Befriending Yo-Kai in Yo-Kai Watch can be quite an ordeal. Do you know how long it took me to get Mochismo so I could unlock the Fusion function? Over a half hour, thanks to his being a rare spawn in the area adjacent to the temple. That was with my tossing him riceballs, his favorite food, every time I did enter a battle with him. Do you know what would have made that trial easier to bear? Shmoopie.

Now, I’m not saying Shmoopie is one of the best Yo-Kai in Yo-Kai Watch because he’s adorable. He absolutely is, though. I mean, Shmoopie is a tiny Shiba Inu with heart-shaped eyebrows clutching a heart. If you toss him a hamburger, his favorite food, he’ll say it’s “Dewicious!” Those are great reasons to love him, but not the only one.

Shmoopie is a required recruitment because of his innate skill, Popularity. Everyone thinks he’s the most precious puppy ever. That means your enemies will be more likely to join you after a battle if he’s in your party. Combine that with a knowledge of what Yo-Kai want, and you’re golden.

But how do you get a Shmoopie? Well, it’s going to take about 15 minutes and maybe 10 hamburgers. Also, you’ll have to have already returned your father’s papers to him downtown, but don’t have to have confronted one of the rogue Wazzats yet. Reaching this point will allowing you to trigger the quest that will allow you to fight a specific Signibble, Suspicioni, and Tantroni and upgrade your Yo-Kai Watch to Rank C. Once Rank C has been reached and you’ve purchased burgers from the fast food place downtown, head to the shrine next to the tree where you met Whisper.

Shmoopies are common Rank C spawns in grassy areas. You’re most likely to find him around the Shrine. He’ll be the only Yo-Kai in the party and tends to heal himself, rather than attack. I had to fight 11 Shmoopies before one finally joined me, but he’s absolutely worth the wait.

Especially since he’s a rather handy pal to have even when you aren’t recruiting Yo-Kai and headed into a boss fight. While most Charming types only have physical attacks or status buffs/debuffs for their attacks, techniques, Soultimate Moves, and Inspirits, Shmoopie is primarily a healer. His Bite is his only attack. His technique is Restore, which is a healing move, his Soultimate is Heartstring Tug, which recovers 90 hit points of allies, and if he Inspirits someone, they’ll gain a regenerating health effect.

Don’t worry if you decide to fuse Shmoopie with a Love Scepter to make Pinkipoo. He’ll still get to keep the Popularity skill, and will gain an Soultimate Move that heals every ally at once.

Yo-Kai Watch is immediately available for the Nintendo 3DS. (Though you will have to play for a few hours before you can befriend Shmoopie.)