Greenlit: The Power of Friendship, but in the games

[Soaring Sid]

The Power of Friendship is not exclusive to Pokemon. Observed across various franchises, including One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh!, this phenomenon is associated with an abnormal increment in the subject's abilities.
Cool stuff like this was missing from the games, but with the introduction of Pokémon Refresh in the Gen VI games, we can now experience the power of friendship. Most of this is about 'Affection', 'Refresh' and its benefits in the games.

I will begin with an example of how friendship goes beyond conventions with Ash-Greninja. Without stretching this, I will come back to the mechanisms of Pokémon refresh. It is known that Pokemon with higher friendship are buffed up now, to the extent that they manage to avoid sure hits like Aerial Ace and survive OHKOs, without any opposing ability/item. These are just a couple of examples of friendship. Yet, we have a disadvantage as well! The use of this feature does allow benefits in battle, but it is not perfect. The games can become relatively easy with these benefits. This can reduce the enjoyment the game can provide for many players.
I will also include how this is like a Nintendogs reboot. It creates an aura of taking care of something beloved and increases the games' interactivity.

What do you feel about this idea?

 

[bobandbill]

Cool stuff like this was missing from the games, but with the introduction of Pokémon Refresh in the Alola games, we can now experience the power of friendship. Most of this is about 'Affection', 'Refresh' and its benefits in the games.

I think gen 6 had it first with Amie, and affection helping Pokemon dodge attacks, etc.

I think an article on this topic would be neat to recap and explore. Curious to see how you'll compare it to other franchises.

 

[Giliforge]

I think it's not that good on it's own, but it would be pretty funny if the villans would counter it with a "power of hate" that was equally as strong

 

[gimmepie]

I think, since Ash-Greninja mechanically has nothing to do with affection (that's just the lore) I'd skip it and focus on the more mechanically oriented features of Amie and Refresh. Might also be worth mentioning what we know of curry and using that for some informed speculation?

 

[Soaring Sid]

Sorry for the delay, I was facing Internet issues.

I think gen 6 had it first with Amie, and affection helping Pokemon dodge attacks, etc.

I think an article on this topic would be neat to recap and explore. Curious to see how you'll compare it to other franchises.

Yeah, it was in Amie. In the previous generations, friendship was important for evolving certain species of Pokemon and for teaching some moves like Draco Meteor. Edit made in the proposal.

I think it's not that good on it's own, but it would be pretty funny if the villans would counter it with a "power of hate" that was equally as strong

I don't know about the power of hate, but I'm sure that villains like Cyrus, Maxie and Archie had Crobat, which evolves with friendship.

I think, since Ash-Greninja mechanically has nothing to do with affection (that's just the lore) I'd skip it and focus on the more mechanically oriented features of Amie and Refresh. Might also be worth mentioning what we know of curry and using that for some informed speculation?

No, Ash-Greninja is just like a symbol of friendship. I'll not include it in the mechanism. And yeah, about curry! By eating Curry with your Pokemon, your friendship level with your Pokemon may increase. Some Pokemon evolve due to their friendship level, so this may come in handy. I will include this one. There are many varieties of curry, so each one might have a different effect.

 

[bobandbill]

I think it's not that good on it's own, but it would be pretty funny if the villans would counter it with a "power of hate" that was equally as strong

I don't know about the power of hate, but I'm sure that villains like Cyrus, Maxie and Archie had Crobat, which evolves with friendship.

That's a good point. There's also the GSC/HGSS Rival whos Golbat will eventually evolve into Crobat as he learns about friendship and etc. Character growth!

But also! We totally have a "power of hate", in a sense, with Shadow Pokemon! They have the "door to their heart closed" in Colosseum and XD, and they are unable to level up until you purify them, via friendship-like stuff (battling, walking about, massaging them...). And I suppose in GO they can level up but at a greater cost than usual, and they have a crappy move until they are purified. Worth mentioning, imo

I think, since Ash-Greninja mechanically has nothing to do with affection (that's just the lore) I'd skip it and focus on the more mechanically oriented features of Amie and Refresh. Might also be worth mentioning what we know of curry and using that for some informed speculation?

No, Ash-Greninja is just like a symbol of friendship. I'll not include it in the mechanism. And yeah, about curry! By eating Curry with your Pokemon, your friendship level with your Pokemon may increase. Some Pokemon evolve due to their friendship level, so this may come in handy. I will include this one. There are many varieties of curry, so each one might have a different effect.

