesLearningSociety.org.
Maximizing Efficiency
While there’s no surefire way to instantly max out friendship, here are some efficiency tips:
- Focus on one Pokémon at a time: Concentrate your efforts on a single Pokémon that you want to evolve, maximizing the benefits of each activity.
- Early game benefits: Starting the friendship-building process early in the game will save you time later on.
- Variety is key: Mix up the methods – battles, healing, and gathering – to keep things engaging for both you and your Pokémon.
FAQs: Deep Diving into Pokémon Friendship
How can I quickly check my Pokémon’s friendship level in Arceus?
Unfortunately, Pokémon Legends: Arceus doesn’t offer an in-game method to explicitly check your Pokémon’s numerical friendship level. You’ll need to rely on visual cues, such as the evolution prompt appearing on the Pokémon’s summary screen.
Does fainting affect friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
While it isn’t directly stated, generally, when a Pokémon faints in battle, it negatively impacts the Pokémon’s friendship toward the trainer. It’s best to heal your Pokémon before they faint to avoid this negative impact.
What berries boost friendship in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Although Pokémon Legends: Arceus doesn’t feature specific berries solely dedicated to boosting happiness like in previous installments, the act of feeding your Pokémon berries to heal them is very impactful.
How much friendship does Eevee need to evolve into Espeon or Umbreon?
In previous Pokémon games, Eevee generally evolves into Espeon during the day and Umbreon at night if its friendship value reaches a certain threshold (usually 220 or 160, depending on the game). However, Pokémon Legends: Arceus handles Eevee’s evolutions differently. Instead, it is determined by if you have a Leafeon or Glaceon on you.
Can I increase friendship by giving my Pokémon vitamins?
Unfortunately, Vitamins are not in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
Does the Soothe Bell exist in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
No, the Soothe Bell is not present in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The passive friendship gains are simply built into the game mechanics.
Is there a “happiness checker” NPC in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
No, Pokémon Legends: Arceus does not have a dedicated NPC who checks your Pokémon’s happiness. You will need to be mindful of the signs.
Does the time of day matter for friendship evolutions in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Typically, Espeon evolves during the day and Umbreon at night, in previous games. However, the new mechanics of the game mean the time of day does not play a factor.
How many battles does it take to max out friendship?
There is no set amount of battles needed to max out friendship. It will depend on many actions you do in the game.
Can I breed Eevee in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Unfortunately, breeding mechanics do not exist within Pokémon Legends: Arceus. You will need to find all Pokémon in the wild or through space-time distortions.
How do I evolve Munchlax in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Friendship impacts this evolution as Munchlax evolves into Snorlax when their friendship level is high enough and they level up.
Is there any easy way to get Black Augurite in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Black Augurite is the item required for Sycther’s evolution into Kleavor. It can be found after defeating some Rock-type Pokemon like Graveler. Graveler are found in all conditions across all areas of Hisui. Black Augurite can also be found by digging for treasure while riding Ursaluna — most commonly near cliffsides.
Is there any easy way to evolve Stantler in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
To evolve Stantler into Wyrdeer – a normal and psychic-type – in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, you need to use Psyshield Bash in Agile Style 20 times. Once you’ve achieved this feat with a Stantler, the ability to evolve it will be automatically unlocked.
Is there any way to evolve Jolteon or Flareon in Pokémon Legends: Arceus?
Players can’t use the naming trick to get any of the evolutions. They must use the correct stones.
What happens if my Pichu won’t evolve?
Pichu only evolves when it’s happiness/friendship reaches a certain threshold. Once it does, it will evolve at the next level up.
By understanding the mechanics and implementing these strategies, you’ll be well on your way to forging lasting bonds with your Pokémon and unlocking their full potential in the Hisui region. Happy adventuring!