The lengths that Arven will go to in order to save his Mabosstiff, and how excited he gets as his beloved companion gets better.
While Arven isn't the biggest fan of the version mascot and does yell at it to back away from the sandwich that he had made for Mabosstiff, he does realize he went a bit too far and does apologize to both you and the version mascot for yelling.
After obtaining the last Herba Mystica, Arven initially thinks that it wasn't enough, but it all pays off as Arven's Mabosstiff stands up and brings his Poké Ball that rolled down the cave floor to him. Arven falls to his knees as he hugs Mabosstiff, and the player character and Koraidon/Miraidon smile as they watch, showing how happy they are for Arven.
After meeting up with Arven in the lighthouse, he decides to challenge you to a battle to make sure you're both prepared to face the dangers in Area Zero. Before he begins, he points out that his entire team is composed of the Pokémon he had used to help take down the Titans with you, indicating he had kept them around due to his trust in their abilities. The fact they are also all food-based also shows off how much he cares about creating nutritious food. The sole exception to this is his ace, which is predictably Mabosstiff. For a Pokémon that couldn't even open its eyes at the beginning of his story, it's come a long way and seems to want to battle you as a way of thanking the people who nursed him back to health. Even the smug smile he gives here looks awesome despite it being a generic Mabosstiff animation.
Nemona's main reason for wanting you to become a Champion is so she finally has someone she could fight as a true equal, her own rival. Once you do get the rank, she declares that you, the rival, are her treasure.
And it's not like other rivals who either try to one up you at all times or can't catch up. Nemona has shown time and again that she's a lot stronger than she lets on. In fact, she does everything in her power to make sure that you are growing as a trainer, checking up on you and challenging you as you progress. She handicaps herself in order to teach you about the main mechanics of battling. She sees your potential as a trainer, and she wants to see how far you go, knowing at the end of the road is an epic battle waiting ahead.
At the end of Nemona's final fight at the end of the Victory Road path, she almost cries out of excitement at how good the player character has gotten. She's just that proud of your progress.
As you continue to take classes, you can bond with the professors, each leading to some moments:
Professor Hassel is revealed to be from a family of dragon tamers, who want him to abandon his job to become head of the family. The player, however, reminds him of what he's done for his students and convinces him to stay.
Miriam, the school nurse, mentions she tried to become a teacher, but didn't pass her exams, which is why she's just the nurse. As she continues to hear about the player's journey, however, she's encouraged to try again and she actually does pass. Sure, she won't have a class to teach until next school year, but she's just happy to have achieved her goal.
Professor Salvatore winds up finding a wild Pawmi who snuck into the academy to escape from predators. After a while, the player suggests he can take the Pawmi in, and when he asks the Pokémon if he can, the Pawmi, who hasn't spoken all this time, finally vocalises its approval.
Despite his gruff appearance, Professor Saguaro has a bit of a Sweet Tooth that he hides from other students since he doesn't want to ruin their image of them. At the end of the story, though, one student finds out and declares it to be cool, something that greatly pleases him.
Before he brings out his last Pokémon in his Gym battle, Larry muses that he might actually lose this one, and the restaurant owner responds with a rousing cheer for him not to give up and says that the whole crowd is rooting for him. The Gym Trainers and other town citizens then pile into the restaurant and start cheering their heads off for Larry, which actually touches him in his own unique way and has him decide to keep going so as not to disappoint the crowd. It’s super sweet that despite Larry’s stoic attitude and the apparent treatment he gets from Geeta, he’s still as beloved as a Gym Leader by the townspeople as he is the fan base.
During Ryme's Gym Battle, she'll by the power of rap end up summoning several Houndstone... and a Greavard nicknamed "DJ G-rave", which proceeds to adorably dance on top of her sound system.
A book in the academy's library says that when Ryme was a teenager, her beloved "Puppy Pokémon" (which describes several species in Paldea) died, but came back as a ghost Pokémon when she sang to it. Houndstone's Violet Pokédex entry alludes to this by saying it was reborn from a lovingly-mourned Pokémon, meaning one of the Houndstone present during her battle could be her old pet from over forty years ago!
