Happiness

Happiness, also called Friendship, is a hidden value from 0 to 255 carried by every Pixelmon. It measures how attached a Pixelmon is to its trainer. Happiness starts at a value set by the Pixelmon's species, rises as the Pixelmon is kept and used, and drops slightly when it faints or is given certain bitter medicines. A high happiness value lets some Pixelmon evolve and changes the power of the moves Return and Frustration.

Base happiness

When a Pixelmon is caught, hatched, or received, its happiness is set to a base value defined by its species. Most species start at 50; a few cuddly species start higher, and many legendary and pseudo-legendary species start at 0, so they take longer to warm up. Reviving a Pixelmon from a fossil and trading both reset happiness to this base value.

Base happiness	Species	Examples
140	11	Clefairy, Clefable, Chansey, Cleffa
100	15	Mew, Celebi, Jirachi, Luxio
90	5	Latias, Latios, Tornadus, Thundurus
70	3	Butterfree, Timburr, Stunfisk
50	840	Default for most species.
35	73	Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, Dratini
20	3	Nymble, Armarouge, Ceruledge
0	79	Wo-Chien, Chien-Pao, Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu

Raising happiness

Happiness climbs through everyday play. Several actions raise it, and the amount gained shrinks as a Pixelmon grows fonder, so the last stretch toward 255 is the slowest.

Action	Happiness gained	Notes
Walking with you	+2 (+1 at 200 or above)	Once every 40 seconds while the Pixelmon follows you outside its Poké Ball.
Leveling up	+5 / +3 / +2	Below 100 / below 200 / 200 or above.
EV-reducing Berries	+10 / +5 / +2	Below 100 / below 200 / 200 or above. These berries lower an effort value at the same time.
Vitamins and EV items	+5 / +3 / +2	Below 100 / below 200 / 200 or above, when the item still raises an effort value.
Berry Juice	+4	Fed directly to the Pixelmon.
Eating Curry	Varies	The amount depends on the finished dish's rating.

Items and balls that change happiness

A few items and Poké Balls change how quickly happiness builds, or set it outright:

Item	Effect
Soothe Bell	While held, multiplies every happiness gain by 1.5.
Luxury Ball	A Pixelmon caught in one gains 1 extra happiness on each level-up.
Friend Ball	Sets a newly caught Pixelmon's happiness to 150.

Lowering happiness

Happiness rarely falls. Fainting in battle costs a single point, and the bitter herbal medicines lower it more the higher it already is (the larger drop applies at 200 or above).

Cause	Happiness lost
Fainting in battle	-1
Energy Powder	-5 (-10 at 200 or above)
Energy Root	-10 (-15 at 200 or above)
Revival Herb	-15 (-20 at 200 or above)

Evolution by happiness

Some Pixelmon evolve once their happiness is high enough and they then level up. Each one below lists the happiness it needs; raise the value with the methods above, then have it gain a level.

Pixelmon	Evolves into	Happiness needed
Azurill	Marill	160+
Budew	Roselia	160+
Buneary	Lopunny	160+
Chansey	Blissey	160+
Chingling	Chimecho	160+
Cleffa	Clefairy	160+
Eevee	Sylveon	160+
Eevee	Espeon	160+
Eevee	Umbreon	160+
Golbat	Crobat	160+
Igglybuff	Jigglypuff	160+
Meowth	Persian (Alolan)	160+
Munchlax	Snorlax	160+
Pichu	Pikachu	160+
Riolu	Lucario	160+
Snom	Frosmoth	160+
Swadloon	Leavanny	160+
Togepi	Togetic	160+
TypeNull	Silvally	160+
Woobat	Swoobat	160+

Return and Frustration

Two moves read happiness directly. Return grows stronger as happiness rises, while Frustration grows stronger as it falls, making them mirror images of each other.

Move	Power formula	At happiness 0	At happiness 255
Return	happiness / 2.5	1	102
Frustration	(255 - happiness) / 2.5	102	1

Each move's power is rounded down and is never less than 1.

Checking happiness

A Pixelmon's current happiness is shown on the Happiness line of its summary in the Poké Checker, so you can track progress toward an evolution or a stronger Return.