Pokémon Frienda (Arcade)

Titles	Pokémon Frienda ポケモンフレンダ (Pokémon Furenda) Logo: Pokémon FRIENDA
Platform	Arcade: a dedicated two-station cabinet, plus a Pokémon Center Version · companion app Frienda Circle (iOS, Android)
Developers	Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (Picks and promotion) ·Marvelous(game system and cabinet)
Publisher	Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous (joint operation), produced with The Pokémon Company
Players	1–2 (neighbouring stations can link up for tag play)
Genre	Kids’ arcade battle and collecting game
Business model	Pay per play: ¥100 a session plus ¥100 for each Pokémon caught, capped at ¥600 a session; Trainer Pick ¥200
Sets	12 by October 2026: Sets 1–5, Best Tag sets 1–5 and Ex Treasure sets 1–2
Frienda Picks	70 numbered Picks per set, more than 800 in all, in Grades 2–5, plus Wonder, Legacy, Parallel Art and colour-variant Picks
Session length	About 8–10 minutes
Released	11 July 2024 (Japan)
Status	Running in Japan; the current set is Ex Treasure set 2 (October 2026)
Predecessor	Pokémon Mezastar (2020–2024)
Successor	None (still running)
Plays	200 million (21 February 2026, after 591 days) · 100 million (9 April 2025, after 273 days)

Overview · Quick Answers · Frienda Picks & Sets · Story · Gameplay · Characters · Trainer Battles · Pokémon · Updates · Regional Variations · Trivia · Legacy · Popularity & Reception

Overview

Pokémon Frienda is a Japanese kids’ arcade machine in which players battle wild Pokémon, catch them and take each capture home as a Frienda Pick, a small plastic tile that drops out of the cabinet. It was made by Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous with The Pokémon Company, announced on 15 April 2024 and switched on in game centres across Japan on 11 July 2024, taking over from Pokémon Mezastar. It is the fifth collectable-based Pokémon arcade series from the same partnership, after Pokémon Battrio, Pokémon Tretta, Pokémon Ga-Olé and Mezastar.

The name sums up how it plays: it blends the Japanese words fureru (to touch) and renda (rapid button-pressing) with the English word friend. A session starts with a ¥100 coin. Up to three Picks go into the control panel, and three-turn battles against wild Pokémon are fought by swiping on a touch panel and hammering two big buttons to power up attacks. Each weakened Pokémon can be caught for another ¥100 and drops out as a new Pick, up to a limit of ¥600 a session, while the stars earned in battle lead the way to treasure doors hiding the rarer Grade 4 and Grade 5 Pokémon.

New sets arrive roughly every ten weeks, each with 70 numbered Picks, and they have brought the main series’ battle gimmicks with them: Terastallization and Z-Moves from launch, Mega Evolution and Tag Moves in 2025 and Dynamax in July 2026. Frienda is the first Pokémon arcade machine with a touch panel, and it was designed for children of about four to eight, with a second station alongside so that a parent can play too.

It has been a big hit. Plays passed 100 million in 273 days, against 451 days for Mezastar, and 200 million after 591 days, the quickest of any Pokémon kids’ arcade machine. As of October 2026 it runs only in Japan, where the current set is Ex Treasure set 2, while arcades elsewhere in Asia have moved from Ga-Olé to an international version of Mezastar since 2025.

Quick Answers

The questions people ask most about Pokémon Frienda, answered first and explained further down the page.

Can you play Pokémon Frienda outside Japan?

Not as of October 2026. Frienda runs only in Japan: in arcades and game centres, at the official Frienda Camp play parks and, in its Pokémon Center Version, at Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores. Arcades elsewhere in Asia have an international version of its predecessor, Pokémon Mezastar, which began arriving there in 2025. More →

How much does Pokémon Frienda cost to play?

A session costs ¥100 to start, and every Pokémon you catch costs another ¥100 and comes out of the machine as a Frienda Pick. Spending stops at ¥600 a session. A Trainer Pick to save your progress costs ¥200, and Picks you already own can be set into the machine again in later sessions at no extra cost. More →

What is a Frienda Pick and how does the machine read it?

