Catching Pokemon
Each time you catch a Pokemon, you’ll get a bunch of XP. The amount you receive actually depends on a couple of different criteria, though. First off is whether or not the Pokemon is new to your Pokedex. If you’ve caught the Pokemon before, you can expect to get a base 100 XP for your catch. However, if this is a new species, you’ll be granted a smooth 500 XP on top of that.
Therefore you should never be walking past a Pokemon, even if you’ve caught it before. Not only can you transfer any duplicate Pokemon to Professor Willow for some sweet items, but 100 XP is better than nothing. Of course, exploring will help you to get the most out of your Pokemon captures, too. The more varied places you go adventuring, the more chance you have of catching new Pokemon, granting you that sweet 500 XP bonus.
Hatching Eggs
Eggs in Pokemon GO are a wonderful thing. You’ll be carrying it around in the Incubator and then all of a sudden, it’ll start hatching. Just like that you’ve got yourself some extra experience to help boost up your character’s level. First, you’ll get the same kind of experience that catching a Pokemon does. If it’s a species you already have, you’ll get the standard amount and then an extra 500 XP if it’s one not yet in your Pokedex.
As soon as you’ve got one Egg out of the Incubator get another one in straight away. Eggs can be a constant and healthy flow of XP to help you level up much faster as long as you don’t forget about them.
Evolving Pokemon
Just as effective for leveling up quickly as catching new Pokemon is evolving those you already have. All you have to do is ensure you have enough of the Candy specific to that Pokemon ‘family’. Once you’ve got this, simply tap on the Pokemon you want to evolve and select the evolve option.
Each time you evolve a Pokemon you’ll get a smooth 500 XP just for doing so. What’s more your Pokemon will have a significant boost in its CP too so it’s a win-win situation. Of course, you could make the yield of XP even better…
Lucky Eggs
Lucky Eggs are consumable items that allow you to earn double XP for 30 minutes. You can be really clever about it and combine the use of a Lucky Egg with Incense, meaning that you’ll have a ton of Pokemon nearby waiting to be caught and a huge amount of XP tied to each one. Of course, that’s just the start of how to use your Lucky Eggs with other means of earning XP to really rake it in.
One of the best ways to send your XP sky-rocketing is to keep all of your Candy together for all Pokemon and don’t evolve them until you’re ready to use your Lucky Egg. At this point, activate the Lucky Egg and begin the Evolution process. Thanks to the multiplier effect, you’ll get 1000 XP for each Pokemon you evolve. Throw in a couple of PokeStop visits and some stops at your local Gym and you’ll find yourself a couple levels up by the end of the 30-minute period.
Pokestops
Pokestops are awesome. Not only do they give you free items which are imperative to your adventuring, but they’ll also give you a little dose of XP each time you go and visit them. Therefore, you should make the most of any local Pokestops by ensuring you go and visit them as much as possible. Each tiny bit of XP that you get from them will make a difference in the big picture.
Oh, and don’t forget that you can visit more than one Pokestop in a day, meaning you can reap the rewards of not only multiple items, but XP drops, too.
Medals
Medals are a great way to earn extra XP without you even realizing it. Medals track your progress in the game on a number of different criteria and reward you when you reach certain milestones. For example, the Jogger medal requires you to walk 10km for the bronze and 100km for the silver and even more for the gold. The better the medal you get, the more XP you’ll receive.
There are medals for all kinds of different things in Pokemon GO- registering Pokemon, hatching eggs, winning gym battles, catching specific types of Pokemon- the list goes on. Keep an eye on which medals you’re close to achieving and try and direct your efforts in their direction. Your XP bar will be glad you did.
Perfect Your Poke Ball Throws
Catching a Pokemon with a standard throw is fine and all, but if you really want to make the most of each capture you’ll want to start nailing each throw that you make. Performing an excellent throw will grant you an additional 100 XP onto whatever other XP you accrue from capturing the Pokemon, essentially doubling the amount if it was one you had already caught.
You’ll get 100 XP for an excellent throw, 50 XP for a great throw, and 10 XP for a curveball or a nice throw. If you need some tips on how to make sure you’re throwing your Poke Balls well, you can check out our guide. It even tells you what all those colored rings mean.
Gyms
The Gym feature of Pokemon GO is a great way to help you level up faster. With the tug-of-war nature of these real-life locations, you’ll be frequently visiting them to see whether you need to help your team defend the Gym, or help capture it.
Every time you do battle at a Gym with an opposing team, you’ll not only help to level up and strengthen your Pokemon, but your own level will get a nice XP boost, too. If you just want to train up your own Pokemon at a Gym that is controlled by your team already, then you won’t miss out on earning XP either. Defeating your own team’s Pokemon will not only help to improve the Prestige of the Gym, but will give you an additional boost to your own XP.
That’s all of the tips we have for leveling up quickly in Pokemon GO. Be sure to keep it locked to Twinfinite for more tips, tricks, and guides.
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