Pokémon Gold Version, Silver Version, and Crystal Version - Friendship
There is a special value called "friendship" that determines how friendly a certain Pokémon is toward the player.
To get an idea of friendship, talk to the lady in east-central Goldenrod City and she’ll check the first Pokémon in the party. What she says will determine the approximate friendship of that Pokémon.
| Value | What did the lady say? | Notes |
| 250 to 255 | It looks really happy! It must love you a lot. | |
| 200 to 249 | I get the feeling that it really trusts you. | Some Pokémon will evolve the next time they gain a level and their friendship is 220 or more (after the battle ends, if any, and after adding friendship gain because of leveling up). |
| 150 to 199 | It’s friendly toward you. It looks sort of happy. | You can get Return at this stage or higher. |
| 100 to 149 | It’s quite cute. | |
| 50 to 99 | You should treat it better. It’s not used to you. | |
| 0 to 49 | It doesn’t seem to like you at all. It looks mean. | You can get Frustration only at this stage. |
Pokémon caught with the Friend Ball start with a friendship of 200; other Pokémon start with their base friendship (in Pokémon Gold Version, Pokémon Silver Version, and Pokémon Crystal Version, the base friendship is always 70). A Pokémon hatched from an Egg starts with a friendship of 120. Friendship ranges from 0 through 255. Here are the ways to raise or lower friendship.
| Method | Friendship 0-99 | 100-199 | 200-255 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level Up** | +5 | +3 | +2 |
| X Attack, X Defend, X Speed, X Special | +1 | +1 | +0 |
| Protein, Iron, Calcium, Carbos, HP Up, PP Up | +5 | +3 | +2 |
| Haircut (Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday) | +1,3,5* | +1,3,5* | +1,1,2* |
| Haircut (Sunday, Wednesday, Friday) | +1,3,10* | +1,3,10* | +1,1,4* |
| Daisy’s Fur Grooming (in Pallet Town; 3:00 PM hour only) | +3 | +1 | |
| Begin a battle against a Gym Leader, Elite Four, Lance or Red with the Pokémon in party (even if it doesn’t participate or the battle ended in defeat) | +3 | +1 | |
| Every 512 steps, if the Pokémon is in party | +1 | ||
| Heal Powder, EnergyPowder | -5 | -5 | -10 |
| Energy Root | -10 | -10 | -15 |
| Revival Herb | -15 | -15 | -20 |
| Pokémon faints | -1 | -1 | -1 |
| Pokémon faints outside of battle because of poison | -5 | -5 | -5 |
| Trade, or put in a Stadium PC | Returns to base friendship | ||
*60%, 30%, and 10% chance, respectively.
**In Pokémon Crystal Version, friendship gain is doubled if the Pokémon levels up at the place at which it first appeared in the game. To find out where, visit the Pokémon Seer in Cianwood City.