It is a small, rounded plastic tile, 38.9 × 62.9 × 4.2 mm, with one Pokémon on the front and its types, stats, Speed Level and move on the back. The back also carries a QR code, which the cabinet reads when the Pick is set into one of the three blue recesses on its control panel. More →

Can I use my Pokémon Mezastar tags in Frienda?

Only in a limited way. During Set 1, Mezastar tags with a Meteor Mark from the final Gorgeous Star set could be scanned to call in Support Pokémon, though they could not join the battle team. Holders of a Mezastar Memory tag also got avatar items and could buy a Terastallizing Lucario Pick for ¥100 while stocks lasted. More →

How many Pokémon are in Pokémon Frienda?

Each set brings 70 numbered Frienda Picks, ten of them Grade 5 Super Treasure Pokémon, plus limited Wonder, Legacy and Parallel Art Picks. With twelve sets out by October 2026 there are more than 800 numbered Picks, covering every generation from Kanto to Paldea. More →

Does Pokémon Frienda use Terastallization, Mega Evolution and Dynamax?

Yes. Terastallization and Z-Moves have been there since launch, Mega Evolution arrived in May 2025, two-Pokémon Tag Moves in July 2025 and Dynamax in July 2026. Each can be used once a session through a touch or rhythm mini-game, and linked toys such as the Tera Orb, Mega Ring and Dynamax Band improve the odds. More →

Does Pokémon Frienda connect to Pokémon HOME or the Switch games?

No. Frienda has no link to Pokémon HOME or to the main-series games. Its own online service, Frienda Circle, reads the QR code on a player’s Trainer Pick to show their records, hand out digital Support Pokémon Tickets and unlock avatar outfits, and it is available as an app for iOS and Android. More →

Which set of Pokémon Frienda is current?

Ex Treasure set 2, the second set of the third series, which has been running since September 2026 with Arceus, Dialga and Palkia at its head. The Ex Treasure series began on 9 July 2026, after five original sets (2024–25) and five Best Tag sets (2025–26). More →

Frienda Picks and the sets

Frienda Picks are the heart of the game. Every Pokémon a player catches drops out of the cabinet as a small plastic tile that can be brought back and set into the machine in later sessions, and Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. designs them so that getting one feels like catching the Pokémon itself. The line-up changes roughly every ten weeks, when a new set brings 70 numbered Picks and usually a new mechanic or two. Three series have run so far: the five original sets, five Best Tag sets and, since July 2026, Ex Treasure.

• 12sets by October 2026
• 70numbered Picks in every set
• 800+numbered Picks in all
• 4Grades, from 2 to 5

What a Frienda Pick is

What a Pick showsEach Pick, 38.9 × 62.9 × 4.2 mm, holds a single Pokémon. Its artwork and Poké Ene power value are on the front; the back lists its types, HP, Attack, Defense, Sp. Atk and Sp. Def, a Speed Level shown as one to five arrows and, on most Picks, one move. A Poké Ball emblem sits in one corner, and one long edge is tapered so that Picks filed on their side can still be told apart.

How the machine reads themA QR code on the back is read when the Pick is set into one of the three blue recesses on the control panel, while Trainer Picks, Support Pokémon Tickets and toys such as the Tera Orb go on a separate Multi-Scanner. Each Pokémon caught for ¥100 comes out of the cabinet’s dispenser as a brand-new Pick, ready for the next visit.

Collection numbersEvery Pick is numbered series-set-card: 1-1-026 is card 26 of the first set of the original series, and 2-4-026 the same slot in Best Tag set 4. Event Picks are marked W for Wonder or L for Legacy, Parallel Art Picks add an A, and colour variants carry a star.

