Pokémon-Amie is a new feature that lets you interact with your own Pokémon. It can be accessed at any time from the bottom screen, available as soon as you obtain your first Pokémon. Pokémon-Amie is the only way to build up your Pokémon's affection, an optional statistic that gives tons of benefits in in-game battles, from increased experience gain to the ability to shrug off status ailments.
The three main stats[edit]
There are three special statistics specific to Pokémon-Amie, which can be viewed by pressing the "switch" button. Affection is the main stat that actually has an effect in battles. It reflects how much your Pokémon likes you, and determines the benefits you get in battle. Affection must be raised by either rubbing your Pokémon or giving it Poké Puffs. Affection cannot be lowered and is not related to a Pokémon's friendship.
Fullness is obviously how full your Pokémon is. It is raised by feeding Poké Puffs to the Pokémon and lowered by playing minigames with it or after a set time. If a Pokémon is full enough, it will refuse to eat any more Poké Puffs until its Fullness is lowered again. Enjoyment is how happy your Pokémon is. It can be raised by playing minigames with your Pokémon, and is lowered by rubbing the Pokémon or after a set time.
The main screen[edit]
On the Pokémon-Amie screen, you can select wallpapers and decorations to place around your selected Pokémon. Frequently, there will be Pokémon from your friends, acquaintances and any passersby that will show up on your Pokémon-Amie screen. They will often leave more decorations as well as Poké Puffs for you once they have left. You can also gain decorations by playing with your Pokémon.
Interacting with your Pokémon[edit]
While playing with your Pokémon, you can do quite a few things. The three main methods of interaction is by petting them, feeding them Poké Puffs and playing minigames. Petting Pokémon is quite simple, just use your stylus and rub their bodies to raise their affection. Every Pokémon has a sweetspot where they especially enjoy getting touched, as well as a bad spot which will anger or distress them. The sweetspots are indicated if the rubbing noise becomes higher pitched and the Pokémon looks excited. The bad spots are indicated when the rubbing noise becomes lower pitched and the Pokémon looks angry or sad. Additionally, there are other effects that can occur when touching certain parts of the Pokémon.
- Burn: Hurts you, temporarily causing you to be unable to pet them. Caused by touching hot areas such as Pyroar's mane.
- Shock: Stuns you, temporarily causing you to be unable to pet them. Caused by touching areas that can emit electricity like Pikachu's or Emolga's cheeks.
- Freeze: Freezes you, temporarily causing you to be unable to pet them. Caused by touching cold areas like Amaura's head gem.
- Cut: Wounds you, temporarily causing you to be unable to pet them. Caused by touching sharp areas like the spikes on Ferroseed's body.
- Ghostly: No negative effects, different sound effect when petting. Caused by rubbing certain areas of ethereal Pokémon, such as the entire body of Gengar.
- Gooey: No negative effects, different sound effect when petting and hand moves slower across the screen. Caused by rubbing gooey areas like Ditto's body.
Other than that, you can also poke Pokémon, but doing so too much could anger them. You can also make Pokémon imitate your expressions by making faces at the 3DS's camera or tilting your head. This can initiate a minigame where you must make the same expressions as your Pokémon several times, raising their Affection and Enjoyment if you succeed. However, the 3DS's camera can be unresponsive to your facial changes sometimes, so it is more efficient to raise your Pokémon's affection through other methods.
With your stylus, you can hold your hand out in the air around the Pokémon to attract their attention. For certain Pokémon at a certain level of affection, such as the eeveelutions and Lucario, they will also try to swipe at you with their hands. If you touch their paws with your stylus, you can perform a high five, which will raise their affection. Finally, you can also speak into the microphone to get their attention.