In Pokémon Go, you gain experience for almost all in-game actions, in the form of the common RPG-like EXP rewards. You can view your Experience status on your Trainer profile. There are a few important topics to be discussed in regards to Experience and leveling in Pokemon GO.
Trainer Level
The more XP you earn, the higher your Trainer level will be. Level 40 is currently the maximum Trainer level and it requires 20,000,000 XP to reach.
Raising your Trainer level is a primary goal in the game as it has various benefits:
- You can encounter wild Pokémon of higher level (and as a result of higher Combat Power)
- You can unlock in-game features (gyms, teams and raids)
- You can unlock new items at certain levels (better versions of potions, revives, etc)
- You gain certain rewards each time you level-up (a bundle of items to help you progress)
For a full breakdown of all of the unlockable features, items and rewards, as well the amounts of XP required to reach each level, please view this page: Level requirements and rewards
Methods of earning Experience
XP can be earned in many ways and in many different quantities. Here is a comprehensive list of all of the ways you can earn XP and how much you can gain from each one:
| Action | Reward |
|---|---|
| Catch a Pokémon | 100 |
| Catch a Pokémon on 1st Throw | 50 |
| New Pokémon | 500 |
| Curve Ball | 10 |
| Nice Throw | 10 |
| Great Throw | 50 |
| Excellent Throw | 100 |
| 1st Catch of the day | 500 |
| 7 Day Catch Streak | 2000 |
| Catch 100 of same species | 100 |
| Pokémon Fled | 25 |
| Evolve a Pokémon | 500 |
| Hatch a 2km Egg | 200 |
| Hatch a 5km Egg | 500 |
| Hatch a 10km Egg | 1000 |
| Spin a Pokéstop | 50 |
| Spin a Pokéstop For First Time | 250 |
| 1st Pokéstop of the day | 500 |
| Pokéstop 7 Day Streak | 2000 |
| 10th unique Pokéstop spin | 100 |
| Win Level 1 Raid | 3000 |
| Win Level 2 Raid | 3500 |
| Win Level 3 Raid | 4000 |
| Win Level 4 Raid | 5000 |
| Win Level 5 Raid | 10,000 |
| Defeat each Pokémon at Gym | 100 |
| Defeat all Pokémon at a Gym | 50 |
| Spin Gym photo disc | 25-125 |
| Reach Good Friends with another Trainer | 3000 |
| Reach Great Friends with another Trainer | 10,000 |
| Reach Ultra Friends with another Trainer | 50,000 |
| Reach Best Friends with another Trainer | 100,000 |
Lucky eggs and leveling up
XP can be doubled for half an hour by using a Lucky Egg. Lucky Eggs can be bought from the in game shop but are also awarded for reaching certain levels.
Mass evolving with Lucky Egg
One of the quickest and most efficient ways to gain XP is by evolving as many Pokémon as possible within the 30 minute double XP time window that a Lucky Egg gives you. As you can see from the table above, Evolving a Pokémon while using a Lucky Egg results in a gain of 1000 XP.
Evolving a Pokémon which is new to your Pokédex however, gives 2000 XP with a Lucky Egg, so unless the evolved form is going to be immediately useful to you in battle situations, try to be patient and save them for when you next have enough to add them to a mass evolution.
Depending on the device you’re using and the speed of your data connection, you can evolve roughly 60-80 Pokémon within 30 minutes, resulting in a total gain of 60,000 – 80,000 XP – if you’re out catching a lot of Pokémon per day, the only other way of realistically gaining XP anywhere near that fast, is by ensuring you’re opening and sending gifts from/to your friends every day to get those large one-shot XP rewards.
You can also use a Pokémon Go Plus in conjunction with a lucky egg to catch and spin while you’re evolving – even if the Pokémon runs away, you still get 50 XP.
So how do you prepare for a “Lucky Egg Mass Evolution”? The answer lies mainly in Pokémon which only take 12 candy to evolve. For more information on preparing for a mass evolution, please view the following page: Special Items: Lucky Egg, Star Piece, Lure Module, Incense
Lucky egg usage in normal gameplay
If you have plenty of Lucky Eggs, you can always use them as you go about your normal Pokémon hunting routine. The double XP you get from catching, egg hatching, Raids and Pokéstop spinning can really add up, especially if you’re using lures and incense along side them.
Bonus experience
If you throw your Pokéballs in a straight line as opposed to curve balls, and don’t try to hit nice, great, or excellent throws, you will be missing out on a lot of XP over time. If you catch 100 Pokémon without curve or throw bonuses, you could miss out on between 1000 and 11,000 XP. To learn more about throw bonuses, please view the following page: Catch mechanics.
Double experience events
You should also be aware that Pokémon Go has occasional in game events, one of which is a Double XP event (There was even one which awarded Triple XP for catches and 5x XP for egg hatches). If you use a Lucky Egg during these events your XP gain will be multiplied again, potentially earning you millions of XP within just a few days. For the average player, one 30 minute Lucky Egg Mass Evolution during a double XP event can potentially yield around 180,000 XP if all methods are utilised efficiently.
Total experience
To view the total amount of XP you’ve earned over your entire Pokémon Go journey, scroll to the bottom of your Trainer screen.