When you obtain your box legendary for use in battle, they start with maxed-out friendship. You've been spending time and bonding with them for your entire journey, after all!
During the Team Star base raids, the grunts will shout several encouraging lines to their Pokémon that they happily call partners. Unlike the other villain teams, these guys genuinely love their Pokémon, foreshadowing their Hero with Bad Publicity reveal.
For all of their faults, Professor Sada/Turo's AI confirms to Arven that its creator genuinely loved him.
In one of their journals (the one where they write excitedly about how they discovered the first Koraidon/Miraidon), they mention that they were "expecting one new life to treasure but what fortune to be blessed with this gift as well". It's clear from the context that the first new life they mentioned was Arven.
Inspect the boards in one of the research buildings and you'll find pictures of Arven as a baby playing with his Maschiff and a picture of Maschiff napping on a dog bed.
When you defeat Poppy, the lass bursts into tears. Why is this in Heartwarming Moments then? She's that upset and sad because she wanted to avenge Rika, who you beat before facing her!
The fact that the Elite Four members stay to watch you battle the rest of them is a small but cute detail that makes them seem much closer than previous Elite Four members were with each other. They proceed to congratulate you and get you ready to fight Geeta, and come out to see you again once you beat her.
During the Schedar Squad infiltration storyline, you and Clive encounter a Charcadet named "Charlos". He rushes into the base and will approach Mela after you defeat her. She will recognize the Pokémon as Charlos who she was pretty close to during her time at school, and it's implied he's the Armarouge that's part of her team in the postgame as her strongest Pokémon.
Team Star all genuinely love each other and consider one another their True Companions, consistently referring to the other members as their "greatest treasure." Through the cutscenes you can really get a sense of how close they are.
Eri, the Fighting-type specialist leader of Team Star, is a really heartwarming character in general. She's a Cool Big Sis who the other leaders look up to, and we're introduced to her as she's guarding the gate of her base — unlike the other Team Star leaders who don't come out until their grunts have been defeated. Eri explicitly says it's because she doesn't want any of her friends to get hurt. There's also a sweet plotline between her and Carmen, one of the grunts, who calls her "Riri"; Carmen reveals that she actually used to bully Eri because she was jealous of Eri's beauty and talent, only to later become the target of bullying herself. Eri took Carmen under her wing and let her join Team Star, leading to the two becoming very close friends.
Blink and you'll miss it, but she keeps all her Pokémon in Heal Balls. This showcases her kindness that she wants Pokémon she caught to be healed as quickly as possible.
Also, the snapshot you get afterwards has Eri and the player character posed in a way that makes it look like she just gave them an affectionate fist-bump or high five. Compare this to some of the other Team Star leaders, like Mela and Ortega, who are more sour that they lost. She may be sad that she let her friends down, but Eri can still appreciate the effort that you put into the fight.
The conclusion of the Team Star story line. The Team Star bosses finally meet their Leader, Penny, for the first time in person, giving her the signature catchphrase to her. They also hold no ill will to having to break the team since they now know she didn't want them being expelled.
Specifically, they say "Hasta la vistar" to Cassiopeia, and then "Hello" to Penny. It shows how happy they are that they finally get to properly meet her.
And Director Clavell, having learned the team's true origins, decides he will not be expelling them anymore. He also gives them a light punishment of having the Team Star bases repurposed into training facilities.
After finishing Starfall Street, you can go to the director's office and get Clavell's last friendship event. He's still concerned about Penny, and asks the player character to keep being friends with her. It's a small but very sweet moment that shows just how much he cares about the students.
When Nemona is about to Terastalize her starter as part of the final battle of Victory Road, she says "Shine blazingly bright, my greatest treasure!" While it can seem that she's just talking about her starter, paying close attention to her words beforehand, Geeta's own insights on Nemona's character, and her issues in the post-game, it's clear that she's calling the player her greatest treasure.
