Friendship, also known as Compatibility or Happiness, is the central aspect in Pokémon Legends: Arceus of a Trainer's relationship with their Pokémon. Increasing one's Friendship to a high level can come with significant benefits, such as acquiring all the evolutions forms of Eevee. Therefore, players will need to know how to raise their Compatibility with their Pokémon to reach a high level of Friendship.
First, Trainers in Pokémon Legends: Arceus must learn where they can check their Compatibility status with their Pokémon. Friendship is an odd feature, as its stats cannot be viewed within the Pokémon summary menu like HP or EXP pool. Instead, players must progress through the main storyline, particularly until the seventh mission. This quest involves Trainers facing off with Kleavor, a Bug and Rock-Type Noble Pokémon boss. After players successfully calm Kleavor down by throwing balms at it, they can progress to Jubilife Village. Within this town, Trainers can speak with a specific NPC to calculate the Friendship level with their Pokémon.
After arriving at Jubilife Village, head left from the Front Gate and cross the bridge to the Pastures southeast of town. Near the fence, players will encounter a gentleman named Belamy. To unlock his Friendship-reading town service in Pokémon Legends: Arceus, Trainers must complete Request 28, "Measuring Your Compatibility," where players must show him a Pokémon with a high level of Compatibility. After the request has been finished, Trainers will receive a Rare Candy and the opportunity to check their Friendship level with a Pokémon at any time.
Pokémon Legends Arceus Friendship Guide
Once players receive an estimate of their Compatibility with a Pokémon, they can increase their Friendship level by doing three things. First, the fastest way to raise a Pokémon's Happiness is by feeding it candy such as Exp. Candy S or Exp. Candy M. However, this method is costly and not worth the effort if players lack a good amount of funds.
Alternatively, Trainers can use a specific Pokémon to collect resources in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. The open-world regions of Arceus have plenty of gathering nodes, breakable rocks, and minable Tumblestones for Pokémon to farm. Whenever players have the Pokémon harvest a node, its Friendship level will increase slightly. Another way to efficiently max one's Compatibility with a Pokémon is by battling with the specific Pokémon in their active party. Ensure that the Pokémon doesn't faint, as it will dramatically lower its Friendship. Earning EXP won't matter very much if players are "farming Friendship," so heading to a low-level area like the Obsidian Fieldlands is an excellent way to increase Compatibility.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is available on Nintendo Switch.