An important part of any Pokémon playthrough is leveling up your team and taking on tougher and tougher opponents. There are a variety of ways to level up Pokémon in every game, with some being better than others. In each generation, new methods are introduced and older methods are expanded upon.
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In Generation VIII, there are a ton of new methods for gaining experience points. Some are quick, some are long, but all will have your Pokémon in tip-top shape for the toughest battles in the game. Here are some of the ways you can level up your Pokémon with ease in Sword and Shield.
Updated October 29th, 2020 by Tanner Kinney: Sword and Shield has really expanded in terms of post-game content. New tournaments, trainers, and legendaries to tackle means that trainers are going to have to bring their A-game and their strongest partners. Additionally, new Pokémon means that trainers are going to have to evolve them to get those sweet Pokédex entries. Either way, power-leveling is going to be necessary, and Game Freak has given trainers a few new ways to level fast.
15 The Exp. Charm
Added in The Isle of Armor, the Exp. Charm increases the amount of experience points gained from battles further than before. This is in addition to other experience bonuses mentioned further on in this list. It's a nice touch, and a solid addition to help make things go by faster.
To obtain the Exp. Charm, the player must complete the Isle of Armor Pokédex, including the various rare, powerful Pokémon and the newly available starters. This requires either a friend or access to the Global Trade System. It may take some time, but it isn't too hard to finish and the reward makes training new Pokémon more efficient.
14 Dojo Master Mustard
A couple of new daily battles were added in the two expansions. In The Isle of Armor, both the new rival Avery/Klara can be battled along with Dojo Master Mustard. Mustard is a former champion, who trains warriors in hopes of finding a perfect partner for the extremely rare Kubfu.
Mustard's Pokémon are in line with that of the champion, so precautions will need to be taken. He's harder than other trainers, but it also isn't too hard to take him down with enough of a level difference. Bring a couple of weaker Pokémon to sap experience points and leveling goes by fast.
13 Former Gym Leader Peony
One of the daily battles in The Crown Tundra, the second DLC, is the former gym leader and best dad, Peony. The steel-type favoring explorer may spend more of his time on the couch watching TV, but he's still a formidable trainer. It takes some solid exploitation of weakness to melt his steel legion.
Fortunately, much like Dojo Master Mustard, his Pokémon can still be dispatched with enough of a level lead. His ace is also a Copperjah, like Chairman Rose, and the lore behind that Pokémon is at least kind of interesting. Regardless, Peony adds another battle for free experience daily.
12 Galarian Star Tournament
After completing the entirely of both DLC campaigns, the player will be invited back to Wyndon for a new tournament featuring trainers from across all of Galar. The Galarian Star Tournament is a series of double-battles, where the player and a partner battle the familiar cast of gym leaders and rivals to make it to the top.
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Interestingly enough, these battles also give experience, although they are much tougher than any of the other available battles. It may not be the most efficient way of spreading experience across a wide selection of Pokémon, but it is still a great way of power-leveling competitively trained Pokémon.
11 Beat The Stuffing Out Of Chansey and Audino
In past games, the Pokémon Audino was added as a somewhat rare encounter. In Black and White, it was most commonly found in rustling grass, allowing it to be found on a regular basis. This was useful, because Audino gives a ridiculous amount of experience when defeated. It rivals Chansey in terms of experience gained.
Fortunately for trainers, both of those two normal-types can be found in the two DLC areas. Chansey can be found and beaten down during The Isle of Armor (and the main campaign), while Audino are found during The Crown Tundra and serve well for post-game grinds. For trainers who don't mind a lopsided EV spread, or are just looking for quick exp., these two Pokémon are a blessing from the heavens.
10 Battling Strong Wild Area Pokémon
The Wild Area is a new feature introduced in Sword and Shield. In it, you'll find a ton of very strong and intimidating Pokémon wandering around the overworld. When battled, these are the toughest wild Pokémon you'll probably face.
Some of these Pokémon will grant a ton of EXP when defeated, especially pseudo-legendaries like Tyranitar and Kommo-o. Other strong Pokémon that can be found in the Wild Area will drop lots of EXP as well, like Vanilluxe, Dusknoir, Klinklang, Gardevoir, and Roserade. Seek these out and take them down for a ton of easy EXP.
