How to Level Up in Pokémon GO

Reviewed by Ishrak

Last Updated: October 8, 2020

As you journey through the world playing Pokémon GO, you have various opportunities to gain experience that will allow you to level up as a trainer. At level 5, you can access gyms where you can battle other trainers. As you level up, you will begin to encounter rarer, more powerful Pokémon - and more valuable items at PokéStops.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Basics to Leveling Up as a Trainer

1
Catch new Pokémon. Each time you encounter a Pokémon in the wild, you have the opportunity to gain experience. You gain experience both when you attempt to catch Pokémon as well as when you successfully catch them. The experience you gain as a trainer in encountering Pokémon occurs as follows:
- Throw a Curve Ball at a Pokémon - 10 XP
- Throw a PokéBall with Good Accuracy (Nice Throw) - 10XP
- Throw a PokéBall with Great Accuracy (Great Throw) - 50 XP
- Throw a PokéBall with Perfect Accuracy (Excellent Throw) - 100 XP
- Catch a Pokémon - 100 XP
- Catch a New Pokémon - 500 XP
2
Make use of gyms. You can also gain experience by battling at gyms. The experience you gain as a trainer using gyms occurs as follows:
- Battle a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym - 100 XP
- Beat a Pokémon Trainer at a Gym - 150 XP
- Beat a Pokémon in training at a Gym - 50XP
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3
Evolve your Pokémon. You can do this both with your "living" Pokémon as well as with PokéEggs. For more information on how to level up and evolve your Pokémon, check the "Leveling Up Your Pokémon" section. The experience you gain by evolving Pokémon is as follows:
- 200 XP – Hatch a Pokémon
- 500 XP – Evolve a Pokémon
A Lucky Egg is an item that allows you to gain twice the XP for the actions listed above. To purchase a Lucky Egg, tap on the PokéBall on the main screen and tap the "Shop" icon. Scroll to the third row of items to find Lucky Eggs.

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Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Tricks to Leveling Up as a Trainer

This is not required for the trick to work, but will allow you to level up twice as fast. To purchase a Lucky Egg, tap on the PokéBall on the main screen and tap the "Shop" icon. Scroll to the third row of items to find Lucky Eggs.
These Pokémon are the easiest to level up, which is how you will gain your experience using this trick. Pidgey is the best Pokémon to use for this reason, but Weedle and Rattata work as well.
3
Transfer your duplicate Pokémon to Professor Willow. In return, he will give you candy, which you can use to level up your Pokémon. To transfer Pokémon to Professor Willow: ^{[1]
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- Tap the PokéBall on screen, and then the Pokémon symbol to open your list of Pokémon.
- Tap on a Pokémon that you have a duplicate of, and hit the "Transfer" button.
This will open a list of the Pokémon you have caught.
Tap on a Pokémon you have caught multiple of, and hit the "Transfer" button. Professor Willow will take the Pokémon to his lab, and give you candy in return. This candy can be used to level up and evolve your Pokémon.
From the main screen, tap the PokéBall near the bottom and then the "Items" button to open up a list of all items in your pack.
7
Use your Lucky Egg. Tap on the Lucky Egg you have purchased to use it. This will grant you a 30-minute period during which all of the experience you gain will be doubled.
- Since this period only lasts 30 minutes, be sure to complete the rest of this method once you have enacted this step!
Your Pokémon will level up very quickly, causing you to gain a huge spike in XP and, depending on your current level as a trainer, allow you to increase by a level or two.The evolution animation takes almost 30 seconds to complete, meaning that you could get about 60,000 to 65,000 XP if you use up the entire 30 minutes on evolving. ^{[2]
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You're well on your way to becoming a stronger trainer!

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What does the weight of a Pokemon mean?

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It's just there for information. It doesn't affect the Pokemon or its battles.

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How can I get coins?

Chris J Mather

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Add a Pokemon to a gym. Go to the shop. Tap the shield that should have a 1 on it. Collect your coins and stardust.

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How to Level Up in Pokémon GO

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Basics to Leveling Up as a Trainer

Tricks to Leveling Up as a Trainer

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