Each and every Pokémon game starts you off at the lowest level of trainer. You get to pick your starter and are then set off, more or less, to go collect more monsters to add to your team, level them up, and evolve them. Pokémon Legends: Arceus is no different in that regard. However, in almost every other way, this new Pokémon title changes up how you need to approach each and every situation you are faced with. Not only does this mean combat, exploration, item management, and progression, but also how you go about leveling up and earning XP.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is one of the more difficult entries the franchise has seen. Even wild Pokémon you spot roaming around the various zones you can explore can easily be 10 or more levels above your team, and that’s not even mentioning the more rare enemies like Alpha Pokémon, let alone boss encounters against Noble Pokémon. You should still be able to make it through the main campaign without too much grinding, but all those extra end-game challenges won’t go down as easily. To help you train the most powerful team possible, here are the fastest ways to farm XP in Pokémon Legends: Arceus.
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How XP works in Pokémon Legends: Arceus
How XP works has been a point of contention among Pokémon fans for a few titles now. The main reason was the introduction of XP sharing being automatic, where in previous games it was an item, and before that nonexistent. What XP sharing does is keep all Pokémon in your team at similar levels by giving your entire roster XP for a fight, regardless of whether or not they participated in that fight. Some believe it makes the games too easy since you can level up a Pokémon without them ever actually having to fight, while others appreciate not having to grind XP for each and every monster.
In Pokémon Legends: Arceus, XP sharing is back, but not in full force. Every Pokémon in your team will still earn XP for each fight, but if they don’t actually participate, they only get half the amount of any Pokémon that do. If you want to cut down on the grind, then cycling through as many Pokémon in a battle as you can will speed up the process considerably.
EXP Candy and Rare Candy are also back in Pokémon Legends: Arceus and work just like they always have. EXP Candy comes in three sizes (small, medium, and large), and when used on a Pokémon, will instantly boost their XP by a certain amount. Rare Candy, on the other hand, is an instant level-up for whichever Pokémon receives the sweet treat. You can get them from a number of sources, or just buy them from Jubilife Village.
Early-game XP farming
Your best bet in the early hours of Pokémon Legends: Arceus is to just follow the main story progression to earn XP. The main missions do a good job of keeping you high enough for whatever comes next. But, if you’ve made some big team changes or just want to get overpowered, there is one decent way to grind XP fast for those early levels.
In the Obsidian Fieldlands, you can find a level 20 Beautifly in the Flaoro Gardens, so long as it is daytime. Beating this relatively high-level foe earns almost 1,000 XP for any Pokémon who enters the battle and half for your benched team. Beautifly is a bug and flying type, making any rock types in your team the heavy hitters here.
Mid-game XP farming
Once you’re getting toward the 30s and 40s, those early game fights and even story missions will start to not give quite the amount of XP you need, especially if your team has grown. At this point, there are two good options for farming, the first being a bit lower-level friendly.
Like the Beautifly, the Crimson Mirelands has an outlier in terms of being quite high a level compared to the Pokémon around it. Kricketunes is a level 40 bug type, so the same tactics can apply here. You can find them just south of the Golden Lowlands location on the map.
Our first real farming opportunity that can sustain you for quite a while is going after the Alpha Chansey or Blissey. These two Pokémon, for whatever reason, have historically always given a higher than normal amount of XP, and the same is true in Pokémon Legends: Arceus. Alpha Chansey is the lower level of the two and comes in at level 50, so you still need to come prepared. They are both weak to fighting types, so bring at least one along if you’re doing this method. Aside from the raw XP gain, the main bonus to fighting these two Alpha Pokémon is the fact that they both also drop EXP Candy, which just makes the payout even greater.
Alpha Chansey will always spawn in the Cobalt Coastlands on Tombolo Walk. Take it down to get a nice chunk of XP plus a medium EXP Candy.
Alpha Blissey is slightly tougher at level 62 and can be found in the Obsidian Fieldlands. From the entrance to Oreburrow Tunnel, climb up the hill, and you will find it wandering near the cliffs. Blissey will drop a large EXP Candy as well.
After beating either of these Alpha Pokémon, you can instantly reset them to grind over and over by returning to the village and then back into their respective zones for a new one to be spawned in.
Late- and post-game XP farming
Those XP farming methods should serve to more than level your team for the main game and a decent chunk of post-game content, too. However, there are some challenges that you might need a fully leveled team for, or you just might want to see how powerful your favorite monster can get. Either way, at this point, there’s only one real way to earn a lot of XP, besides just buying candies, of course.
After you beat the Scaling Perilous Heights mission, Ingo will show up in the village outside of the Training Grounds. By speaking to him, you can challenge a host of other trainers in battle. The best part about fighting this way is that your entire team will be fully healed once you win a fight, so you can keep crushing an opponent you have a perfect counter for over and over in short order. More trainers will also become available after you beat The Counterpart mission. Here are all the trainers you can fight, plus their team and levels:
- Wenton: Level 55 Mothim, level 56 Gastrodon, and level 55 Jolteon.
- Bren: Level 55 Wormadam, level 56 Gastrodon, and level 55 Sylveon.
- Zisu: Level 57 Ambipom, level 57 Luxray, level 57 Honchkrow, and level 55 Hisuian Zoroark.
- Akari or Rei: Level 61 Mr. Mime, level 62 Pikachu, level 61 Starapor.
- Kamado: Level 65 Golem, level 66 Snorlax, and level 65 Heracross.
- Beni: Level 63 Mismagius, level 63 Sneasler, level 64 Gallade.
- Ingo: Level 67 Alakazam, level 68 Gliscor, level 67 Machamp, level 67 Probopass, level 67 Tangrowth, and level 67 Magnezone.
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