Buneary evolves into Lopunny when you raise its friendship stat to the required threshold and then level it up at least once. Unlike most Pokémon that evolve at a specific level, Buneary's evolution depends entirely on friendship—a hidden stat that increases as you spend time with the Pokémon in your party.
Quick answer: Increase Buneary's friendship by keeping it in your party, battling with it, giving it stat-boosting items (Protein, Iron, HP Up), sharing café drinks, or feeding it berries. Once friendship is high enough, level it up once to evolve it into Lopunny.
Why Buneary is harder to evolve than most friendship Pokémon
Buneary starts with a base friendship of 0, the lowest of any Pokémon in Legends: Z-A. Most Pokémon begin at 40 or higher, so Buneary requires significantly more effort before it will evolve. This low starting friendship means you'll need to invest more time in raising it compared to other friendship-based evolutions like Riolu or Cleffa.
Methods to increase Buneary's friendship
Friendship grows gradually through several in-game activities. The most effective methods include:
Keep Buneary in your active party. Simply having Buneary in your party as you explore Lumiose City and complete missions increases friendship over time. Avoid letting it faint during battles, as fainting reduces friendship.
Battle with Buneary and earn experience points. Each time Buneary gains experience—whether by defeating wild Pokémon, participating in trainer battles, or using EXP Candies—its friendship increases. Hand-leveling Buneary (letting it participate directly in battles) is more effective than passive experience gain.
Give Buneary stat-boosting vitamins. Items like Protein, Iron, Calcium, Carbos, HP Up, and Zinc each raise friendship when used on Buneary. These items also improve its stats, making them a practical choice if you plan to use Lopunny in battle. Some players report that giving Buneary 10 of each vitamin (HP Up, Protein, Iron, Carbos, Calcium) and Zinc until the game indicates "no effect" can max out friendship quickly, though this method is expensive.
Share drinks at cafés. Taking Buneary to cafés throughout Lumiose City and ordering beverages (coffee or tea) significantly boosts friendship. The cheapest option costs 500 Pokédollars per drink. Most players find that 3–5 café visits are enough to max friendship when combined with other methods, though Buneary's low starting friendship may require more visits than other Pokémon. Some players report needing 20 or more café drinks if relying solely on this method.
Feed Buneary berries. Certain berries increase friendship when given to Buneary. Friendship berries are particularly effective—some players report that 5–6 friendship berries after a few café drinks triggered evolution. Avoid feeding berries that Buneary dislikes, as these can reduce friendship.
Sit with Buneary on benches. Resting on benches with Buneary in your party increases friendship. This passive method works well when combined with other activities.
Equip the Soothe Bell. The Soothe Bell is a held item that increases the rate at which friendship grows. Give Buneary the Soothe Bell and keep it equipped while using the methods above to speed up the process. You can obtain the Soothe Bell by completing Side Mission 36: Some Friendly Competition, which becomes available after finishing Main Mission 14. The mission is located at Café Rouleau, between Wild Area 9 and Wild Area 10 on the west side of Lumiose City. Defeat the trainer Chou to receive the Soothe Bell as a reward.
Check Buneary's friendship level
You can verify Buneary's friendship progress by visiting the Friendship Checker NPC at Café Pokémon-Amie. This NPC becomes available after you complete Side Mission 25: Troublesome Patrons. The Friendship Checker is a woman sitting at a table with a Roselia. She will tell you how high your friendship is with any Pokémon in your party or storage boxes.
When the Friendship Checker confirms that Buneary's friendship is high (she may say it is "super friendly" or similar), level Buneary up once. If friendship is sufficient, an arrow icon will appear next to Buneary's name in your party menu after the level-up, indicating it is ready to evolve. Select Buneary and confirm the evolution.
Troubleshooting: Buneary won't evolve despite high friendship
Some players report that Buneary does not evolve even after maxing friendship and leveling up multiple times. If this happens, try the following:
Give Buneary additional friendship berries. Even if the Friendship Checker says friendship is maxed, feeding 5–6 friendship berries and then leveling up has resolved the issue for some players.
Use EXP Candies or vitamins. Some players found that using EXP Candies or stat-boosting items triggered evolution when other methods did not work. High-level Alpha Buneary may evolve without additional leveling if given enough vitamins.
Remove held items and reset. Take Buneary out of your party, place it in a storage box, save the game, and close the software completely. Restart the game, retrieve Buneary from the box, and level it up without any held item equipped.
Ensure Buneary is not holding an Everstone. The Everstone prevents evolution. Check Buneary's held item and remove it if present.
Level up during the correct time of day. Some friendship evolutions (like Riolu) require leveling up during daytime. While Buneary does not have a confirmed time restriction in Legends: Z-A, if other methods fail, try leveling it up during in-game daytime hours.
If none of these steps work, the issue may be a bug. Some players experiencing this problem have reported it on community forums, and it may require a game update to fix.
Where to find Buneary
Buneary appears in the Bleu, Magenta, and Vert Districts of Lumiose City. For a more reliable spawn, travel to Wild Area 6, where Buneary can be found consistently. Catching a low-level Buneary makes it easier to level up and evolve quickly, though Alpha Buneary (which are higher level) may evolve faster if given enough vitamins and café drinks without requiring additional leveling.
Once Buneary evolves into Lopunny, you can use it as a Normal-type Pokémon or pursue its Mega Evolution form, Mega Lopunny, which gains additional stats and the Fighting type. Lopunny is a versatile choice for teams in Legends: Z-A, and its Mega Evolution makes it a strong option for late-game battles.