Grades

Picks come in four Grades, from 2 to 5, and the colour of a Pick shows its Grade at a glance. Each set’s 70 numbered Picks break down into about 45 Grade 2 and 3 Pokémon, 15 Grade 4 and 10 Grade 5:

Grade	Mark	Known as	Look
Grade 2		–	Light grey with red sections, echoing the Poké Ball
Grade 3		–	Light grey with blue sections, echoing the Great Ball
Grade 4		Treasure Pokémon	Metallic blue with foil landscapes and Ultra Ball colours
Grade 5		Super Treasure Pokémon	Translucent purple with a lamé finish inspired by the Master Ball

Special Picks, Trainer Picks and tickets

Wonder and Legacy PicksWonder Picks are limited Grade 5 Pokémon added part-way through a set for events: Halloween Gengar, Mimikyu and Ceruledge, Black Rayquaza, the Eeveelutions and the Mega-capable Kanto starters among them. Since Best Tag set 1, gold-finished Legacy Picks have brought back Super Treasure Pokémon from earlier sets, such as Koraidon, Miraidon and Ogerpon, for players who missed them first time round.

Parallel Art and colour variantsParallel Art Picks, marked with an A, arrived in Best Tag set 3 with alternative illustrations; in later sets their artwork joins up into larger scenes, and Best Tag set 5’s took their inspiration from the anime. Best Tag set 4 then added colour-variant Picks: Pokémon in alternate colours, with a sparkle beside the name.

Ex Treasure PicksThe Ex Treasure series brought metallic green Picks with an XT mark in July 2026. Battling with one while using a Trainer Pick fills an EX gauge, and when the gauge is full the Pokémon powers up into an Ex Treasure Pokémon, with more Poké Ene, more attack power and moves that never miss. The official site is careful to point out that this is not evolution.

Trainer Picks and Support TicketsThe red Trainer Pick (¥200) is the save item: it stores a player’s progress for 200 sessions and links to the Frienda Circle app. Paper Support Pokémon Tickets, each valid for a set period, have come free with magazines such as CoroCoro Comic, CoroCoro Ichiban!, Televi-Kun and Pokémon Fan, at Frienda Camp play parks and at events.

Promotional PicksPicks have also been given away well beyond the arcade: with McDonald’s Happy Meals in 2024 and 2025, through 7-Eleven and FamilyMart purchase campaigns, in issues of CoroCoro and Pokémon Fan, at Pokémon Stamp Rallies and in the Frienda Folder Set DX binders. Linked toys such as the Tera Orb, Mega Ring and Dynamax Band come with Picks of their own, and store events such as Challenge the Captain! have had promotional Picks as prizes.

The sets

Twelve sets had appeared by October 2026, in three series, each with a new headline line-up of Grade 5 Pokémon:

The original sets laid down the catching, Terastal and Z-Move systems, then added Trainer Battles in Set 4 and Mega Evolution during Set 5. Best Tag, which began on the first anniversary, was built around Tag Moves, in which two Pokémon attack together, and brought in Legacy and Parallel Art Picks. Ex Treasure, which began on the second anniversary, added Dynamax and the Ex Treasure Picks.

Story

Frienda has a light framing story rather than a plot. The player joins the Frienders, an exploration team led by the goggle-wearing Captain, who greets every visitor at the team’s base. Members sign in with a Trainer Pick, while anyone else can join for the day as a guest by pressing a palm against the screen.

From the base the Frienders set out for volcanoes, savannas, caves and, in later sets, a river valley, battling and catching wild Pokémon along the way and following a trail of doors in search of treasure: the rare Treasure and Super Treasure Pokémon waiting behind the Silver and Golden Doors. A Partner Pokémon grows up with the player, evolving as stars are earned, rival trainers challenge the team mid-expedition, and a senior trainer sometimes offers a trade.

The seasons and the anime reshape the adventure. Halloween parties fill the areas with pumpkin sweets and spooky Wonder Picks, and a crossover with Pokémon Horizons: The Series brought Lucius’s Six Heroes into the game as special opponents, followed by Friede and, later, the Explorers.

Gameplay

A session of Battle and Catch!, the main mode, lasts about eight to ten minutes and runs like this:

1. Sign in: put in ¥100, then scan a Trainer Pick, buy one for ¥200 or play as a guest.
2. Pick an area: choose one of three areas to explore and set up to three Frienda Picks as your team.
3. Battle: fight three turns against three wild Pokémon, swiping and mashing the buttons to power up each attack.
4. Catch: pay ¥100 to throw a ball at a weakened Pokémon; every catch drops out of the machine as a Pick.
5. Open a door: the stars from the battle carry you along Exploration Road to a door, and a rarer Pokémon behind it waits to be befriended or fought.
6. Bonus catches: spend whatever is left of the ¥600 limit on Quick Balls for Pokémon hiding in the grass.

