Introduction

Each Pokémon has a hidden base experience value that determines how much experience your Pokémon gain when you defeat it. The higher the value, the faster your Pokémon will level up.^[1]

This guide shows you the best wild Pokémon to fight for quick leveling, where to find them, and how to multiply your EXP gains. Whether you're rushing through the early game or preparing for the Elite Four, these strategies will cut your training time significantly.

This guide will teach you which wild Pokémon to battle for fast leveling, where to find them, and how to increase your experience gain. Whether you're speeding through the early game or about to face the Elite Four, these tips will reduce your training time dramatically.

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How Experience Works

The amount of EXP your team will receive after defeating a wild Pokémon is determined by:

• Base experience of the defeated Pokémon
• Level of the defeated Pokémon
• Multipliers from Lucky Egg, traded Pokémon, and trainer battles

The calculation is simple: base experience and levels increase the amount of EXP.^[1] A level 60 Chansey gives way more experience than a level 5 Pidgey, even though both are wild encounters!

Experience Multipliers

You can combine these multipliers to increase your exp gain:^[2]

• Lucky Egg: 1.5x experience
• Traded Pokémon (different Original Trainer than yours): 1.5x experience
• Trainer battles: 1.5x experience

multipliers stack on top of each other. A Pokémon with a different Original Trainer (OT) and holding a Lucky Egg in a trainer battle will provide 3.375x experience (1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5). That's more than triple the normal experience gain. For wild Pokémon farming, you can stack Lucky Egg with the different OT bonus for 2.25x experience.

Note: "Traded Pokémon" means any Pokémon whose Original Trainer doesn't match yours - this includes Pokémon received from NPC trades or Wonder Trade.

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Best Pokémon for Experience

Here are the highest base experience values for farmable wild Pokémon.^[1] Legendaries are excluded because you can't farm them repeatedly.

Endgame Champions

• Blissey: 635 base EXP - Highest in the game by far
• Chansey: 395 base EXP - Still exceptional, easier to find
• Gyarados: 214 base EXP - Accessible via fishing

Blissey gives 60% more experience than any other non-legendary Pokémon. One Blissey is worth nearly three Gyarados in terms of raw EXP gain. Chansey sits comfortably in second place and appears more frequently.

Mid-Game Options

• Crobat: 204 base EXP - Evolved from Golbat
• Pidgeot: 194 base EXP - Evolved from Pidgeotto
• Gengar: 190 base EXP - Evolved from Haunter (use Linking Cord)
• Butterfree: 185 base EXP - Evolved from Caterpie

These don't compare to Chansey or Blissey, but they're what you'll work with during most of the game.

Early Game Picks

• Gastly: 95 base EXP - Best early option
• Geodude: 86 base EXP - Common in caves
• Noctowl: 162 base EXP - Evolved from Hoothoot
• Golbat: 171 base EXP - Evolved from Zubat

Early routes have weak Pokémon that barely give any experience. A level 3 Pidgey with 55 base EXP won't level your team fast. Focus on caves where Gastly and Geodude appear, or wait for evolutions.

Farming Locations by Story Progression

The best training spots change as you progress through the game.^[3] Here's where to farm at each stage, organized by your position in the story.

Level 5-10: Before Violet City Gym

Sprout Tower (Violet City)

• Gastly: 95 base EXP (night only, 2% encounter)
• Rattata: 57 base EXP (common)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 3-7

Sprout Tower is your first real farming spot. Gastly gives nearly 70% more experience than the Pidgey and Sentret on Routes 29-30. Come back at night and grind here if you need to level up before Falkner.

The wild Pokémon have weak moves and you'll face lots of trainers. Good preparation for Gym Leader Falkner (Flying-type).

Routes 29-31

• Pidgey, Sentret, Rattata: 55-58 base EXP
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 2-5

These are your only options on the opening routes. The experience is low, but the Pokémon are everywhere. Electric and Rock-types will perform well here against all the Normal and Flying encounters.

Level 12-18: Union Cave & Route 34

Union Cave (Between Violet City and Azalea Town)

• Golbat: 171 base EXP (evolved form, uncommon)
• Graveler: 134 base EXP (uncommon)
• Geodude: 86 base EXP (common)
• Zubat: 54 base EXP (very common)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 6-15

Union Cave connects Violet City to Azalea Town. Water and Grass-types have an easy time here against all the Rock and Ground encounters. Good training before Gym Leader Bugsy (Bug-type).

Route 34 (Between Goldenrod City and Azalea Town)

• Noctowl: 162 base EXP (night, uncommon)
• Drowzee: 102 base EXP (common)
• Ditto: 61 base EXP (rare, but you can catch it here!)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 10-16

Route 34 is close to the Day Care, so you can train while hatching eggs. Helps prepare for Gym Leader Whitney (Normal-type). Fighting-types dominate this route.

Level 18-25: Routes 38-39 & Ecruteak Area

Routes 38 & 39 (Between Ecruteak City and Olivine City)

• Noctowl: 162 base EXP (common at night)
• Pidgeotto: 113 base EXP (common during day)
• Raticate: 116 base EXP (common)
• Meowth: 69 base EXP
• Tauros: 211 base EXP (Route 39, uncommon)
• Miltank: 200 base EXP (Route 39, rare)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 13-16

These routes have evolved Pokémon that give solid experience. Almost all encounters are Normal-type, so Fighting, Rock, and Steel-types dominate. Good preparation for Gym Leader Morty (Ghost-type).

If you find Tauros or Miltank on Route 39, they give excellent experience for this point in the game.

Level 22-30: Routes 40-41 & Olivine/Cianwood

Routes 40 & 41 (Surfing between Olivine City and Cianwood City)

• Tentacruel: 205 base EXP (uncommon)
• Tentacool: 105 base EXP (very common)
• Mantine: 168 base EXP (Route 41, uncommon)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 15-25

All encounters are Water-type (and Water/Poison). Grass and Electric-types will have it easy here. Good training spot before facing Gym Leaders Chuck (Fighting-type) and Jasmine (Steel-type).

Tentacruel gives double the experience of Tentacool, so use Repels if you're hunting the evolved form.

Level 25-35: Route 45 & Blackthorn Area

Route 45 (Between Blackthorn City and New Bark Town)

• Donphan: 175 base EXP (rare)
• Graveler: 134 base EXP (common)
• Skarmory: 168 base EXP (rare catch)
• Gligar: 86 base EXP (uncommon)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 20-27

Route 45 has rare and powerful Pokémon to catch (Skarmory, Donphan). Most encounters are Rock, Ground, or Flying-type. Water and Ice-types perform well here. Good preparation for Gym Leader Clair (Dragon-type).

This is one of the better training routes in Johto for both experience and rare encounters.

Level 30-40: Victory Road & Elite Four Prep

Victory Road

• Rhydon: 204 base EXP (rare)
• Graveler: 134 base EXP (very common)
• Golbat: 171 base EXP (common)
• Onix: 108 base EXP (common)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 32-40

Victory Road is the final training area before the Elite Four. Most wild Pokémon are Rock and Ground-type, so Water and Grass-types dominate. There are lots of trainers here giving the 1.5x experience bonus.

The route connects to Indigo Plateau, where you can access the Pokémon Center easily.

Elite Four Rematches

• No wild Pokémon, but great for experience
• Trainer battle bonus: 1.5x experience
• You keep your money and restart at Indigo Plateau if you lose
• Same teams each time, so you can plan your strategy
• Around 22,000 Pokédollars per clear

The Elite Four is repeatable and gives a ton of experience with the trainer bonus. Once you beat them the first time, you can rematch for quick levels.

Level 40-50: Kanto Routes & Mt. Silver

Route 26 (Between Johto and Kanto)

• Noctowl: 162 base EXP (common at night)
• Raticate: 116 base EXP (common)
• Arbok: 140 base EXP (uncommon)
• Sandslash: 163 base EXP (uncommon)
• Quagsire: 137 base EXP (uncommon)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 28-32

Route 26 has strong trainers and evolved wild Pokémon. Good for final Elite Four preparation or training new team members after beating the Johto League.

Mt. Silver (Kanto Endgame)

• Ursaring: 189 base EXP (rare)
• Tangela: 161 base EXP (outside)
• Larvitar: 67 base EXP (inside, super rare)
• Pupitar: 144 base EXP (inside, very rare)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 40-50+

Mt. Silver has the highest-level wild Pokémon in the game and rare species (Larvitar, Pupitar). There's a Pokémon Center at the base. This area helps prepare for Champion Red, but Lucky Island outclasses it for pure experience farming.

Level 45+: Lucky Island (Best EXP Farm)

Lucky Island (Kanto, post-Elite Four)

• Blissey: 635 base EXP (rare, morning/day only)
• Chansey: 395 base EXP (10% encounter, morning/day)
• Happiny: 110 base EXP (common)
• Levels scale with your badges

Lucky Island is the absolute best spot for experience farming in the entire game. Chansey appears at a 10% rate during morning and day. Blissey is much rarer but gives insane experience - nearly three times what you'd get from most fully-evolved Pokémon.

The Pokémon levels scale based on how many badges you have. Once you reach Kanto and unlock this area, make Lucky Island your primary training spot. One level 60 Chansey gives more experience than five Mt. Silver encounters combined.

Safari Zone North (Fuchsia City)

• Chansey: 395 base EXP at level 60 (rare encounter, morning/day only)
• Wild Pokémon: Levels 55-60

If you're in Kanto but haven't unlocked Lucky Island yet, Safari Zone North has Chansey as a rare spawn. You need to pay 500 Pokédollars each time you enter, so Lucky Island is better once available.

Fishing for Gyarados

Gyarados gives 214 base EXP and can be fished with a Super Rod.^[4]

Best Fishing Spots:

• Lake of Rage: 30% with Super Rod (level 40)
• Fuchsia City: 30% with Super Rod (level 40)
• Cerulean Cave: 30% with Super Rod (level 66)

Fishing for Gyarados is slower than farming Chansey because of the 30% encounter rate. But before you reach Lucky Island, it's one of your best options for high experience in Kanto.

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Getting Lucky Egg

Lucky Egg multiplies experience by 1.5x. It's the single best held item for leveling.^[5]

Lucky Egg Sources

Guaranteed:

• Lucky Island: One-time pickup near the entrance
• Professor Oak's Aide: One-time gift (requires catching a certain number of Pokémon)

Wild Pokémon (5% hold rate):

• Chansey - Rare wild Pokémon
• Blissey - Even rarer than Chansey
• Happiny - Common on Lucky Island

The easiest Lucky Egg to obtain is the pickup on Lucky Island itself. If you want more, you'll need to catch wild Chansey, Blissey, or Happiny and hope they're holding one. With only a 5% chance, this can take dozens of encounters.

Once you have Lucky Egg, give it to the Pokémon you're training. Don't waste it on your highest-level team member who doesn't need experience anymore.

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Stacking Multipliers for Maximum Gains

The fastest way to level is stacking all three experience multipliers:^[2]

1. Give your Pokémon Lucky Egg (1.5x)
2. Use a Pokémon with different OT - from NPC trade or Wonder Trade (1.5x)
3. Fight trainer battles when possible (1.5x)

1.5 × 1.5 × 1.5 = 3.375x total experience

This only works for trainer battles. Wild encounters can't give the trainer bonus, so you're limited to 2.25x (Lucky Egg + different OT).

For wild farming, your setup is:

• Lucky Egg on the Pokémon being trained
• Use a Pokémon from an NPC trade or Wonder Trade
• Farm Chansey or Blissey on Lucky Island

A level 60 Chansey with Lucky Egg and different OT gives a ton of experience. This setup can take a Pokémon from level 1 to level 50 in less than an hour of grinding.

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Rematchable Trainers

Trainer battles give 1.5x experience, but most trainers can only be battled once.^[6] A few trainers can be rematched:

• Pokemaniac Brent (4th rematch): Chansey at level 47

Brent's Chansey gives the trainer battle multiplier on top of Chansey's already high base experience. With Lucky Egg and a Pokémon from an NPC trade, this is one of the highest single-battle experience gains in the game.

Check the rematchable trainers page for the full list and how to trigger rematches.

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Quick Leveling Strategy

Here's the most efficient path to level a new Pokémon fast:

1. Get Lucky Egg from Lucky Island
2. Obtain a Pokémon from an NPC trade or Wonder Trade (different Original Trainer)
3. Slap Lucky Egg on the Pokémon you want to level
4. Farm Chansey on Lucky Island (10% encounter in morning/day)
5. Hope for Blissey (rare but gives nearly double Chansey's experience)

If you're training multiple Pokémon, use Exp. Share to distribute experience to your whole team. But for the fastest single-Pokémon leveling, have that Pokémon in the lead with Lucky Egg.

Avoid low-level wild encounters like Pidgey or Rattata. The base experience is so low that even with multipliers, you're wasting time. Stick to caves and special locations with high-value targets.

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Training Route Recommendations

Here's a quick reference for story progression:

Story Progression Tips:

• Battle all trainers in each area before moving on (1.5x EXP bonus adds up)
• You won't need to grind much if you're fighting trainers consistently
• Use Pokémon from NPC trades to get the 1.5x OT bonus
• Save Lucky Island for when you need to level fast (new team member, post-game training)
• Elite Four rematches give great experience and money once you beat them

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Summary

Best Experience Sources by Stage:

• Early game (5-18): Gastly in Sprout Tower, Golbat in Union Cave
• Mid-game (18-35): Noctowl on routes, Tentacruel surfing, Donphan on Route 45
• Late Johto (30-40): Victory Road trainer battles, Graveler grinding
• Kanto (40-50): Route 26 trainers, Mt. Silver rare Pokémon
• Endgame (45+): Chansey/Blissey on Lucky Island (nothing else compares)

Multipliers:

• Lucky Egg: 1.5x (must-have, get from Lucky Island)
• Different Original Trainer: 1.5x (get from NPC trades or Wonder Trade)
• Trainer battles: 1.5x (always fight trainers)
• All three together: 3.375x total experience

Fast Leveling Strategy:

1. Get Lucky Egg from Lucky Island (Kanto)
2. Use a Pokémon from an NPC trade or Wonder Trade (different OT)
3. Farm Chansey/Blissey on Lucky Island with Lucky Egg equipped
4. Stack all bonuses for 2.25x wild encounter experience

Once you reach Lucky Island, it becomes the only spot worth farming for pure experience. One level 60 Blissey with Lucky Egg gives roughly the same experience as 15-20 encounters anywhere else in the game.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How does Exp. Share distribute experience?

Exp. Share in Polished Crystal works differently from modern Pokémon games.^[8] Each Pokémon holds an individual Exp. Share item (not a key item that affects the whole party).

Distribution rules:

• Participants: Pokémon that entered battle get full experience
• Exp. Share holders: Pokémon holding Exp. Share (but didn't battle) split experience among themselves
• Both groups present: Experience is distributed using the formula current × (E+P) / (2ep) where:
  • p = number of participants who battled
  • e = number of Exp. Share holders
  • E = p if the current Pokémon holds Exp. Share, else 0
  • P = e if the current Pokémon participated, else 0

Example scenarios:

• 3 Pokémon battled, 0 Exp. Share holders: Each participant gets 1/3 of total EXP
• 1 Pokémon battled, 2 Exp. Share holders: Participant gets full EXP, each holder gets 1/2 EXP
• 2 Pokémon battled, 1 Exp. Share holder: Participants each get 5/8 EXP, holder gets 1/2 EXP

Fainted Pokémon don't receive experience even if they participated or hold Exp. Share.

What's the Scaled EXP setting?

Polished Crystal has a Scaled EXP option in the Initial Options menu.^[8] When enabled, the amount of experience you gain is adjusted based on the level difference between your Pokémon and the defeated Pokémon.

How it works:

• Higher-level opponents: Give more experience (scales up)
• Lower-level opponents: Give less experience (scales down)
• Similar levels: Normal experience

This prevents over-leveling and encourages fighting stronger opponents. The formula uses (enemy level + your level + 20) to calculate the scaling multiplier.

If you want traditional experience gains (defeats always give the same EXP regardless of your level), turn Scaled EXP off in Initial Options.

Can I turn off experience gain completely?

Yes! Polished Crystal has a No EXP Gain option in Initial Options.^[8] When enabled:

• Your Pokémon gain zero experience from all battles
• EVs are still earned normally
• Useful for challenge runs or keeping Pokémon at specific levels

You can still level up using Rare Candies when this option is enabled.

Does Lucky Egg work with Exp. Share?

Yes! Lucky Egg stacks with Exp. Share distribution.^[2]

Example:

• Pokémon holds both Lucky Egg and Exp. Share
• Didn't participate in battle
• Gets 1/2 share from Exp. Share × 1.5 from Lucky Egg = 0.75× total experience

This is great for power-leveling low-level Pokémon. Give them both Lucky Egg and Exp. Share, leave them in your party, and they'll gain 75% of normal experience per battle without fighting.

If the Pokémon also has a different Original Trainer (from an NPC trade), that adds another 1.5× multiplier for 1.125× total experience without participating!

Do switched-out Pokémon count as participants?

Yes! If a Pokémon enters battle at any point (even if switched out immediately), it counts as a participant and gets its share of experience.

Fainted Pokémon don't receive any experience, even if they participated earlier in the battle.

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Sources

All mechanics in this guide are verified directly against Polished Crystal's ROM source code and extracted data. Source links reference the exact files used in-game.

[1] Base experience values and calculation

• Base experience calculation
• Experience at level calculation
• Base experience exceptions
• Pokémon base stats directory

[2] Experience multipliers

• Lucky Egg bonus implementation
• Traded Pokémon bonus
• Trainer battle bonus
• Boost experience routine

[3] Wild encounter locations

• Johto grass encounters
• Kanto grass encounters
• Lucky Island encounters

[4] Fishing mechanics and Gyarados

• Fish group data
• Gyarados fishing group
• Fishing location mappings

[5] Lucky Egg locations and mechanics

• Lucky Island map data
• Chansey held items
• Blissey held items
• Happiny held items

[6] Rematchable trainers

• Extracted rematch trainer data
• Local extracted data: apps/polishedcrystal/public/api/rematch-trainers.json

[7] Base experience exceptions

• Chansey/Blissey/Happiny exceptions
• Base experience calculation logic

[8] Experience distribution and settings

• Exp. Share distribution logic
• Scaled EXP implementation
• Initial Options constants
• Get Exp. Share participants