After you beat Hassel in his role as the final member of the Elite Four, he breaks down in full-on Inelegant Blubbering over just how proud he is of you, complete with phonetic transcription, and doesn't calm back down for nearly the entire rest of the cutscene while his colleagues prep you to face Geeta. It's both endearingly goofy and really, really sweet.
During one of Hassel's art classes, he'll also break down in tears after Brassius talks about how he helped him out of his artistic slump. Again, it's a bit silly but also very sweet.
Just as the group is about to jump into Area Zero, Arven picks up on how scared the Legendary appears to be and assumes it's simply scared of heights, leading to a cute cutscene where he, Nemona and Penny all hop aboard its back, affirming that it won't be as scary for it if they all go together (while Penny lampshades how flawed that logic is).
After beating the Titans, Arven makes sandwiches with the Herba Mystica they were guarding. Naturally, your Legendary pops out of its ball and begs for your sandwich. The cute look and almost-whine it gives you to convince you to offer it the sandwich... Anyone who's ever had a pet will know that feeling.
And Arven's such a good guy that even after you give your Legendary your sandwich despite his warning that he can't make you another one because he used all the Herba Mystica, he'll give you half of his if you ask.
Arven giving a pep talk to the player's box legendary before the player enters the lab.
The ending.
Before they leave the Zero Base through the time machine, the AI Professor gives the player and their friends a So Proud of You monologue for their support of and camaraderie with their friends, their dedication to always improving themselves, their willingness to fight for what they love, and their commitment to doing what it takes to discover what matters to them as the camera switches between Penny, Nemona, Arven, and the PC in turn. What really makes this full-on sweet is that the Professor's use of "yourself" and not "yourselves" when Nemona is in view makes it a hundred percent clear that their praise isn't just generalized for the group; they're complimenting each of the kids on their strongest qualities individually. They may have focused and relied on the player to help them in particular, but they do see and are invested in each member of the party as people, and their maternal/paternal pride in what they've been able to pull off together is real.
As the team dejectedly walks away from Area Zero after a hard battle and devastating loss, Nemona suggests to take the long way back so the group can spend more time adventuring together, to which both Penny and the player character agree happily. Your box legendary notices Arven hesitating, smirks, and shoves him forwards to join the rest of them. Keep in mind that Arven had been largely condescending towards the box mascot for the majority of the game.
As everyone is walking away, you can see Arven pat the player character on the shoulder and even pet Koraidon/Miradon a little. He's clearly grateful to be included in the group after everything that just happened.
The final shot of the credits: a photo of you with the box legendary along with Penny, Arven, and Nemona. This is later added to your desk in the post-game, and interacting with it gives this description:
It's the photo of you and your treasuredfriends to remember your journeys by!
Penny's post-game story involves you and her watching over in hiding to see how the Team Star bosses handle in being back to school again. The situation some of them play out in is hilarious, yes, but it also highlights on how much Penny treasures them as she shows worry for them and each scenario ends with Penny being glad that things somewhat works out.
In her scene watching Atticus, he's gone to the school store to buy a novelty ninja cosplay outfit they were selling only to find that they're sold out... because Youssef, the kid who looks up to Atticus, thought ahead and bought two so they could "play ninja" together, which he's thrilled to reveal. It's adorable and plain to see that Youssef adores Atticus like a cool older brother and heartwarming that, despite Penny worrying about him getting picked on for his eccentricities again, Atticus has found someone to share his interests with (even if they're not a serious passion for the kid in the same way).
In the scene with Mela and Eri, Mela wants to join the art club because she's impressed with Atticus making the team uniforms, so she wants to try some arts and crafts herself. It's a small but cute moment that shows how much the Team Star members impacted each other.
A close look in Miriam's office has you realize she has two little Pokémon assistants — a Ralts and a Hatenna, known for their sensitivity to emotions. It's good to know the nurse is looking out for the students' mental health as well.
In your Elite Four interview, you tell Rika who your favorite Gym Leader was. When you win your first Academy Ace Tournament, that Gym Leader will be in the crowd, cheering you on.
Attending Raifort's history class has a picture of a certain Professor Laventon on the board behind her next to a Hisui-era Poké Ball on what's clearly meant to be a timeline, showing that his (and presumably Rei/Akari's) work as the Survey Corps has paid off where they're credited as major contributors to the history of Pokémon.
