Affection – Sun and Moon
Affection, distinct from happiness, is a value in Pokemon Sun and Moon with a lot of practical benefits. Pokemon with higher affection not only love you, but they perform better in battle. They can benefit from increased evasion, increased critical hit ratio, and can sometimes spontaneously heal themselves of status ailments like Sleep and Poison. Affectionate Pokemon can survive a fatal blow with 1 HP remaining, just because they don’t want to see you sad, and will receive boosted EXP at the end of a battle.
So how do you raise affection? The easiest way is to head into Pokemon Refresh, this generation’s version of Pokemon-Amie. Pet and feed your Pokemon beans until they spew hearts, a telltale sign that they’re starting to like you. Once the Pokemon starts jumping with sparkles, you’ve ranked up one of five affection ranks. You can check on these ranks by heading into the “switch Pokemon” screen of Refresh, where you’ll see your friend’s hunger, enjoyment, and affection levels. It may take multiple petting and feeding sessions to reach level five, which requires 250 spewed hearts.
At the end of the battle, if your companion suffered some wear and tear, you’ll be prompted on the lower screen to head into Refresh. Select this, and you’ll be able to clean up any dirt or stray hairs resulting from battle. This bit of care will also make your Pokemon more affectionate.
Side note: This stat is also useful if you’re looking to nab a Sylveon. Eevee evolves into Sylveon once it has at least two affection hearts upon leveling up.
That’s all there is to raising affection. For more tips, tricks, and walkthroughs, check out our Ultimate Guide to Sun and Moon filled with everything you need to know.