The cabinet

What a session costs

Frienda charges by the coin, and the money goes on new catches: Picks you already own can be set into the machine again in any later session. The prices:

Battle and Catch!

Starting a sessionAfter the first coin, the Captain welcomes the player to the Frienders’ base. A Trainer Pick loads a saved game, a new one can be bought for ¥200, or a guest can press a palm on the touch screen and play without one. Next comes the choice between Battle and Catch! and the shorter Catch now! mode. In Battle and Catch!, a wheel offers three areas to explore, each previewing two high-Grade Pokémon that might appear, and a cutscene then reveals the three wild opponents: two lower-Grade Pokémon and a stronger one. Up to three Picks are set into the panel, and any empty slots are filled with rental Pokémon.

Battles and rendaBattles normally last three turns. A Pokémon is primed by swiping it upwards, and icons show whether its move will be super effective. A coloured divider shows which side attacks first, and a First Attack Chance! lets players mash the buttons to seize the initiative. An Attack Roulette then sets the move’s power, from 5 to 50 depending on Grade, and rapid presses during the attack push a power meter from blue through green, yellow and orange to rainbow, earning up to four stars. A Pokémon that has just attacked is Tired for a turn, losing Speed and its roulette, so it pays to rotate the team.

Catch Time and the Ball RouletteDamage fills each wild Pokémon’s Catch Gauge. Once it is full, the Pokémon enters Catch Chance! and the player earns stars equal to its Grade. After any turn with a Catch Chance!, Catch Time follows: another ¥100 starts a Ball Roulette of Poké, Great, Ultra and Master Balls, stopped with a swipe or a button press. The odds depend on the ball, the gauge and the target’s Grade, but once the money is in at least one capture is guaranteed, and the Pokémon drops out as a Pick. A Last! Catch Time always follows the final turn, and from Set 3 onwards a senior trainer may turn up with a Trade Chance! offer.

Exploration Road and the doorsStars move the player along Exploration Road, a board of spaces marked by four doors: the Mysterious Door, the Splendid Door, the Silver Door and the Golden Door. It takes 13 spaces to reach the second door, 11 more for the third and another 8 for the Golden Door, and grass patches along the way give temporary boosts to attack, defence or speed. After the battle the player presses both hands on the screen to open the door they have reached, and the better the door, the higher the Grade of the Pokémon behind it. The Ex Treasure series reworked the expedition in July 2026; the road and its doors are described here as they worked in the original and Best Tag sets.

Befriending and Climax BattlesBehind the door, a Grade 2–4 Pokémon can be befriended. The player rubs the touch screen against the clock to raise its affection, shown as up to five hearts, then pays ¥100 and swipes up to throw a Friend Ball; the more hearts, the better the chance, and success dispenses the Pokémon’s Pick. When a Grade 5 Super Treasure Pokémon is waiting behind the door, a two-turn Climax Battle starts instead, and themed versions have included Six Heroes Battles against Lucius’s Pokémon. Last comes Bonus! Catch Time, in which players spend ¥100 per Quick Ball on Pokémon hidden in the grass, up to the ¥600 limit.

Catch now!

Catch now!Catch now! skips the battling. Five grass patches of different sizes fill the screen, and the player has a few seconds to throw sweets and lure Pokémon into them; patches with extra effects may hide higher-Grade Pokémon. Each ¥100 then starts a capture, with a cursor sliding between the patches until the player swipes up to throw a Quick Ball. The mode lasts for as long as the player keeps paying, or until all five Pokémon are caught, and Trainer Pick users whose Partner has not finished evolving still earn stars equal to each catch’s Grade.

