How does the affection stat work in Let’s Go?

Question

My Pokémon have been showing some of the affection benefits in battle recently but I don’t know what’s causing it.

Also, is there some sort of affection meter I can see in-game?

Comments

I don't think there is affection, but I'm not sure... Every time I do research, nothing shows up. Maybe no one knows how it works yet.

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Have you tried doing the play with your starter thing?

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Yes, I’ve done it multiple times with my starter and I assume that that’s how it works for them, but what about other Pokémon? I’ve gotten affection benefits from both my starter and my other Pokémon.

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What affection effects have you seen on your other Pokemon?

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I’ve seen them shake off status conditions, get critical hits more often, and occasionally live on 1 HP when the attack would have knocked them out.

Answer 1

Friendship is not the same as Affection, a stat introduced in Generation VI. However, in Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the two appear to have been combined, since Affection does not exist in the game, but Pokémon with high friendship gain the same benefits as those that have high affection in other games. {1}
In Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, benefits that would have been gained from high affection are instead gained by Pokémon with high friendship. Affection, which is not present in the game, appears to have been amalgamated with friendship. {2}

(due to this, I may end up using both terms interchangeably throughout this answer)

The main ways to increase affection are by petting and feeding the Pokémon. These activities are generally limited by the Pokémon's fullness and enjoyment stats as well. {2}

Table displaying the correlation between friendship/affection levels and the points needed to get them

In Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, friendship is factored into all of a Pokémon's stats, except HP. At maximum friendship, a Pokémon will receive a 10% boost to its stats, before AVs are added in. The friendship multiplier scales directly with the level of friendship, starting from a 0% boost at 0 friendship to receiving the full 10% at 255. {3}

A Pokémon with high levels of affection will gain certain bonuses in battle and will interact with its Trainer in unique ways:

• At affection level 2 and higher, a Pokémon will gain 1.2 times the
  normal experience from battles.
• At affection level 3 and higher, a
  Pokémon may endure attacks that could otherwise make it faint and
  survive with 1 HP (including confusion damage). This can activate
  multiple times per turn.
• At affection level 4 and higher, a Pokémon
  can sometimes:
  1. Avoid attacks, even when they have 100% accuracy. This
     can activate multiple times per turn.
  2. Shake off status conditions at
     the end of the turn.
• At affection level 5 and higher, a Pokémon's
  chance of scoring a critical hit is doubled.
  {4}

Your friendship/affection level can be checked by visiting your neighbour's sister in Pallet Town {5} {6} {7}

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Sources:
{1}, {2}, {3}, {4}, {5}, {6}, {7}

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I hope this helped!