How to become friendly with Kubfu and level up fast in Pokémon Isle of Armor

One of the new Pokémon introduced in Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor expansion is Kubfu, a fighting type who precedes over the Dojo. 

You’ll be rewarded with Kubfu after completing the three trials at the Dojo, but annoyingly, he’s only level 10 and you’ll have to win over his affections. 

So before you can take on either the Tower of Waters or the Tower of Darkness to evolve Kubfu into Urshifu, here’s the quickest way to getting Kubfu on your side and fighting fit. 

• Read more: How to get Galarian Slowbro in Pokemon Isle of Armor expansion 

How to become friendly with Kubfu

Kubfu needs your approval (Picture: Nintendo)

When you’re initially given Kubfu after completing the three trials, leader of the Dojo Mustard explains how you have to become friendly with the Pokémon. 

The quickest way to do this is by finding NPCs scattered around Isle of Armor (specifically Dojo trainers in yellow jackets) and speaking with them, where they’ll ask you to look at the view with Kubfu. 

There are four points where you can do this across Isle of Armor, including one atop Challenge Road, in Brawler’s Cave, and Loop Lagoon. 

Become friendly with Kubfu by camping (Picture: Nintendo)

Alternatively, you can also win over Kubfu’s affections by camping. When you talk to Kubfu during the Pokémon Camp and check its hearts, if it has more than three, you can return to Mustard and proceed to the next part of the story. 

How to level up Kubfu fast

After you’ve become friendly with Kubfu, you’re then given the task of entering either the Tower of Waters or Tower of Darkness depending which type of Urshifu you desire. 

The only problem is Kubfu needs to be level 70 before you can compete in either tower. It may seem daunting, but there’s some quick tricks in Sword and Shield to levelling up fast.

The quickest way to level up in Sword and Shield is through Exp. Candy. These come in various sizes, ranging from XL to S, and can be fed to your Pokémon to earn experience points. 

The quickest way to level up is through Exp. Candy from Max Raid Battles (Picture: Nintendo)

You can farm Exp. Candy easiest by competing in Max Raid Battles. If you complete the four or five star difficulty raids, you’ll be rewarded with Exp. Candy L or Exp. Candy XL, which will quickly level up Kubfu. 

Alternatively if you want to be more traditional, you can simply grind away by capturing and defeating Pokémon in the wild while Kubfu is in your roster. If you use Kubfu during the fight, he’ll receive more experience points - even if he’s quickly retreated. 

Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Isle of Armor DLC is available now.