Terastal, Z-Moves, Mega Evolution and Dynamax

Frienda borrows a battle gimmick from almost every recent generation: Terastallization from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, Z-Moves from Sun and Moon, Mega Evolution from X and Y and Dynamax from Sword and Shield. Picks with the right mark unlock a once-per-session chance to use them:

Partners, Trainer Picks and Frienda Circle

Playing together

Tag play and Treasure Tag BattlesWhen both stations of a cabinet are in use, the two screens can merge into one wide display for tag play. Treasure Tag Battles are three-turn co-operative fights against a Super Treasure Pokémon such as Miraidon: each player picks a Pokémon, the higher roulette value counts, and an Everyone Attack! finale has both players swiping type symbols at the gauge. In the Last! Catch Time each player pays ¥100 to throw a Poké Ball. The catch is not guaranteed, but if it works both players get a copy of the Pick. Wonder Tag Battles use the same system for limited Pokémon such as Black Rayquaza and the Legendary birds.

Characters

Frienda’s cast is small and friendly. In the arcade there are the Frienders and the trainers they meet; on YouTube, a team of live-action presenters has followed the game since before it launched.

In the game

CaptainThe head of the Frienders, the exploration team the player joins. He wears adventurer’s gear and a hat whose goggles change to show his expressions. He greets players at the base, invites newcomers to join as guests with a palm stamp, hands over a consolation Quick Ball when a catch behind a door goes wrong and waves everyone off at the end of a session. He has also stepped in as an opponent himself, in the Challenge the Captain! store events.

The playerEach Friender is a 3D avatar created when a Trainer Pick is registered, from six base designs (three boys and three girls) in four colour styles. The avatar strikes poses during Z-Moves, looks back over each session on a Pokédex-like device and can be dressed in caps, outfits and costumes won from Trainer Battles, missions, stamps, events and Frienda Circle.

Senior trainerFrom Set 3 onwards, an older and more experienced trainer can turn up during any catch phase and offer to swap one of the player’s catches for a random Pokémon. Trade Chance! adds a little gamble to a session, since the Pokémon on offer may be rarer than the one handed over.

Master FriendersEach set’s strongest regular Trainer Battle opponent, among them Sharisu, Rosalie, Idein, Nana, Diteku, Rin, Reve and Berius. Their target scores climb from set to set, beating them with a Trainer Pick can earn their outfit for the avatar, and past Master Frienders come back as the bosses of online ranked events that anyone can enter for ¥100.

On Pokémon Frienda TV

Pokémon Frienda TV, the official YouTube show, took over the old Mezastar TV channel on 31 May 2024 and posts a new episode every Friday, with its presenters playing the new sets, running challenges and announcing campaigns.

The Frienda NavigatorsThe show’s four original presenters, each in a coloured outfit: Hiroto (Hiroto Kitazawa, light blue, the Pick expert), Nagisa (Nagisa Hinata, purple, a Grade 5 collector), Mai (Mai Endo, yellow, a finder of rare Pokémon) and Jin (Jin Takeuchi, red, the joker). They also sing the theme song. Hiroto’s departure from the show was announced on 20 June 2025.

Frien-danA two-member rival team unveiled on 1 September 2024 at the CoroCoro Spirit Festival during Tokyo Toy Show 2024: Big Summer (Atsuya Natsuyagi) and Shiora (Sakura Nishio). The name borrows the -dan suffix of villainous teams such as Team Rocket, Rocket-dan in Japanese, and the pair compete against the Navigators and sometimes team up with them.

Captain JunA real-life take on the in-game Captain, played by Jun Ishihara, who had presented Mezastar TV. He joined the show in the episode of 27 June 2025, a week after Hiroto’s departure was announced, in an outfit modelled on the Captain’s, with a blue neckerchief and reflective goggles.

Trainer Battles & opponents

Since Set 4 in February 2025, a Battle and Catch! expedition can switch at random into a Trainer Battle: a five-turn fight, four Pokémon a side, against a trainer who sets a target score to beat. Each set brings three regular trainers of rising strength, topped by a Master Friender, and beating them with a Trainer Pick can win outfits and accessories for the avatar, from Fluffy Girl Yukiko’s fluffy pyjamas to Mushroom Maniac Shino’s mushroom accessories.

