Where To Get Soothe Bells in Pokémon Platinum

Cheryl near the exit to Eterna Forest (Pokémon Platinum)
Soothe Bell Acquisition Methods
# Method Repeatable?
1 Eterna Forest—Received from Cheryl as a reward for accompanying her through the woods No
2 Pokémon Mansion—Received from a maid in the center room of the west wing No

There are only two Soothe Bells in Pokémon Platinum, but both are very simple to get.

The earliest Soothe Bell you can get is from Cheryl in the Eterna Forest. You’ll get it shortly after receiving the Coal Badge from Leader Roark, and it is unmissable.

Then you can also get a second Soothe Bell from the Pokémon Mansion.

Acquiring Soothe Bells

Method 1: Eterna Forest

You’ll get the game’s first Soothe Bell during your first visit to the Eterna Forest.

This happens shortly after you’ve defeated Commander Mars at the Valley Windworks, and it’s part of the main game story so it’s unmissable.

Entering the Eterna Forest from Route 205 / Pokémon Platinum
Entering the Eterna Forest from Route 205.

The first time you enter the Eterna Forest you will be approached by Cheryl, a trainer who is afraid to travel through the woods by herself for fear of running into Team Galactic.

She asks to accompany you, and you will automatically agree to take her.

Agreeing to take Cheryl through the Eterna Forest / Pokémon Platinum
Agreeing to take Cheryl through the Eterna Forest.

Cheryl will fight beside you in every wild Pokémon and trainer battle you encounter. She will also revive your fainted Pokémon and heal your party after each fight.

Her constant healing makes passing through the Eterna Forest a breeze, so you should have no trouble passing through the woods with her.

Traveling through the Eterna Forest with Cheryl / Pokémon Platinum
Traveling through the Eterna Forest with Cheryl.

Once you’ve reached the forest’s exit, Cheryl will thank you for your assistance by gifting you a Soothe Bell.

Receiving the Soothe Bell from Cheryl / Pokémon Platinum
Receiving the Soothe Bell from Cheryl.

Method 2: The Pokémon Mansion (Step-by-Step)

You’ll receive another Soothe Bell in one of the rooms of the Pokémon Mansion on Route 212.

You won’t have access to this Soothe Bell until after your first visit to Pastoria City. After that, the paths to the Pokémon Mansion from both Pastoria City and Hearthome City will become open to you.

You won’t reach Pastoria City until around mid-game—so you’ll likely have acquired four badges by then.

Reaching the Pokémon Mansion

Assuming you’ve visited Pastoria City once before, the quickest way to reach the Pokémon Mansion is to start at the Hearthome City Pokémon Center and head south.

Taking the main street south from the Hearthome City Pokémon Center / Pokémon Platinum
Taking the main street south from the Hearthome City Pokémon Center.

When you reach the white picket fences to the south, head eastward.

Turning east and passing the Poké Mart / Pokémon Platinum
Turning east and passing the Poké Mart.

Take the south turn by the fisherman NPC standing in the middle of the street’s intersection, then turn west at the Hearthome City sign.

Turning south at the fisherman NPC, then west at the sign / Pokémon Platinum
Turning south at the fisherman NPC, then west at the sign.

Travel westward until you reach the two city gates in the southwest corner of town.

Take the one to the south—this will put you on Route 212.

Leaving Hearthome City via the southwest gate / Pokémon Platinum
Leaving Hearthome City via the southwest gate.

Pass through the gate and continue southward on Route 212.

Exiting the gate and entering Route 212 / Pokémon Platinum
Exiting the gate and entering Route 212.

Continue moving south, hugging the eastern edge when trees start to break up the path. Walk around the ponds you encounter along the way.

Keeping to the right of Route 212 until the first pond / Pokémon Platinum
Keeping to the right of Route 212 until the first pond.

Head south when the bushes begin to resemble a sort of hedge maze, and eventually you will see the Pokémon Mansion’s gilded front gates and statues.

Circle around and head north through the front gates.

Heading through the gate of the Pokémon Mansion / Pokémon Platinum
Heading through the gate of the Pokémon Mansion.

Finding the Soothe Bell Inside the Mansion

After you enter the Pokémon Mansion, turn left into the west wing.

Entering the Pokémon Mansion’s western corridor / Pokémon Platinum
Entering the Pokémon Mansion’s western corridor.

Enter the middle doorway in this corridor.

Entering the second door in the west wing of the Pokémon Mansion / Pokémon Platinum
Entering the second door in the west wing of the Pokémon Mansion.

Then speak to the maid you find inside this room.

Approaching the maid in the second room / Pokémon Platinum
Approaching the maid in the second room.

The maid will give a brief speech about making wild Pokémon warm up to you. Afterwards she will offer you a Soothe Bell, no strings attached.

Receiving the Soothe Bell in the Pokémon Mansion / Pokémon Platinum
Receiving the Soothe Bell in the Pokémon Mansion.

Soothe Bell Details and Uses

The in-game description of the Soothe Bell / Pokémon Platinum
The in-game description of the Soothe Bell.

The Soothe Bell is a held item that boosts all increases to the holder’s Friendship by 50%.

Friendship is a partially-hidden stat ranging from 0 to 255 that measures the fondness a Pokémon has for its trainer. This stat effects things like:

  • A Pokémon’s ability to learn certain moves
  • The damage a Pokémon can do with attacks like Return and Frustration
  • The eligibility of a Pokémon to be awarded particular ribbons
  • The ability of some Pokémon to evolve

If you’re generally kind to the Pokémon in your party, the Friendship you share with the Pokémon in your party will steadily rise throughout the course of the game without you needing to spend much time worrying about it.

But there are cases in which you might want to raise Friendship as quickly as possible. Some later-game Pokémon require you to level them up with a high Friendship stat (220 or higher) in order to evolve, and you might want to evolve them quickly so you can use them in your main party.

The following table lists every species in Pokémon Platinum that evolves through Friendship. Note that certain species need to be leveled up at a certain time of day.

Friendship-Based Pokémon Evolutions
Starting Form Evolved Form Time of Day To Evolve
Azurill Marill Anytime
Budew Roselia Day
Buneary Lopunny Anytime
Chansey Blissey Anytime
Chingling Chimecho Night
Cleffa Clefairy Anytime
Eevee Espeon Day
Umbreon Night
Golbat Crobat Anytime
Igglybuff Jigglypuff Anytime
Munchlax Snorlax Anytime
Pichu Pikachu Anytime
Riolu Lucario Day
Togepi Togetic Anytime

Checking a Pokémon’s Friendship

The Friendship stat is mostly hidden. However there are a few ways to get hints about how your Pokémon feel about you.

The easiest way to check a Pokémon’s Friendship level is by using the Friendship Checker Pokétch app.

This app will show all the Pokémon in your current party. Tapping and holding a Pokémon’s icon will give you a general Friendship stat, which is indicated by the hearts that rise from the Pokémon.

  • If two small hearts appear above the Pokémon’s head, its Friendship level is at least 200.
  • If two large hearts appear, the Pokémon’s Friendship is maxed out at 255.
Using the Friendship Checker Pokétch app to check Empoleon’s Friendship level / Pokémon Platinum
Using the Friendship Checker Pokétch app to check Empoleon’s Friendship level.

Chris Haygood

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Chris is an American freelance writer and lifelong gamer. RPGs have been his genre of choice ever since he got Pokémon Blue in 1867, but if he finds a good rhythm game, he will prioritize playing it over both eating and breathing.

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