Clavell's involvement with Operation Starfall. Despite how poorly of a job he does to convince you that he's Clive, not Clavell, he actually opens up about his reasons for being a part of the operation. The members of Team Star have missed so much of school that he will be forced to expel them if he doesn't get them to resume their classes. As he listens to each of the bosses about why Team Star was originally formed, he sympathizes with them and is distraught to learn about how bad the bullying problems were at school.
The Teal Mask
Right off the bat, Kieran does not see Ogerpon as a bad guy, and indeed, spent a long time believing it was Not Evil, Just Misunderstood. He turns out to be correct, as Ogerpon was acting in self-defense when she killed the "Loyal" Three, who turn out to have been Evil All Along.
At one point, Kieran admits that Ogerpon's abode looks kind of cramped and lonely, and blurts out that he always thought there would be plenty of room for her at his house. He sounds exactly like a kid who wants to take home an exotic pet of some sort.
An early sign that she cares about Kieran deep down is that she wants to hide meeting Ogerpon from him because she thought missing a chance to meet the ogre would upset him. It might have ended badly, but Carmine still had good intentions.
When Carmine learns the truth of Ogerpon's story, she's immediately furious at the Loyal Three and declares that she wants to clear Ogerpon's name. This is shown well by the fact that she instantly (and consistently) starts referring to the Loyal Three as the "Lousy" Three.
When Kieran decides to have one last battle with the player, this time with Ogerpon as the prize, she tries to convince him that he should think about Ogerpon’s feelings if he truly cares about the Pokémon. While she's unsuccessful, she's at least trying a softer approach with her brother instead of yelling at him.
When the player retrieves the Hearthflame Mask, the photo shows Carmine patting Ogerpon on the head. It's a small moment, but it shows how she really does sympathize with Ogerpon, and it's just cute to let Ogerpon have another friend along with the player character.
The player character's budding friendship with Kieran, especially since, on Kieran's part at least, there are hints to it being something more. Though it ends up turning into a Tear Jerker when the two start having a falling out.
Just about anything with Ogerpon.
She takes an immediate liking to the player who initially believes her to be a kid attending the festival. Then, once her mask falls off, the player picks it up and holds it out for her to reclaim, not showing any fear of her.
Once Ogerpon's masks have been reclaimed and the villagers are informed about what really happened to Ogerpon, she's returned to the Dreaded Den. When the player says goodbye to her, she turns and runs back to them, having clearly developed a strong bond with the player and not wanting to be alone again.
Carmine's heartfelt goodbye to the player character at the end of the joint field trip, showing how much she warmed up to the player over the course of the plot.
Perrin's sidequest is filled with heartwarming Call Backs to Pokémon Legends: Arceus, but perhaps most notably, is her uttering Adaman's favorite phrase...
Perrin: As we always say in my family: "Time wasted is lost"!
While helping Perrin take photos of Pokémon, you can potentially find multiple Pokémon together such as Volbeat and Illumise, two Seedot, and so on. It helps create the same wholesome tone that Pokémon Snap has, capturing Pokémon living together rather than fighting.
The player helps Perrin reignite her passion for photography simply by having fun snapping photos with her and then taking down the Bloodmoon Ursaluna, which she seems to regard as a cool adventure after the fact.
Even though Kieran had missed his chance to bond with Ogerpon properly, he was using that time to successfully convince the villagers that she had been misblamed. Once the others come back, the villagers apologize for making her out as the villain.
One of the villagers even says how adorable Ogerpon is. Meanwhile, Carmine and Kieran's grandfather admits that his worries were all for nothing, showing that the modern villagers are far more accepting than his family had worried.
