Pokemon Legends: Z-A Friendship Levels: How to Check and Max Them Fast

If you want early evolutions in Pokemon Legends: Z-A, your secret sauce is Friendship. Get it high enough and suddenly you are rolling into battles with a Lucario or Pikachu way earlier than you probably should. Here is the fastest way to check where your Pokemon stands, how to crank that bond up, and who actually evolves this way.

Where to check Friendship (yes, there is a specific cafe lady)

Head to Cafe Pokemon-Amie in the northwest corner of the map, just left of Wild Zone 3. You are looking for the woman in a yellow outfit sitting outside the cafe across from her Roselia. She is the Friendship checker.

"I can tell if a Pokemon gets on well with its Trainer!"

Talk to her and you can pick any Pokemon from your Current Party or straight from your Boxes. No need to reshuffle your active team first. She will assess the one you choose and tell you how friendly it is toward you. It is simple and painless, which is not always the case with these systems.

How to raise Friendship fast

Hang out at Cafes

Cafes around Lumiose City (watch for the coffee cup icons) are the most efficient boost. Put the Pokemon you want to bond with in your Current Party, pop into any Cafe, order a drink, and spend time there. You can snap photos with your Pokemon if you want, but it is optional. Repeat visits stack up the gains quickly.

Fight at night

Doing battles after dark gives your bond a noticeable bump in a short amount of time.

Walk together

Just roaming Lumiose City with your Pokemon out slowly builds Friendship. It is not flashy, but it works while you are doing other things.

Feed them stuff

Giving items helps: Exp. Candy is great for nudging the bond up, and basic care items like Berries that heal or cure status also add Friendship.

Battle participation

Let that Pokemon actually take part in fights. Earning experience alongside you strengthens the bond.

Break Mega Shards

If you spot Mega Shards while exploring Lumiose City, smash them. Destroying those boosts your bond too.

Use a Soothe Bell

Equip a Soothe Bell to accelerate Friendship gain across the board. You can get one by finishing Side Mission 036: Some Friendly Competition.

Who evolves with high Friendship

• Budew: High Friendship during daytime -> Roselia
• Buneary: High Friendship -> Lopunny
• Cleffa: High Friendship -> Clefairy
• Pichu: High Friendship -> Pikachu
• Riolu: High Friendship during daytime -> Lucario

That is the play: check in with the cafe Friend-o-Meter, live your best barista life with your team, keep them active in battles (especially at night), smash any Mega Shards you see, and slap a Soothe Bell on the one you care about most. Do that and those Friendship evolutions come quick.