9 Traded Pokémon
This is often news to some players who don't already know: Pokémon received in trades earn EXP at a much higher rate than Pokémon you've caught yourself. A Pokémon traded to you by another player will actually early experience points at a rate of 1.5 times something you caught.
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If the Pokémon is from a player whose game is in another language, the rate goes up to an incredible 1.7 times. If you're looking to level up a certain Pokémon and still need to catch it, consider finding someone to trade you one instead.
8 Affection
Starting in Generation VI, the Pokémon on your team will have an affection level. This can be increased with various methods, most notably by playing with them while camping and battling with them often. You can also catch them in a Friend Ball or Luxury Ball, or give them a Soothe Bell to hold.
A high affection level comes with numerous bonuses, including positive effects in battle like landing more critical hits. Most importantly, however, Pokémon with a high enough affection level will earn experience points at a higher rate.
7 PokéJobs
New to the Pokémon world in Generation VIII is PokéJobs. These small tasks are a great way to boost your Pokémon's EXP yield. After unlocking them, head to a PC in a Pokémon Center and select PokéJobs from the menu.
Here, you'll find a list of available jobs. They'll each ask for a specific type of Pokémon, and if you send that type, the Pokémon sent will receive more experience points. These are an easy, passive way to level up and cost nothing to complete.
6 Rare Candies
A staple item since the original generation, Rare Candies are a powerful tool for leveling up a Pokémon. When given to one of your team members, its level will raise by 1. They're a little hard to come by, but worth looking for.
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Luckily, these items can now be found in Max Raid Battles, making them more readily available than any previous generation. They're probably the most straightforward way to level up a Pokémon, with the least effort involved. Since Generation III, they also increase friendship slightly.
5 Camping
Sword and Shield also introduced the camping mechanic. With it, you can spend some quality time with your team. During your time camping, you can play some small little games like fetch with your Pokémon. These games will increase their affection toward you while also providing EXP.
The most notable aspect of camping, though, is cooking curry. With hundreds of available curry recipes, there is a ton of different ways to go about making this dish. Pokémon seem to love it, and it'll provide them with a ton of EXP.
4 Lucky Egg
Another staple item for leveling up Pokémon is the Lucky Egg. This item increases the EXP yield when held by a Pokémon to 150 percent. This can be a huge gain for a Pokémon that needs to level up, basically reducing the amount of battles you need to win by a significant amount.
The Lucky Egg can be found in Hullbury by completing a round of quests for a Seafood Restaurant. Inside the restaurant, the chef will give you some delivery quests to complete. After finishing the third one, you'll be rewarded with this great item.
3 Game Freak Morimoto
Once a day, you can battle Game Freak Morimoto in Circhester City. Find him in the city's hotel, where he'll challenge you to a double battle. This can be repeated daily for a ton of EXP, since his Pokémon are very strong.
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Be prepared to deal with his Dynamaxed Snorlax, which can be a hard one to take down. He also uses a Cursola, Coalossal, Dragapult, Stonjourner, and Grapploct. A Fairy- or Fighting-type Pokémon is useful for defeating him. As a bonus, he'll give you an Oval Charm the first time you defeat him.
2 Championship Matches
After becoming Galar's Champion, you can participate in the Champion's Cup to defend your title as many times as you like. Like the first time, you'll have to go through three rounds of battles. This time, however, you'll be defending your title instead of earning it.
You can invite certain opponents to participate if you're looking for an easy win (or a challenge). Milo, Nessa, Marnie, Hop, Leon, and many others can all be invited (some of them have to be unlocked by defeating them in the Battle Tower). There are about 15 other non-invite trainers that can participate as well.
1 EXP Candy
The most overpowered way to level up your Pokémon is arguably the EXP candies that were introduced in Sword and Shield. These are items earned at the end of a Max Raid Battle if you defeat the raid boss. They come in five sizes from XS to XL.
Each size of these candies will give a higher amount of EXP than the one below it, with XL candies giving a whopping 30,000 experience points. Thiscan bring some level one Pokémon to level 31 with a single item. They're by far the most efficient way of leveling up your team and can be earned in almost infinite amounts, so long as you participate in enough Max Raid Battles.
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