Your Trainer's level affects quite a few features in the game. The higher your Trainer level, the stronger and rarer the Pokemon you will encounter and the higher you can increase your Pokemon's CP. Considering this, it's best to increase your Trainer level as efficiently as possible so you can compete with rival team's Gyms and catch new, rarer Pokemon! To do this, you need to earn XP.
You gain XP for a variety of activities, including:
| Catching a Pokemon | 100 XP |
| Evolving a Pokemon | 500 XP |
| Hatching a Pokemon | 200 XP |
| Visiting a PokeStop | 50 XP |
| Training at a Friendly Gym | Varies |
| Battling at a Rival Gym | Varies |
Additionally, there are a few things that can earn you extra XP whencatching a Pokemon, including:
| Catching a New Pokemon | 500 XP |
| Excellent Throw | 100 XP |
| Great Throw | 50 XP |
| Nice Throw | 10 XP |
| Curve Ball | 10 XP |
To obtain a throw bonus, the thrown Poke Ball must land inside of the colored circle. The smaller the circle, the greater the bonus. So, for example, if you catch a new Pokemon with a perfectly thrown Poke Ball, you'll get 700 XP for it!
The 500 XP New Pokemon bonus also applies to hatching Eggs, so if you hatch a new Pokemon, you'll get 1000 XP.
Frustrated with Pokemon Go's bugs? Check out these essential bug fixes!
XP Received for Gym Battles
Training at friendly Gyms and challenging rival Gyms earns you XP, but it varies. The closer your Pokemon's CP is to your opponent's and the more Pokemon you defeat, the more XP you will earn.
Defeating rival pokemon and training against friendly pokemon
If you want to maximize the XP you gain from battling, use a Pokemon with a CP score that matches, or is less than, the opponent's. Alternatively, find a friendly gym with some pokemon you can easily beat, and train repeatedly - or even insert one of your own lower level pokemon that another in your team can easily defeat.
Maximizing your XP Earning Potential with Items
The first item to consider when wanting to level is the Lucky Egg. When activated, this item will double all XP earned for 30 minutes! Combine this with Incense or a Lure Module and you'll be raking in XP just by catching lots of Pokemon. Make sure you've stocked up on Poke Balls before doing this, either at PokeStops or the Shop!
Plan to evolve lots of Pokemon and explore new areas saturated withPokeStops before activating a Lucky Egg to ensure you'll make the most of it!
This is also a great time to have one or two egg incubuators close to hatching, as you'll also get a burst of XP.
To really reap in the benefits, you could capture a lot of common Pokemon, like Pidgey or Caterpie, that require relatively few Candy toevolve. Evolving a Pokemon already nets you the most XP, so evolving Pokemon with a Lucky Egg grants you 1,000 XP a pop! New pokemon will also give a bonus, so combining lots of common pokemon to evolve with a couple Pokemon that evolve into something new can make a great combo.
The Step-by-Step Process:
- Step 1: Hoard Pokemon
Collect easy-to-catch-and-evolve Pokemon, like Pidgey. Pidgey are easy to come by and only cost 12 Pidgey Candy to evolve. The more the better!
- Step 2: Plan Accordingly
If you have Pokemon that you know will evolve into something you haven't caught before, save them for your Lucky Egg XP spree! Also, travel to an area with lots of PokeStops, like a popular park, if you think you'll have time left after evolving Pokemon. It'll take about 5 minutes to evolve 10 Pokemon.
- Step 3: Activate the Lucky Egg
You will now get double XP for every thing you do for 30 minutes.
- Step 4: Get to Evolving!
- Step 5: Use your remaining time to catch Pokemon
This is why we traveled to an area with lots of PokeStops! If you have any time left over after your evolving-spree, attach a Lure Module to a PokeStop, activate an Incense, and get to catching. If you have the resources and are in a spot with multiple PokeStops next to each other, use a few Lure Modules to maximize the amount of Pokemon that appear! You can do this same thing pre-Lucky Egg as a way to stock up on Pokemon and Poke Balls, too.
With a Lucky Egg activated, each evolved Pokemon will grant you 1,000 XP! If you're evolving a Pokemon into one you haven't caught before, you'll get 2,000 XP! Catching a Pokemon will only net you 200 XP, but if you catch a new Pokemon, you'll get 1,200 XP.
Happy leveling!