With White Striped Basculin being native to Kitakami, Perrin owning a Hisuian Growlithe and stating that there are more around, and the appearance of an Ursaluna with a new form, it appears that the Hisuian regional forms, although not as common as they once were, are still around in the present day which means that the legacy of Hisui is still alive. The Indigo Disk later also reintroduces Hisuian Qwillfishnote who are stated to prefer colder climates and thus thrive in Polar Biome and Kleavornote although you cannot obtain Black Augurite to evolve your Scyther, wild Kleavor can be found in Canyon Biome in an area that has what appear to be Black Augurite crystals, further bolstering the optimistic outlook of the Hisuian species.
The Indigo Disk
If you completed Perrin's sidequest in The Teal Mask she will be waiting just inside the entryway of the Terarium when you first arrive. If you have the Growlithe she gave you in your party (or have evolved it into an Arcanine), she'll praise you for taking good care of it and tell her own Growlithe that it gets to see its brother again.
The dialogue options you have about Kieran. Despite his grudge against you and the negativity he's causing, you can say that you and Kieran are friends in spite of all that. The player character backs up that belief by protecting Kieran from Terapagos when it goes berserk.
Lacey showing the player character around the Terrarium, how the battles work, and how BBQs work. Though it seems like she isn't as cool with them as it initially appears when she initially votes against their joining the Blueberry League in the Cafeteria, it's later revealed that she only did that because she didn't want the player character to get dragged into the drama that has been troubling the club lately. That really is adorable, isn't it?
Carmine displays a protective side towards the player character, once when Kieran ominously declares that he will defeat the player next time they battle and twice in regards to Drayton. She gives the player a warning not to let their guard down around Drayton since he has an untrustworthy air about him, and yells at him directly when she realizes what he's gotten them into.
Carmine's reaction to the player using Ogerpon in her fight is both cute and slightly funny. She happily greets Ogerpon and asks if she missed her, which is a nice reference to how Ogerpon seemed to enjoy Carmine's company when retrieving her masks.
When Terapagos wakes up, it takes an immediate liking to the player and tries to approach him/her before Kieran catches it in a Master Ball and uses it against the player. Terapagos flying into a rage is not implied to be related to any Power Incontinence; it could well have been furious at Kieran stopping it from making a new friend.
Koraidon/Miraidon shielding Kieran from a berserk Legendary Pokémon with its own body, just as Professor Sada/Turo did for them some time ago. Fortunately, nobody dies this time.
The rest of the BB Elite Four and Carmine believe Drayton has ulterior motives for signing the player up for the BB League despite being an exchange student, but he has genuinely good motives: he knows Kieran's new behavior is messing up morale in the League Club. Since Drayton can't beat him, he chooses to recuit someone who can, in the name of restoring things back to the way they were.
After beating Amarys, she states that she wished she could be the one to beat Kieran, since she's friends with Carmine and wanted to help knock some sense into her close friend's younger brother. However, she then says that the player character is strong enough that they have a good chance of beating him instead. It really shows off her softer side.
In a way, Rika's Anger Born of Worry when she tears into you for going into Area Zero without permission. While she doesn't know the player character all that well, it's clear that she cared enough to let you know how upset she was to hear that you went into a dangerous area without permission from the Paldean League.
When the group arrives home, Kieran takes a moment to apologize to the player now that he's decided to make amends with everyone. He asks if they can still be friends, and the player smiles in agreement. The heavy implication is that, in the player character's eyes, they never stopped being friends at all—something backed up by the fact that you never actually get a dialogue choice to deny that Kieran is your friend, the closest being to essentially admit that the situation is "complicated" at the moment.
After the credits roll, the final shot is of two pictures of the player with Carmine and Kieran: one of them at the Festival of Masks, and one of them at Blueberry Academy, now reconciled.
It's this and a Tearjerker, but the encounter with a time displaced Professor Sada/Turo has the box legendary overjoyed to see the professor again. They really did care for the one who sacrificed their life for them.
Something else noteworthy about the cover Legendary coming out of its Poké Ball is that it eagerly starts nuzzling and licking the Professor’s face and the Professor doesn’t appear bothered or tries to stop the Raidon.
A new side story involves the player helping Team Star in a study session, which brings out more love for the group of friends:
Giacomo cheekily remarking Ortega does like the player, he just doesn't act like it.
Mela seems insecure about her future, but the player encourages her to do art.