The regular opponents set by set, with target scores in brackets. Up to Best Tag set 3 they rise in strength from left to right; from Best Tag set 4 the first trainer listed is the one faced by players without a Trainer Pick:

Special and online battles

• Pokémon Horizons: Liko, Roy and Dot, along with Friede and Amethio, appeared as special opponents in Set 4, and Friede headlined the first online ranked event, from 13 March to 23 April 2025. Two pairs from the series’ villainous Explorers, Sango and Onyx and Spinel and Agate, followed as paired opponents in Best Tag set 4.
• Online ranked events: Entry costs ¥100, and the top 100 scorers receive certificates. Past Master Frienders return as the bosses: Sharisu in Challenge Sharisu (12 June–9 July 2025, with an exclusive Frienda Charm), Rosalie from 21 August to 17 September 2025 and Idein in January and February 2026. Diteku is due back for an online tournament starting on 29 October 2026, with a Frienda Charm for the winners.
• PokéDoko Team: The presenters of the TV Tokyo variety show Where Are We Going With Pokémon!? (PokéDoko) were the opponents in an online ranked event from 30 October to 26 November 2025, the finale of the show’s collaboration with Frienda.
• Challenge the Captain!: The Captain himself was the opponent in Challenge the Captain! Celebi Battle!, first held at the CoroCoro Spirit Festival at Tokyo Toy Show 2025 on 30 and 31 August and then at participating stores at weekends in November 2025, with a promotional Celebi Pick as the prize.

Pokémon

Every Pokémon in Frienda is a physical Frienda Pick. Each set’s 70 numbered Picks are joined by limited Wonder Picks for events, gold Legacy Picks that bring back past stars, and Parallel Art and colour-variant versions. The launch set leaned on Paldea, with the Scarlet and Violet starters, Koraidon, Miraidon and Ogerpon, but later sets have reached across all nine generations for Legendary trios, Mythical Pokémon, Paradox Pokémon and the Six Heroes of Pokémon Horizons. Twelve sets in, there are more than 800 numbered Picks, and favourites such as Charizard, Pikachu and Lucario have turned up in many different forms.

Notable Pokémon

• MeowscaradaSet 1 · Terastal Pick
• KoraidonSet 1 · Legacy Pick
• MiraidonTreasure Tag Battles
• OgerponAll four masks · Set 4
• RayquazaSet 2 headliner
• TerapagosSets 3 and 5
• CharizardMega X · Gigantamax
• LucarioMezastar bonus Pick
• EeveeEevee Evolution Road
• PalafinHero Change Chance!
• ArceusEx Treasure set 2

• Meowscarada – One of the three Paldea starter finals in the launch line-up, and a Grade 5 Terastal Pick in Set 1.
• Koraidon – A Grade 5 Super Treasure Pokémon in Set 1, later reissued as a Legacy Pick and in a Treasure Pokémon Set promotion.
• Miraidon – Koraidon’s Set 1 counterpart and an opponent in co-operative Treasure Tag Battles; it returned as a Legacy Pick and again in Ex Treasure set 1.
• Ogerpon – A fixture of the early sets, with all four of its masks arriving together in Set 4.
• Rayquaza – The headliner of Set 2. Black Rayquaza, from Pokémon Horizons, became the first Wonder Tag Battle target in Set 3.
• Terapagos – Terastal Form in Set 3 and Stellar Form in Set 5, whose Stellar Tera Starstorm hits Terastallized opponents hard.
• Charizard – Mega Charizard X led the Mega Evolution push in Best Tag set 3, and a Gigantamax Charizard Pick came with the Dynamax Band.
• Lucario – A Terastallizing Lucario was the bonus Pick for Mezastar Memory tag holders, and another Lucario came with the Mega Ring toy.
• Eevee – The star of the Eevee Evolution Road event from March 2025, with all eight Eeveelutions issued as Wonder and Legacy Picks.
• Palafin – Brought Hero Change Chance! in Best Tag set 3, switching to its Hero Form mid-battle.
• Arceus – The Grade 5 headliner of Ex Treasure set 2, which changes to Normal, Grass, Fire or Water type to suit its opponent.

