Emerald Legacy Training Spots: The Fastest EXP Per KO, Route by Route

Every route's EXP is different, and "best training spot" is only a meaningful question once you know what level you are. So this is the whole list, ranked by EXP per wild KO -- computed from each route's actual encounter table and each species' real base experience, using the generation's own formula.

The spread is enormous. Victory Road pays about 1,070 EXP a fight. Route 116 pays 67. Both are "a route", and picking wrong costs you hours.

Early game: what's actually best while you're under level 20

Route 117 is the classic early grinding route and it holds up well: 214 EXP a KO with wilds up to 18, and the breeders on the route rematch for extra fights. Just don't believe it's the best spot "hands down" -- it's the best spot at badge 2. Once Rock Smash opens Route 114 (279 a KO) that becomes the better option for the badge-3 stretch.

Route 116 beats Rusturf Tunnel, which surprises people who remember vanilla: 67 vs 68 EXP sounds like a wash, but Route 116's floor is higher (its wilds start at 7, Rusturf's at 6), so the average fight is worth more and it's better for dragging a level 5 Pokemon up to usefulness.

Late game: the real grinding routes

Victory Road is the endgame answer -- 1,071 a KO on B1F, 1,042 on 1F -- and it's also where you'll pick up the levels you need for Steven's level 58 Metagross. Meteor Falls (818) and Sky Pillar (782) are the alternatives when you want a different type mix or you're already out that way.

Two practical notes: Artisan Cave's 653 a KO is the best non-Victory-Road option if you're at the Battle Frontier, and Safari Zone Northeast's 483 is a decent mid-game standby because the spawns there sit at 33-40 without needing endgame access.

What to use while you grind

• Exp. Share splits experience to a Pokemon that never fights, which is how you level something fragile -- you get it from Mr. Stone in the Devon Corp building in Rustboro.
• Lucky Egg boosts EXP gain on the holder, and it's the Norman gym rematch reward, so it's a post-badge-5 tool rather than an early one.
• Macho Brace is not an EXP item -- it doubles EV gain and halves Speed. Don't put it on your grinding Pokemon expecting faster levels.
• Rematches are worth more than wilds once you're past badge 6. The leader rematch ladder runs up to level 65 and each fight carries trainer EXP rates; see rematch trainers.

Under a level cap

If you're playing a level-cap run, the caps decide your route for you: you'll be fighting at the highest level the cap allows, so what matters is picking the route whose wilds sit at your cap rather than above it. Route 112 (201 a KO) and Route 117 (214) cover the early caps; Route 121 (517) and the Shoal Cave ice rooms (522) cover the middle; Victory Road covers the level 50s. The Hard Mode caps page has the numbers.

Where these numbers come from: computed from Emerald Legacy's own encounter tables (87 areas with grass encounters) and each species' base experience, using baseExp x level / 7 and weighting each route by its real encounter rates.