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A comprehensive guide to understanding and maximizing Friendship in Pokémon Crystal
Friendship (also called Happiness) is a hidden stat that represents your bond with your Pokémon. You can't see it on the stat page - instead, you'll need to talk to a Friendship Rater in Goldenrod City to check it.
The main use of Friendship is evolving certain Pokémon. High Friendship also unlocks specific TMs and powers up certain moves. Polished Crystal uses updated mechanics from Gen VIII+ while keeping that classic Gen II feel.
Most Pokémon start at 70 Friendship, but Pokémon hatched from eggs begin at 120 Friendship. Pokémon caught in a Friend Ball start with 150 Friendship.[1]
Important: Many friendship-boosting methods stop working after 160 Friendship, which is the evolution threshold.[2]
There's no direct way to see exact Friendship values. NPCs in Goldenrod City can give you approximations based on the first Pokémon in your party.
The main Friendship Rater lives in a small house on the eastern side of Goldenrod City's main road. From the Pokémon Center, head north on the main road and turn right before the railroad tracks. Follow the road south to find her house.
Talk to the girl in the blue dress to check your Pokémon's Friendship:
| Comment | Friendship Range |
|---|---|
It looks really happy! It must love you a lot. | 250-255 (max) |
I get the feeling that it really trusts you. | 200-249 |
It's friendly toward you. It looks sort of happy. | 150-199 |
It's quite cute. |
On Sundays, a second Friendship Rater appears at the Goldenrod Dept. Store (5F). She's the woman in the red dress behind the counter, next to the usual clerk.
| Comment | Friendship Range |
|---|---|
It's very attached to you. This move should be perfect for a pair like you. | 150-255 |
It's adorable! You should teach it good TM moves. | 50-149 |
If your Pokémon has 150+ Friendship, she gives you TM27 Return.
Friendship increases and decreases based on various actions. The effects scale based on your Pokémon's current Friendship level - higher Friendship typically means smaller gains from certain actions.
| Action | 0-99 | 100-159 | 160+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Catch with Friend Ball | Starts at 150 | ||
Level Up (while in party) | +3 | +2 |
*Affects all Pokémon in your party.[3]
One of the most effective ways to raise Friendship is using grooming services from Daisy Oak in Pallet Town or the Haircut Brothers in Goldenrod Underground.
Daisy Oak - Found inside Blue's House in Pallet Town, she offers free massages between 3PM-4PM daily.[3]
Haircut Brothers - Located in the Goldenrod Underground. Each groomer can only style one Pokémon per day.[3]
Haircut Brothers Schedule:
Grooming Effectiveness:
| Stylist | Cost | 0-99 | 100-159 | 160+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Younger Haircut Brother | 300 Pokédollars | +4 to +16 | +4 to +16 | +4 to +16 |
Older Haircut Brother |
The Haircut Brothers' results are randomized. Their comment indicates the outcome:
Older Brother (500 Pokédollars):
| Comment | Odds | Friendship Gain |
|---|---|---|
X looks a little happier. | 30% chance | +8 |
X looks happy. | 50% chance | +16 |
X looks delighted! |
Younger Brother (300 Pokédollars):
| Comment | Odds | Friendship Gain |
|---|---|---|
X looks a little happier. | 60% chance | +4 |
X looks happy. | 30% chance | +8 |
X looks delighted! |
| Action | 0-99 | 100-159 | 160+ |
|---|---|---|---|
Faint (Foe less than 30 levels higher) | -1 | -1 | -1 |
Faint (Foe 30+ levels higher) | -5 |
The fastest way to maximize Friendship is repeatedly using Battle Items. While you can mix in grooming and leveling, Battle Items can be purchased in bulk and used continuously in a single sitting.
After catching a Pokémon, level it up a few times in the same area before leaving. This works even if the Pokémon was sent to the Box - just retrieve it from Bill's PC and return to train.
Leveling up at the catch location gives +6 Friendship (in the 0-99 range), which is double the normal amount. Five level-ups (+30) gets you to 100 Friendship quickly.
Buy X Speed or X Special at the Goldenrod Dept. Store (3F) for 350 Pokédollars each. Enter a battle with a weak Pokémon (like Magikarp or Metapod) and repeatedly use Battle Items.
Each Battle Item gives +1 Friendship regardless of whether the stat is already maxed. This method works up to 160 Friendship.
| Milestone | Friendship Needed | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|
TM27 Return (150) | +80 from 70 | 28,000 Pokédollars |
Friendship Evolution (160) | +90 from 70 | 31,500 Pokédollars |
Note: Vitamins (+3/+1/+0) are faster but much more expensive. EV-lowering Berries (+10/+5/+0) are the most efficient if you have them available.
Thanks to infinite TMs in Polished Crystal, you can repeatedly teach and delete TMs to gain +1 Friendship per use. This works up to 160 Friendship and costs nothing but time.
There are three main reasons to maximize Friendship:
The following Pokémon evolve when leveled up with at least 160 Friendship:[2]
| Technical Machine | Required Friendship | NPC |
|---|---|---|
150+ | Dept. Store Friendship Rater | |
150+ | Woman in a house on Route 27 |
Return - Damage scales with Friendship. Power maxes out at 102 once you reach 160 Friendship, making it a reliable physical Normal-type move for Pokémon with high Friendship.[5]
Polished Crystal includes optional Affection bonuses from Gen VIII+ that can be toggled in gameplay preferences at the start of a new game. When enabled, high Friendship provides powerful battle bonuses.
Important: Affection bonuses don't work in Link battles or Battle Tower battles, keeping things fair for competitive play.[6]
Affection bonuses can make max Friendship Pokémon significantly stronger in single-player battles. The guaranteed survival at 255 Friendship essentially gives your Pokémon a free Focus Sash effect every battle, and the doubled critical hit rate rewards offensive strategies.
However, these bonuses can make the game considerably easier, which is why they're optional. Consider your preferred difficulty level when enabling this feature.
All mechanics in this guide are verified directly against Polished Crystal's engine logic and data tables. Source links reference the exact routines used in-game.
[1] Base friendship values and Friend Ball [2] Friendship evolution threshold and Return max power [3] Friendship increase and decrease values [4] Haircut Brothers probability distribution [5] Return move mechanics [6] Affection system and thresholds [7] Affection survival mechanics [8] Affection status self-cure [9] Affection evasion boost [10] Affection critical hit rateYou should treat it better. It's not used to you. | 50-99 |
It doesn't seem to like you at all, it looks mean. | 0-49 |
+0 |
Level Up at catch location | +6 | +4 | +0 |
Use a Vitamin (e.g., Calcium) | +3 | +1 | +0 |
Use EV-lowering Berry | +10 | +5 | +0 |
Defeat Gym Leader, Elite Four, or Red* | +5 | +3 | +0 |
Walking 256 steps* | +2 | +1 | +0 |
Use a Technical Machine/HM | +1 | +1 | +0 |
Use a Battle Item (e.g., X Attack) | +1 | +1 | +0 |
Take a Photograph* | +5 | +3 | +2 |
Receive a Shrine Blessing* | +5 | +3 | +2 |
500 Pokédollars |
+8 to +32 |
+8 to +32 |
+8 to +32 |
Daisy Oak | Free | +3 | +3 | +1 |
+32 |
+16 |
-10 |
Faint (Outside battle, e.g., Poison damage) | -5 | -5 | -10 |
Use EnergyPowder or Heal Powder | -5 | -5 | -10 |
Use Energy Root | -10 | -10 | -15 |
Use Revival Herb | -15 | -15 | -20 |
Umbreon (during Night) |