Make Your Pokémon Love You Fast in Pokémon Legends: Z‑A — Cheap Café Trick, Soothe Bell & Party Bench
Raising friendship in Pokémon Legends: Z‑A is straightforward, and thankfully there are fast options if you need certain Pokémon to evolve. Below I’ll list the reliable methods, the fastest spots, and where to check your bond level—so you can get those friendship evolutions done without guessing.
1. How to raise friendship quickly in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
2. Where to find the friendship checker in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
How to raise friendship quickly in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
There are four concrete ways to raise friendship in the game: get a drink at a café, hang out on a bench, level up, and use items. Each method works reliably, but some are much faster depending on whether you’re boosting one Pokémon or your whole party.
First, the single fastest method is visiting a café for drinks. In practice, drinks like Fresh Water or Sparkling Water all raise friendship by the same amount, regardless of price. Therefore, the most efficient spot is Nouveau Café in the southeast of central Lumiose, since it offers cheap drinks (Fresh Water and Sparkling Water are listed at $100 each). For example, a Buneary that starts with a friendship of zero needs six café outings to reach a high friendship level, so you’d spend at most $600 in that case.
Second, equipping the Soothe Bell speeds things up further. You receive the Soothe Bell as a reward for completing Side Mission 36, titled “Some Friendly Competition.” That side mission unlocks during Main Mission 14 and begins when you speak to Chou—the NPC with Clefairy and Lopunny—outside Café Rouleau on Estival Avenue in the Bleu District.
Third, if you want to raise friendship for your entire party at once, try sitting on a bench and hanging out with your Pokémon. According to a public post from a community user, sitting on a bench for at least 10 seconds increases friendship for all party members. Therefore, benches are best when multiple Pokémon need high friendship; otherwise, cafés are faster for a single target.
Did some testing with friendship in LZA. May I introduce the bench method for gaining friendship?
All the coffees/teas give +30 friendship to the active Pokémon, but sitting on a bench and getting up gives your entire party +10 friendship each time!
May be faster for multiples. pic.twitter.com/7ueApD22Ct
— Anubis (@Sibuna_Switch) October 21, 2025
Finally, the more typical methods still work: leveling up Pokémon increases friendship slowly, and certain items also raise friendship when used. Use these when you don’t want to spend money or when cafés/benches aren’t convenient.
Where to find the friendship checker in Pokémon Legends: Z-A
If you want to see exactly how close your Pokémon are to you, talk to the NPC who checks friendship at Café Pokémon‑Amie on Autumnal Avenue. Bear in mind she only appears after you clear Side Mission 25, “Trubblesome Patrons,” which itself should be available after completing Main Mission 9. You don’t strictly need to visit her to evolve friendship-based Pokémon, but she gives a clear readout if you want confirmation.
