Pokemon Go: tips for gaining XP and leveling up fast
Level up your Pokemon Trainer game.
Pokemon Go might be a ‘slimmed down' version of the Pokemon experience, but when push comes to shove it is still a Pokemon game, and that means there's a fair slice of levelling up and other RPG-style character progression, built into the way the game advances.
Significantly different for Pokemon Go is the nature of leveling up; rather than strictly gaining experience for your Pokemon, XP/EXP is mainly based around the player, represented in a trainer level that grows across the board as you perform in-game tasks.
Your trainer level is vital for catching better Pokemon and making those you have more powerful. When you level up Pokemon in your possession have a chance to get boosted along with you, and higher level trainers will encounter different Pokemon in the wild.
Location is important, but a level 3 player is likely to encounter Pokemon with CP (Combat Point) levels of 10 or so, while a level 10 player in the same area will encounter the exact same Pokemon with CP levels in the hundreds – so trainer level is important.
On top of all that, higher level players will get access to more in-game equipment with which to battle and train Pokemon – basically, player level is used as a gatekeeper to much of Pokemon Go's content.
As with any RPG sometimes the level grind can be a little intense – and that's where we come in. Here's some tips to try to speed up the grind and keep you from getting too frustrated at capturing Ratatta over and over again outside your house.
Pokemon Go: Experience rewards to level up in short
Every major action in Pokemon Go nets you a certain amount of experience, with by far the most lucrative action being to catch a Pokemon of a kind you've never caught before.
There's also experience bonuses for getting fancy when you throw a Pokeball to catch a Pokemon – you can get a little extra experience for nailing a throw or putting some curve on a throw.
The easiest repeatable experience gain comes in the form of checking in at a Pokestop – Pokestop locations can be checked into again after a short cool-down period, making it an easily repeatable 100 XP task. If you can find an area where several Pokestops are stacked up together you can easily walk a lap of the Pokestops between their cool-downs, earning a fair chunk of experience in the process.
Another great leveling up trick is in the 500 XP bonus for evolving a Pokemon. Many low-level Pokemon like Pidgey and Ratatta don't cost much candy at all to evolve, and candy is gained both when you catch a Pokemon and when duplicates are sent away to the professor.
Don't be afraid to spend that candy evolving those low level catches of basic normal-type Pokemon – even if you send the newly evolved Pokemon away, you're getting 500 XP a time for the trouble – ideal for building up your trainer level quickly.
Here's a table of what each act in Pokemon Go gets you experience-wise:
100 XP – Pokémon Caught
500 XP – New Pokémon
10 XP – Curve Ball
10 XP – Nice Throw
50 XP – Great Throw
100 XP – Excellent Throw
50 XP – Checking in at a Pokéstop
100 XP – Battling a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym
150 XP – Beating a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym
50 XP – Beat a Pokémon in training at a Gym
200 XP – Hatch a Pokémon
500 XP – Evolve a Pokémon
If you're willing to spend real money on Pokemon Go, keep in mind that the Lucky Egg item from the in-game store can be stacked with any of the above – it offers double experience for a 30-minute period.
Back to Pokémon Go starter guide: how to earn XP, level up, join gym teams and more
