You can recruit certain NPCs or party members in overworld and make them available to join your LoM party by fulfilling certain conditions and then interacting with them in overworld.
Once you recruit them, they join you as Rank 1 Friends, whom you can ask to join your party. Friends with higher Ranks have much higher stats, you also receive additional rewards for reaching Friend Rank 3 with each friend (check episode page for the list of rewards).
To increase Friend Rank, you need to earn enough Friendship Points (amount varies) and interact with the character (in-game for party members, in overworld for NPCs). NPCs can be upgraded up to Rank 3, while party members can be upgraded up to Rank 4. However, you can upgrade party members to Rank 2 immediately after recruiting them.
To earn Friendship Points, you either need to win* a LoM battle with them in your party (awards 1 point) or spend time with them in Port Lezona.
List of possible hangouts:
| Location | Price | Friendship Points |
|---|---|---|
| Food Court |  500 | 100 |
| Cafe | 800 | 160 |
| Movie Theater | 1800 | 360 |
| Jewelry Shop | 10000 | 2000 |
Aside from stats increase and rewards, reaching maximum Friend Rank may change character's dialogue in overworld and/or let you enter their room in IDA dorm.
* Aldo swatting enemies does not count towards this.
