Pokemon Sword and Shield introduced plenty of new mechanics and features to the series: Dynamaxing, the Wild Area, and making curry being among the most notable or the most advertised. But, the games also possess some lesser-known features that have flown under most players' radars, probably because the games themselves don't appear to even acknowledge their existence.
Earlier this month, fans discovered that it is possible to play a Pokemon's battle animations on its summary page and, more recently, one player has shared details regarding a hidden sociability mechanic within the camps players can set up. Camping is another new feature where players can relax with their Pokemon party and make different kinds of curry, which in turn can have different effects on Pokemon, like restoring health or curing status ailments.
While at a camp, the Pokemon within the party can be seen hanging around, and sometimes they'll even interact with one another. At first, this seems purely random but, according to Twitter user Anubis, Pokemon Sword and Shield keep track of each Pokemon's sociability, and it's this stat that determines whether the Pokemon will interact or not.
Anubis writes that a Pokemon's sociability stat ranges from 0 to 255, and the higher it is, the friendlier two Pokemon will be with each other. It seems to require both Pokemon to have a high stat, as Anubis demonstrates with their own Pokemon. When both of them had a maximum sociability stat, the game describes them as being best friends. But, when only one of them had a max stat and the other was on 0, the game would say they don't get along with each other.
Anubis did some further digging to see what causes the sociability stat to increase and, apparently, simply making curry or allowing the Pokemon to naturally interact with each other is all it takes. However, Anubis adds that it's possible for the Pokemon to get into fights with each other, which would cause the sociability to decrease.
For the time being, this doesn't seem to have any sort of effect on any other aspect of the game, such as Pokemon battles. Not that it would, since most battles are strictly one-vs-one affairs. However, perhaps such a mechanic would be further expanded upon in a future game to have an effect on double battles, where two Pokemon must work together.
Speaking of future games, it's probably too soon to expect an announcement for the next generation of titles. For the time being, the focus is on the upcoming Diamond and Pearl remakes and the Pokemon Legends game.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are available on Nintendo Switch.