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Pokémon Go XP sources list: How to get XP fast in Pokémon Go

How to squeeze as much XP as possible from your daily activities.

Getting XP fast in Pokémon Go is useful for speeding through Pokémon Go level requirements, especially with the time-limited Legacy 40 Challenge and medal up for grabs.

Even if you are just starting the game, higher Trainer Levels will increase your chances of meeting higher CP Pokémon out in the wild, and allow you to improve their effectiveness in battle.

Later trainer level rewards get better over time, becoming more lucrative the higher your level, with more powerful Pokéballs, curatives and other items becoming available.

Finally, the higher level you are, the sooner you'll likely access new features. We've seen this twice in the past, with Raids and Friends rolling out first to a select higher level few, and though these were soon opened up to the broader player base, it's an extra incentive to get as much XP as you can.

This page provides a list of XP sources in Pokémon Go - including the changes introduced with the Season of Celebration update in December 2020 - as well as various fast XP methods.

On this page:

A teaser for the Go Beyond update and catching a Gen 6 Pokémon.

Pokémon Go XP chart and sources list

Almost every action in the game will give you XP of some kind, and it pays to know the most efficient methods.

Here's a run down to help you plan your activities, with the following XP list up to date as of the Season of Celebration update in December 2020. (Thanks to jradta on the Silph Road for confirming these).

If you are a long time player, the major change is the huge increase in Excellent Throw XP - jumping from 100XP to 1,000 XP. Note for all players, any Catch XP has been doubled until the end of December 31st, 2020, to help players reach the time-limited Legacy 40 Challenge.

Remember many of the following will stack - for example, evolving a new Pokémon will give you 500XP for the new Pokédex entry, as well as the 500 XP for the evolution itself.

If you have a Lucky Egg at hand, you will double all XP gains for the next 30 minutes. To get a 4x increase, you must use a Lucky Egg during a Double XP event.

Double XP events have become increasingly rare in recent years (though evolution and catch specific double XP occurs regularly as part of Spotlight Hour) but if you can time some of the below activities - such as going Best Friends with another Trainer - alongside them, then you can really maximise your gains.

XP sourceNormal XP2x XP4x XP
Capture any Pokémon100 XP200 XP400 XP
New Pokédex entry500 XP1000 XP2000 XP
Catch a Pokémon with a Curveball10 XP20 XP40 XP
Catch a Pokémon with a Nice throw20 XP40 XP80 XP
Catch a Pokémon with a Great throw100 XP200 XP200 XP
Catch a Pokémon with an Excellent Throw1000 XP2000 XP4000 XP
Catch a Pokémon on the first attempt50 XP100 XP200 XP
Catch a Pokémon in AR mode300 XP600 XP1200 XP
Pokémon runs away25 XP40 XP100 XP
Evolving a Pokémon500 XP1000 XP2000 XP
Hatching a 2km Egg700 XP1400 XP2800 XP
Hatching a 5km Egg1000 XP2000 XP4000 XP
Hatching a 7km Egg1500 XP3000 XP6000 XP
Hatching a 10km Egg1000 XP2000 XP4000 XP
Hatching a 12km Egg4000 XP8000 XP16000 XP
Feeding berry to Pokémon in a Gym50 XP100 XP200 XP
Win Gym battle400 XP800 XP1600 XP
Interact with PokéStop100 XP200 XP400 XP
Interact with a new PokéStop250 XP500 XP1000 XP
Daily Bonus for PokeStop500 XP1000 XP2000 XP
Daily Bonus for PokeStop on day seven2000 XP4000 XP8000 XP
Daily Bonus for catching Pokémon500 XP1000 XP2000 XP
Daily Bonus for catching Pokémon on day seven2000 XP4000 XP8000 XP
Completing a Tier 1 Raid3000 XP6000 XP9000 XP
Completing a Tier 2 Raid3500 XP7000 XP14000 XP
Completing a Tier 3 Raid4000 XP8000 XP12,000 XP
Completing a Tier 4 Raid5000 XP10,000 XP20,000 XP
Completing a Tier 5 Raid10,000 XP20,000 XP40,000 XP
Spinning a Gym Badge25 XP minimum, then 2x per tier, and 25% if Gym is same team50 XP minimum, then 2x per tier, and 25% if Gym is same team75 XP minimum, then 2x per tier, and 25% if Gym is same team
Completing a Research Breakthrough3,000 XP6,000 XP12,000 XP
Sending a Gift200 XPN/AN/A
Unlocking Great Friend status3,000 XP6,000 XP12,000 XP
Unlocking Ultra Friend status50,000 XP100,000 XP200,000 XP
Unlocking Best Friend status100,000 XP200,000 XP400,000 XP