The group has been keeping the studying a secret from Penny as she already has enough problems to deal with. When she does find out, she's mad that they think they're a burden: they're her friends and can always ask for her help, no matter what.
Special coach conversations:
Katy discussing giving Grusha cupcakes for the sake of it while he has problems comprehending it.
Katy and Kofu mention how Kofu's wallet was a gift from Katy at one point, which explains its cutesy Venonat design. It's sweet that Kofu held onto the present for so long.
Tulip cheering up Iono after she expresses insecurity comparing herself to Tulip, saying that she'd beat up anyone who talked about Iono the way she talks about herself.
While it quickly goes south, Grusha's conversation with Iono has Grusha admitting that Iono's streams used to really cheer him up, likely after his snowboarding accident.
Turns out Miriam knows about Saguaro's sweet tooth and they regularly go out on dessert tours together with the latter in disguise. However, thanks to the player's guidance, he's more comfortable eating out of disguise now.
In Ryme and Tyme's conversation, we learn that Tyme knitted Ryme a sweater because she was worried she'd be cold up on her snowy mountain home. While Ryme isn't fond of it (she doesn't think a beige sweater really fits with her image as the "MC of RIP"), she begrudgingly agrees to wear it off the clock, to which her sister excitedly asks her to send her a picture.
Brassius and Hassel's conversation is quite sweet, with Brassius calling Hassel "dear Hass" and saying he's a good teacher exactly because he gets moved to tears by his students' progress.
In Hassel and Poppy's conversation, Hassel once again breaks down in tears over how Poppy is trying as hard as the adults, despite her young age. It's a bit goofy but also very cute, especially since Poppy immediately offers to hug him to help Hassel calm down.
If Poppy and Geeta are together, Poppy will eagerly tell Geeta that she's drawing a picture of her. Geeta is flattered and asks what size the paper is so she can go get it framed later.
Epilogue: Mochi Mayhem
The entire scene where the player character bonds with Arven, Nemona, and Penny at their house.
When Penny complains about her dad's overprotectiveness, Arven points out to her that her dad just cares a lot about her. Penny, likely recalling Arven's issues with his own parents, agrees with him. Particularly notable is her pause before responding, as she may have realized that her complaints about her father in the face of her orphan friend (again) come off as insensitive, and her delayed response serves as a nonverbal apology.
Nemona immediately hits it off with Kieran and invites him to battle her. When he loses, he's predictably saddened, but Nemona reassures him that he doesn't need to win in order to enjoy himself. His response implies that this is the first time he's heard of that, and it's exactly what he needed to hear. He clearly takes this advice to heart, because when you rematch him in the League Club and beat him, he lets off a big smile.
Kieran was extremely worried about Carmine after Pecharunt controls her, and he and his grandparents both did what they could to take care of her before you and your friends arrived.
Kieran's grandpa states that he wanted to pick up some of Carmine's favorite noodles at Kitakami Hall, hoping that one of her favorite foods would help snap her out of it. This shows how much attention he pays to his grandkids.
After Kieran's grandparents are claimed by Pecharunt, Kieran has a full-on panic attack at the idea of being its next victim. The player character, in contrast to the last time they saw Kieran reacting this way, immediately tries to calm him down.
The fact Kieran ends up being your main ally during the whole event, willingly fighting alongside you and holding off the corrupted people while you battle the brainwashed Nemona and Pecharunt. It really is a joy to see after seeing him being opposed against you for so long, as it shows that you and him have truly become friends.
A small example, but the Nurse at the Pokémon Center — the only Mossui Town resident besides Kieran who doesn't end up brainwashed — concernedly advises you to heal up your Pokémon with her whenever you need to.
Even when being puppeted around by Pecharunt, Nemona loves battling you, having her usual banter while doing so. When you finally snap her out of it, she remembers the whole thing as a "dream" she was having and expressed happiness about it, declaring her desire to have said dream again.
Carmine and Kieran reuniting after Carmine is freed from Pecharunt's control. Carmine warmly notes that seeing Kieran again is like she hasn't seen him in ages, proving that she truly does love her brother.
