Where To Find The Friendship Checker in Pokémon HGSS

Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver’s main Friendship Checker is a lady found in a small house on the lower east side of Goldenrod City, just north of the Bike Shop.

She will describe the first Pokémon in your party in a certain way, which corresponds to its approximate level of happiness.

But there are technically 3 total NPCs that can check a Pokémon’s friendship level in HG/SS.

We’ll go into more detail below to help you find the location of each NPC & we’ll explain how to use their info to your advantage.

Goldenrod City’s Friendship Checker

To check your Pokémon’s happiness, first make your way to Goldenrod City.

The Friendship Checker can be found in a small house (pictured below), just north of the Bike Shop, on the city’s lower east side.

The Friendship Checker’s house in Goldenrod City

Once you’re inside, talk to the lady sitting at the table. She will check the happiness of the 1st Pokémon in your party.

The Friendship Checker revealing the player’s Aipom is not very happy

Depending on your Pokémon’s happiness level, she will say one of the following six things:

Happiness Level	Friendship Checker’s Response
0-49	“It doesn’t seem to like you at all. It looks mean.”
50-99	“You should treat it better. It’s not used to you.”
100-149	“It’s quite cute.”
150-199	“It’s friendly toward you. It looks sort of happy.”
200-249	“I get the feeling that it really trusts you.”
250-255	“It looks really happy! It must love you a lot.”

How Does Happiness Work?

Happiness is the measure of how much your Pokémon likes you.

While the game never explicitly reveals it, happiness is graded from 0 to 255. The higher the number, the happier your Pokémon.

The move Return does more damage the happier your Pokémon is. At maximum happiness, it has a base power of 102 – making it one of the strongest Normal-Type moves possible.

The opposite is true with Frustration. The more unhappy your Pokémon is, the more damage it will do. However, it is easier to keep your Pokémon happy than it is to keep them unhappy, as we’ll see in the next section.

Certain Pokémon also evolve when they reach maximum happiness. These are:

Chansey into Blissey
Cleffa into Clefairy
Eevee into Espeon (during the day time)
Eevee into Umbreon (during the night time)
Golbat into Crobat
Igglybuff into Jigglypuff
Pichu into Pikachu

So, how do we control a Pokémon’s happiness?

How To Make a Pokémon More (or Less) Happy

Every Pokémon starts with a set level of happiness when you catch it.

Some species start high, like Chansey with 140, and some start low, like Mewtwo with 0.

Any Pokémon caught in a Friend Ball will immediately start with a happiness level of 200.

But you can increase your Pokémon’s happiness in the following ways:

By walking 256 steps with them in your party
By giving them the following vitamins: PP Up, HP Up, Carbos, Iron, Zinc, or Protein
By leveling them up
By using them in a battle against a Gym Leader or Elite Four member
By giving them a haircut in Goldenrod Tunnel
By getting them groomed by Daisy in Pallet Town

Getting a Pokémon’s hair cut in Goldenrod Tunnel

Each method of increasing a Pokémon’s happiness gets less effective the happier that Pokémon is, except for walking 256 steps with them, which always gives the same increase.

You can also boost your Pokémon’s happiness gains by 50% by giving them a Soothe Bell to hold, and double the gains by catching them in a Luxury Ball.

However, there are also ways to decrease your Pokémon’s happiness. These are:

By allowing them to faint
By using an Energy Powder, Heal Powder, Energy Root, or Revival Herb on them
By trading them, which resets them to their default

Other Friendship Checkers in HG/SS

There are other Friendship Checkers in the game who give certain rewards based on your Pokémon’s happiness level.

One of them is also found in Goldenrod City, but only on Sundays, when they visit the 5th floor of Goldenrod Department Store.

As well as telling you your Pokémon’s happiness level in the same way as the first Friendship Checker, she will also give you a TM if your Pokémon’s happiness is at either extreme level.

For a very happy Pokémon, she will give you the TM27 Return
For a very unhappy Pokémon, she will give you the TM21 Frustration

You can repeat this every Sunday for multiple TMs.

The Friendship Checker who appears on the 5th floor of Goldenrod Department Store on Sundays

There is yet another Friendship Checker on Route 26.

Her house is just outside the exit of Tohjo Falls.

The Friendship Checker’s house on Route 26

If your Pokémon has a high happiness level, she will reward you with the TM37 Sandstorm.

The player about to receive the TM37 Sandstorm for their Aipom’s high happiness level

BACK TO THE MAIN GAME Pokémon HGSS Full Strategy Guide

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Louie Neale

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Full-time freelance copywriter and long-time Pokémon trainer, currently rediscovering my childhood love for the classic games by bringing you all the info you need.

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