Partner Pokémon

Every Trainer Pick starts with a Partner Pokémon that grows over many sessions. Three were on offer at launch, and most sets since have added more:

• SprigatitoSet 1
• FuecocoSet 1
• QuaxlySet 1
• PawmiSet 2
• IgglybuffSet 3
• TinkatinkSet 4
• GastlyBest Tag set 2
• GibleBest Tag set 3
• BagonBest Tag set 4
• AronBest Tag set 5
• SnivyEx Treasure set 1
• TepigEx Treasure set 1
• OshawottEx Treasure set 1
• PidgeyEx Treasure set 2

Updates & events

Frienda never stands still: a new set arrives every ten weeks or so, with events, Wonder Picks and campaigns in between. The main milestones so far:

2024: announcement, launch and the first three sets

2025: Trainer Battles, Mega Evolution and Best Tag

2026: 200 million plays and Ex Treasure

Regional Variations

There is only one version of Frienda, but a few points are worth knowing:

• Pokémon Frienda has only been released in Japan. Arcades elsewhere in Asia, which used to run Pokémon Ga-Olé, have moved to an international version of Pokémon Mezastar instead.
• Pokémon Center Version cabinets, at Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores in Japan since September 2025, dispense the same Picks as ordinary machines, but give Trainer Pick users exclusive avatar items, such as a Pokémon Center hoodie, and Frienda Charms.
• The logo romanises the name as Pokémon FRIENDA. As there is no English version, the English names on this page for modes, items, sets and trainers, from Frienda Pick and Trainer Pick to Ex Treasure, are translations of the Japanese.

Trivia & facts

• 

  Frienda is the first Pokémon arcade machine with a touch panel, and players do far more than tap it: they rub it to pet Pokémon, swipe it to throw balls and press both hands flat against it to open the treasure doors.

• Pokémon Frienda TV went live six weeks before the game itself, when it took over the Mezastar TV channel on 31 May 2024.

• 

  The befriending mini-game, in which players rub the screen to win a Pokémon’s affection, is a lot like Pokémon-Amie from Pokémon X and Y.

• The Master Friender’s target score went up by exactly 10,000 points with every set, from 350,000 in Set 4 to 390,000 in Best Tag set 3, and so did the targets of the two trainers below them.
• Best Tag set 5 and Ex Treasure set 1 marked Pokémon’s 30th anniversary, with Pokémon silhouettes during scene changes and a Pikachu costume for each Trainer Pick’s first login.
• For the 2026 Debut Support campaign, new players could have their own name written on a free Sprigatito, Charmander or Piplup Pick, which then gained new features in three stages.
• The makers count a play for every ¥100 coin put into a machine, so a single session that reaches the ¥600 limit counts as six plays.
• The three Halloween Wonder Picks of October 2026 each bring a different gimmick: a Gigantamax Gengar, a Mega Chandelure and a Z-Move Marshadow.
• Set 1 accepted Mezastar tags with a Meteor Mark as Support Pokémon, just as Pokémon Mezastar had accepted Meteor Mark disks from Pokémon Ga-Olé four years earlier.

Legacy

What came after

• Announcement – 15 April 2024. Revealed by press release as the successor to Pokémon Mezastar, with bonuses for holders of Mezastar Meteor Mark and Memory tags
• Japanese launch – 11 July 2024. Set 1 goes live in arcades and game centres across Japan, alongside ten Frienda Camp play parks
• 10 million Picks – 23 August 2024. More than 10 million Frienda Picks dispensed in about a month
• Trainer Battles added – 6 February 2025. Set 4 adds random battles against trainers, and online ranked events follow in March 2025
• 100 million plays – 9 April 2025. Reached in 273 days, against 451 for Mezastar; announced on 30 April 2025
• Best Tag series – 10 July 2025. The second series begins on the first anniversary, adding Tag Moves and Legacy Picks
• Pokémon Center Version – 18 September 2025. Cabinets start running at Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores with Best Tag set 2
• 200 million plays – 21 February 2026. Reached in 591 days, the fastest of any Pokémon kids’ arcade machine; announced on 3 April 2026
• Ex Treasure series – 9 July 2026. The third series begins on the second anniversary, with Dynamax and a reworked expedition
• Ex Treasure set 2 – September 2026. The current set as of October 2026, headlined by Arceus

Where to play it today

As of October 2026 Pokémon Frienda is running all over Japan: in arcades, game centres and shopping-centre amusement corners, at the official Frienda Camp play parks and, in its Pokémon Center Version, at Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores. The current set is Ex Treasure set 2, and new events, Legacy Picks and online tournaments are still being added. A session costs ¥100, plus ¥100 for each Pick, up to ¥600. There are no machines outside Japan and there is no home version. Picks and linked toys do change hands second-hand, but they can only be used on a Japanese machine.