The ending. Seeing all of your friends together and happy is just too beautiful for words.
In the last conversation, Penny mentions that she had fun at the Festival of Masks and even bought an Eevee mask.
New League Club Conversations:
After Kieran returns to school, he has a conversation with Amarys where he tries to apologize for his behavior in The Indigo Disk. Amarys replies that he didn't need to apologize, indicating that she's just glad he finally got better, and encourages him to keep going, which Kieran clearly appreciates.
Lacey is also treating Kieran kindly, and she's than happy to help him catch up with work.
Lacey finding Penny's Sylveon to be cute, and Penny agrees to show off her team.
Gameplay
If you happen to start a wild battle or face a trainer in an area where lots of other Wild Pokémon are hanging out, there's a good chance they'll come and stand next to you to watch the fight going on in a genuinely adorable sight. If you’re facing off against a particularly strong opponent, it's almost like they’re giving moral support, especially if they're not aggressive in the overworld. However, even Tauros, which will single you out the moment the battle ends, is willing to stay put for just a moment, as if your opponent's someone the both of you need to deal with first.
Being able to encounter wild Pokémon in the overworld while they're just going about their lives. Try not being transfixed into observing a group (flock/herd/pack) of wild Pokémon as they eat, sleep, and play around.
Almost every time you defeat another Trainer's Pokémon, they will call it back in its Poké Ball and thank it for its efforts.
Having your Pokémon walking with you outside of its Pokéball. A few require you to walk with them for 1,000 steps and have them level up to successfully evolve. However, if you really wanted to, you can just have them out and talk to them for the fun of it. If your friendship with it is high, it will be so happy that it will run circles around you.
Once wild Vaporeon stop trying to flee, their shying-away behavior is adorable.
Mandibuzz's behavior in the Terrarium. Sometimes, you can find a Vullaby sitting in a nest and a Mandibuzz will be near it. If the Mandibuzz sees you, it will go all Mama Bear on you and attack you to protect its presumed young from harm.
Pokédex
Clodsire's Violet entry shows how caring the Pokémon can be.
[Clodsire] lives at the bottom of ponds and swamps. It will carry Wooper on its back and ferry them across water from one shore to the other.
Mabosstiff's Violet entry described the species as a Gentle Giant who loved playing with kids and also fairly protective of those it considers its own family. This brings another layer to why Arven wanted to save his Mabosstiff so much.
Mabosstiff loves playing with children. Though usually gentle, it takes on an intimidating look when protecting its family.
Another layer onto this is that the other non-hidden ability they can get is called Guard Dog, which Boosts Attack if intimidated, and prevents being forced to switch out.
Hydreigon's Violet entry, as tragic as it is, reinforces that the species is not as innately vicious and destructive as people claim it is. Their sweet behavior when playing with them is what they're like when they can finally let their guard down; they're downright overjoyed to be with trainers who look past the stereotypes that brought them to their breaking point.
It's said that Hydreigon grew ferocious because people in times long past loathed it, considering it to be evil incarnate and attacking it relentlessly.
Despite it unwittingly sucking out the life force of humans who it's near for too long, Greavard is still an incredibly loyal puppy that just wants to befriend and play with any trainer it encounters forever. If you catch one and level it up, you can grant its wish by having it evolve into Houndstone, who is described as being eternally loyal to its trainer and is no longer encumbered by its problem of draining others' life force.
The "cover art" image◊ for Blissey's entry shows one sitting with a Chansey and Happiny on a sunny day. It's a fitting image for a family line that's characterised as caring for others.
Many of Maushold's animations are absolutely adorable. The smaller individuals hold their 'parents' tails when they walk, and the larger individuals let the 'children' move in front of them (as they are normally always hiding behind them) to eat first when fed sandwiches.
Most of the Paradox Pokémon are described as vicious, but then Iron Thorns subverts it. It takes the normally violent Tyranitar and instead of making it more violent, makes it almost pacifist, only fighting if there is no choice. Indeed, it is the only Paradox Pokémon to not immediately attack the player if it confirms they are there.
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