Speculative, but from the screenshots here, we have Spicy, Sour, Dry, Bitter, and Sweet flavours (also 'seasoned', maybe a catch-all?). Like Poffins or whatnot before, it may mean there's types of curry that appeal more to Pokemon depending on their Nature. So there's some informed speculation.

 

[Amras Anárion]

The Power of Friendship is not exclusive to Pokemon. Observed across various franchises, including One Piece and Yu-Gi-Oh!, this phenomenon is associated with an abnormal increment in the subject's abilities.
(...)
Yeah, it was in Amie. In the previous generations, friendship was important for evolving certain species of Pokemon and for teaching some moves like Draco Meteor. Edit made in the proposal.

To be fair, friendship had a negligible influence in official video games before 6th Gen. We are very far from what we see in the Anime, especially that friendship is the first criterion for Pokémon's obedience.
The biggest flaw was that friendship could practically only increase, no attention was needed and training errors were hardly penalized (Fainted? only 1 point lost, automatically recovered after 256 steps). After a few hours of play, your whole team automatically had maximum friendship.

It is known that Pokemon with higher friendship are buffed up now, to the extent that they manage to avoid sure hits like Aerial Ace and survive OHKOs, without any opposing ability/item. These are just a couple of examples of friendship. Yet, we have a disadvantage as well! The use of this feature does allow benefits in battle, but it is not perfect. The games can become relatively easy with these benefits. This can reduce the enjoyment the game can provide for many players.

Then came the Pokémon-Amie in Kalos (then the Refresh for Alola). Affection (separated from friendship, pity but necessary because of the automatic and passive rise of this value) finally allowed to enjoy bonuses reflecting the link between the trainer and his Pokémon ... except that on the balancing of the game, it was awkward. As you pointed out Soaring Sid, it makes the game significantly easier.

At maximum affection, bonus are :
• +20% XP gain (2 hearts)
• 20 % chance of surviving with 1 HP, can activate endlessly, even when there is only one HP left (3 hearts)
• 20 (or 25?)% Chance each turn to heal a status, including on "turn 0", before it can even take effect (4 hearts)
• 20 % chance of dodging, including against moves that theoretically never miss, can activate endlessly (4 hearts)
• Critical rate doubled (+6,25% chance for mostly moves) (5 hearts)

The thing that jumps out is that it adds a lot of haxx (many "saving throws" - about 1 in 3 chance for each fatal blow), and only the player can take advantage of these bonuses. No NPC's Pokémon shows affection.

The idea of affection bonuses is not bad: it's always nice to see hopping animations, hearts appearing in combat after a fighting prowess, or quotes showing your Pokémon's admiration for you (without counting the mini-games of the Pokémon-Amie / Refresh / Camping which are a nice bonus and not mandatory to finish the game - those who don't like it may well ignore these features).
There is enormous potential. It's just awkwardly implemented.

I find it sad that no significantly advanced fangame has harnessed this potential.
That why I have planned a complete overhaul of friendship in my fangame (already coded and functional).
One day I would have to try to code it for Essentials. (I'm not on Essentials, but I wish I could share it with you.)
If my concept interests you, I can share with you the PDFs I wrote.

But also! We totally have a "power of hate", in a sense, with Shadow Pokemon!

In my game, this is reflected into an increase in the critical rate (+5 to +30%). The increase is more noticeable if the Pokémon is shadow (up to +50%).
I also try to add a small increase in speed (from 2+ to + 10%) to balance against the power of friendship. It's not huge, but when speed is crucial for sweeping in strategy , it can make all the difference.

 

[Soaring Sid]

At maximum affection, bonus are :
• +20% XP gain (2 hearts)
• 20 % chance of surviving with 1 HP, can activate endlessly, even when there is only one HP left (3 hearts)
• 20 (or 25?)% Chance each turn to heal a status, including on "turn 0", before it can even take effect (4 hearts)
• 20 % chance of dodging, including against moves that theoretically never miss, can activate endlessly (4 hearts)
• Critical rate doubled (+6,25% chance for mostly moves) (5 hearts)

Thanks for the details and info! But this article was done the last November. Will keep this in mind, though. All the best with Sacred Phoenix!