How it was made

Frienda is a joint project between Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. (T-ARTS) and Marvelous, the partnership behind Pokémon Tretta, Ga-Olé and Mezastar, produced with The Pokémon Company. In an interview on The Pokémon Company’s corporate site in July 2024, the staff explained that Marvelous built the game system and manufactured the cabinets, while T-ARTS made the Picks and looked after promotion. The aim was to make the game easy for children of four to eight to pick up, so battles use fewer moves, clear type-advantage icons, a roulette to decide a move’s strength and button-mashing to cheer Pokémon on.

Its touch panel, a first for a Pokémon arcade machine, is used for petting Pokémon and throwing balls, and the game added expressive 3D human characters and a treasure-hunting theme played out across big-screen environments. The twin cabinet with linked screens carried over from Mezastar, so that parents could play alongside their children. As the team put it: “We hope Pokémon FRIENDA becomes a machine that provides lasting memories for everyone who plays it.” The game was announced by press release on 15 April 2024, with bonuses for Mezastar Meteor Mark and Memory tag holders to ease the switch, and it began operating on 11 July 2024.

Frienda elsewhere

Dadada! Pokémon FriendaThe game’s theme song, written, composed and produced by Shō Hoshibe and performed by the Frienda Navigators. A full karaoke version reached Karaoke DAM on 1 December 2024 and JOYSOUND on 1 February 2025.

Restaurant and shop campaignsFrienda Picks have come with McDonald’s Japan Happy Meals in 2024 and 2025 (the 2025 run, with Pikachu, Rayquaza, Ogerpon and the Unova Legendary trio, began on 14 February) and with purchase campaigns at 7-Eleven and FamilyMart convenience stores, through the ÆON app and at Pokémon Stamp Rallies.

Super Connection! linked toysTakara Tomy sells Super Connection! (Chō Rendō!) toys that work with the cabinet and come with special Picks: the Tera Orb DX and RV, the Mega Ring, launched alongside Best Tag set 3, and the Dynamax Band and Tera Orb EX, which arrived with Ex Treasure set 1 in July 2026.

Popularity & reception

Plays and players

Frienda’s makers measure its success in plays, with every ¥100 coin put into a machine counting as one. Marvelous announced in August 2024 that more than 10 million Frienda Picks had been dispensed in about a month, and that over 400,000 players had registered Trainer Picks. Cumulative plays passed 100 million on 9 April 2025, 273 days after launch and 178 days quicker than Mezastar’s 451, and 200 million on 21 February 2026, after 591 days. Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous called each milestone the fastest for any Pokémon kids’ amusement machine when they announced them, on 30 April 2025 and 3 April 2026.

• 200mplays in 591 days (February 2026)
• 100mplays in 273 days (April 2025)
• 10m+Picks dispensed in about a month
• 400,000+registered players by August 2024

What players and the press said

As a children’s arcade machine that has only ever run in Japan, Frienda has not been reviewed by Western critics or score aggregators. English-language sites such as Siliconera, Dexerto and Anime News Network covered its April 2024 reveal mostly as a curiosity that overseas fans were unlikely to get to play, picking out the Frienda Picks, the touch screen and the ¥600 spending cap.

At home, the response from its young audience speaks for itself: two play-count records in under two years, each the fastest for a Pokémon kids’ arcade machine. Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. and Marvelous have kept the game fresh with a new set roughly every ten weeks, a steady run of events and campaigns, and main-series mechanics added one after another.

Further reading

More Pokémon arcade games on the site, and the main-series game behind Frienda’s Terastal battles: