The third set in the Pokémon Frienda Best Tag series was released on November 27, 2025. It consisted of 80 Frienda Picks and was the eighth set overall.
The remaining Super Treasure Pokémon in this set comprised Hoopa, which appeared in its Unbound form, and Palafin, which would change from its Zero Form into its Hero Form through a unique mechanic. When selected to attack, Palafin would be temporarily recalled and the player would be presented with Hero Change Chance! (Japanese: マイティチェンジチャンス！Mighty Change Chance!) During this phase, the player would be prompted to press the various action bubble marks that appeared on the touchscreen in effort to increase values on the Attack Roulette. Each mark would increase the values by 1 or 2 when pressed. Once complete, Palafin would be brought back into play in its Hero Form and its Poké Ene would increase in proportion to how many marks were pressed, up to a maximum of 285. Palafin would remain in its Hero Form for as long as it was able to battle. Unlike other transformation mechanics, Hero Change Chance! could be invoked for every viable Palafin they player brought into play. Previously featured Super Treasure Pokémon Rayquaza, Deoxys, and Keldeo could be encountered and obtained as Legacy Picks from January 8, 2026.[1]
The hub area was set in a Snow Field and the Captain's attire was updated again to a dark blue jacket with light blue and white diamond patterns. A new area could be explored from this set as well: River Valley (Japanese: けいこく). Best Tag set 3 also introduced another variant of Frienda Picks named Parallel Art Picks (Japanese: パラレルアートピック), which featured illustrations that covered the obverse. When encountered in-game, these Pokémon could identified by a patterned "A" symbol next to their name; an "A" suffix also appears in each Frienda Pick's collection number.
Pokémon Frienda machines at select Pokémon Centers and Pokémon Stores running the Pokémon Center Version of the game continued to provide exclusive rewards to players with Trainer Picks. Upon completing their first session, players would unlock a Pokémon Center Hoodie Dress-up Item featuring numerous Pikachu. The same Frienda Charms introduced in the previous set could still be claimed by players that had not done so already.[2]
This set introduced Mega Evolution Missions (Japanese: メガシンカミッション), which were similar to the Frienders Missions introduced in the second Pokémon Frienda set. These were challenged in sequential order and only one Mission could be completed per session. There were four Missions in total:[3]
Mission 1: Use a Frienda Pick capable of Mega Evolution in Battle and Catch! mode or catch a Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution in any game mode.
Reward: Mega Evolution Mark Frienda Charm
Mission 2: Successfully Mega Evolve a Pokémon during Mega Evolution Chance!
No reward
Mission 3: Select the rainbow space on an Attack Roulette for a Mega Evolved Pokémon.
Mission 4: Raise a Pokémon's Mega Evolution Power in excess of 50 during Mega Evolution Chance!
Reward: Mega Evolution Mark Hoodie Dress-up Item
From the launch of Best Tag set 3 until February 4, 2026, players who scanned their Trainer Pick at least once would earn a Weekly Stamp. If that player scanned a Trainer Pick with the same profile in a subsequent week before the deadline, they would earn another stamp. Accumulating multiple stamps would unlock different rewards:
2 stamps: False Moustache Dress-up Item
3 stamps: Grass Scope
4 stamps: Knitwear Dress-up Item
5 stamps: Super Treasure Sensor
Players with Trainer Picks could also obtain a Super Treasure Sensor earlier into the set's run if they recorded activity between December 4 and 10, 2025. The effect of the Super Treasure Sensor would remain active for eight days inclusive of the day it was obtained.
Two more Frienda Circle Present Campaign lotteries were held during this set's operation. The first was open between November 27 and December 31, 2025; the second was open between January 1 and 28, 2026. Players with Trainer Picks and a linked Frienda Circle account would earn 10 points for every Frienda Pick dispensed. During each lottery period, they could spend 100 points on the Frienda Circle campaign page in attempt to win, and could do so as many times as they were able either until the end of the period or until all prizes had been claimed. Accumulated points could be used in any lottery period, but could not be carried over from a previous set's campaign or to a subsequent one. Players that won a prize were required to submit their details by February 4, 2026. Each lottery offered 250 copies of a golden door keychain, 250 copies of a Pokémon Frienda logo keychain, and 250 copies of a Frienda Box Gold Version. The prizes were distributed at random—those for the first lottery were scheduled to be shipped in late January 2026; those for the second were scheduled to be shipped in late February 2026.[4]
The Frienders Holiday (Japanese: フレンダーズホリデー) event began on updated machines on December 18, 2025, during which players could obtain Wonder Picks depicting Mew, Lapras, and AlolanNinetales. If a Wonder Pick icon appeared on the title screen, players would have a chance of encountering a bauble-covered tree on Exploration Road. If they did, they would be prompted to press the console buttons in effort to shake the tree, which could reveal Pokémon such as Applin, Snom, or Pachirisu and apply a random stat boost as per regular grass patches. There would also be a chance this action would attract a Wyrdeer instead, which would transport the player beyond the Golden Door to a Christmas-themed Wonder Door (Japanese: ワンダーなとびら). When exploring the door, this would guarantee the player would face Mew, Lapras, or Alolan Ninetales in a Climax Battle. The Wonder Picks could also be obtained in Catch now! mode. Players with Trainer Picks would unlock a Mew, Lapras, or Alolan Ninetales-themed Dress-up Item upon dispensing the relevant Wonder Pick for the first time; they would also unlock a photograph on their Frienda Circle home page for each one caught.[5]
New Partner Pokémon
Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle remained as the series's default Partner Pokémon options. Players that had fully evolved at least one of these Pokémon could select Gible to raise. Lucario was available as a reward for completing three Mega Evolution Missions.
A digital Midday FormLycanroc Support Pokémon Ticket was available to Frienda Circle members that logged in while this set was in operation. A ticket for Glaceon was also present on the Best Tag set 3 promotional pamphlet, which could be downloaded from the official Pokémon Frienda website. Other physical tickets were included in Shogakukan publications and given away at events.
Available through Frienda Circle from November 27, 2025
The three standard Trainer Battle opponents in this set consisted of Ghost Maniac Masashi, Fluffy Girl Yukiko, and Master Frienda Diteku. Players with Trainer Picks that defeated an opponent would unlock a Dress-up Item based on their attire. Defeating all three opponents would also unlock a set-specific Frienda Charm. Players that managed to clear all three challenges for each opponent would unlock an alternate-color Dress-up Item based on Master Frienda Diteku's outfit. The target scores for the score challenges were as follows:
290,000 points for Ghost Maniac Masashi
340,000 points for Fluffy Girl Yukiko
390,000 points for Master Frienda Diteku
Between January 8 and February 2, 2025, players could challenge Master Friender Idein in an online ranked event. This battle could be initiated by touching the event banner on the title screen and inserting ¥100 after the prompt. Players that managed to defeat Idein would receive an event-exclusive Frienda Charm. Those with the top 100 scores following the end of the event would become eligible for a certificate, which could be applied for through Frienda Circle.[11]