The Season of Rising Heroes is here! Currently the A Valorous Hero event is running, bringing with it Mega Pinsir and the A Valorous Hero special research quest. The new Grass and Gratitude quest allows you to catch a mythical Shaymin! A new Team Go Rocket quest - From The Shadows - has been released, along with a shake up of the Giovanni and Team Go Rocket Leaders lineups. As you continue your Pokémon Go adventure, make sure to battle in the new Go Battle League season. Don't forget to take a look at the Remote Raid Passes changes or, if you purchased it, work on the Masterwork Research: Wish Granted quest. Elsewhere, be sure to use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance of encountering Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Moltres. This incense may also give you encounters with other rare Pokémon in Pokémon Go.


How to get XP fast in Pokémon Go

Though technically not the 'fastest' method, the 'best' method is by levelling a Friend to Best Friend status, netting you a whopping 100,000 XP.

The most efficient way of getting XP is adding Friends, sending them gifts, then using a Lucky Egg when turning Best Friends.

This takes some time - 90 days in total - but since all it takes is exchanging Gifts back and forth daily, it's by far and away the most lucrative XP source in the game.

Remember you can use a Lucky Egg to double this to 200,000 XP, and if you time it right, you can easily queue up multiple Best Friends to open their gifts in a single Lucky Egg use.

Beyond that, the fastest method is completing a Tier 5 raid, which will earn you 10,000 XP. With Raid Hours, you can chain multiple Tier 5 Raids in a single session, earning many times that, especially with a Lucky Egg.

The problem with this method is you need other players to help you out. If you can, it's worth joining a local Pokémon Go - one which regularly schedules Raid attendance around Raid Hours and other events - so you have other Trainers to help you complete Raids easily.

Otherwise, a very effective means of gaining XP is evolving Pokémon one after another while a Lucky Egg multiplier is active, something which can performed solo and at your own convenience.

Low Candy Pokémon such as Weedles are your ticket to fast XP.

Evolving a creature gives you 500 XP, and if you have have enough creatures and Candy available to evolve them for a full 30 minutes, can net you around 60,000 XP with the use of a Lucky Egg.

If you can time it with a Spotlight Hour which offers double evolution XP, then this can be boosted even further - not to mention while also using a Pokémon Go Plus accessory, allowing you to spin a PokéStop or catch wild creatures nearby without having to take a break from evolving.

This method requires some preparation, and the easiest way to do this is with certain common creatures - such as Pidgeys, Weedles, Caterpies, Wurmples and Whismurs - which are all easy to find and require a very small amount of Candy to evolve - 12 compared to the usual 25, 50 or 100.

To get the most out of this method, capture as many first evolution creatures as possible, with each capture giving you Candy and a potential creature to evolve. Remember you can get bonus Candy by transferring them back to the Professor, but make sure you have enough to actually evolve. Thankfully, there's a handy online calculator named PidgeyCalc that will work out exactly how many you need to transfer to maximise your time, and how long it will take.

Adding a new Pokémon to your Pokédex adds another 500 XP.

Another tip to make things easier and save time, is to search for 'evolve' in your Pokémon list, the game will narrow down every creature you can evolve based on the current Candy you have. Very handy to save you searching through your list while the Lucky Egg timer ticks down.

It's also well worth holding off evolving anything that will be new to your Pokédex until you have a Lucky Egg active. Each new Pokédex entry is worth 500 XP, effectively doubling the amount of XP you get.

Once you get into the habit of going after common creatures and saving them up for such evolution sprees, you'll be flying through trainer levels sooner than you think.

Finally, timing hatching eggs and getting a Pokémon Go Daily Bonus with a Lucky Egg will give you an extra dose of XP - and while along aren't enough to spend a Lucky Egg on, are worth timing with the above methods if you can manage it.

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About the Author
Matthew Reynolds avatar

Matthew Reynolds

Contributor

Matthew Reynolds edited guides and other helpful things at Eurogamer from 2010 - 2023. When he wasn't doing that, he was out and about playing Pokémon Go or continuing to amass his amiibo collection.

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