Best Methods For Leveling Up in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet

The world of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will have you journey all across Paldea, battling and capturing various Pokémon and trainers along your way, as well as facing the notorious Team Star.

Naturally, you will want to keep up with the pace of the game because your battles will continue getting harder. To this end, knowing how to level up your Pokémon quickly to face all these challenges is essential.

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Below we have listed 7 of the most efficient methods for you to gain EXP and quickly level up your Pokémon in Scarlet and Violet.

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Chansey Farming

As the name suggests, this method involves farming for Chansey’s in the wild. Chansey is a Normal-type nurse Pokémon that gives a lot of EXP upon battle and defeat. You get roughly 2000-3000 EXP per every defeated Chansey. 

The idea behind the method is to find yourself a Chansey spawning hotspot and clear out as many as you need to in order to get your Pokémon to their desired level.

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If you’re lucky, you may even run into Chansey’s evolved form Blissey which gives even more EXP.

Chansey Spawn Locations

Chansey can often be found in the overworld, although sometimes they can require encounter buffs. Luckily there is a spot with guaranteed Chansey mob spawns. Follow these steps to make your there:

1. Teleport to the Zero Gate near The Great Crater of Paldea.
2. Enter the Gate, walk up to the teleporter, and interact with it.
3. Teleport to Research Station Number 3.
4. Exit the station and head towards a large tree to the left of the giant cave.
5. Take a left when you reach the tree and enter the hidden cave.
6. Let the Chansey farming commence!

Another popular Chansey spawn location is found on the Eastern tip of Paldea next to the East of Fury Falls. Remember that reaching this place requires the ‘Climb’ ability you get from a Titan Pokémon battle later in the game. You can encounter level 50 Chanseys in this location, which results in high EXP yields.

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Naturally, these are not the only Chansey spawn locations, but we found them quite reliable. You can also find Chansey in areas such as the northern parts of the Western Province and the parts of the Northern Province adjacent to the Glaseado Mountains.

If you are struggling to encounter Chansey or simply don’t want to spend time battling them, our next method might be more your speed.

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Using Sandwiches

Sandwiches are a useful new mechanic introduced in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. They are craftable on picnic tables and use some very unique recipes. A wide array of Sandwich recipes is available, and each sandwich provides you with its unique buff. Encounter and EXP gain buffs, particularly, will help you a lot when farming for specific encounters. 

For example, Chansey is a Normal-type Pokémon, and let’s assume we want to level our Fighting-type Pokémon. In this case, we suggest using sandwich number 147, the Master Tower Sandwich.

This sandwich boosts Normal-type Pokémon encounters while also boosting Fighting-type Pokémon EXP gains. Players should use sandwiches that help their team the best. 

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Farming EXP Candy with Tera Raids

This is probably the most efficient leveling method available in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Tera Raids are secret Pokémon battles similar to boss battles that you can access by approaching Tera Crystals. You can find them by looking for the star-shaped icon on your map. These Raids reward massive amounts of EXP.

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Initially, you can only access up to 4-star Raids in terms of difficulty. Once you defeat the Elite 4 you get access to 5-star Raids. Furthermore, once you beat all the gym leaders once more and complete the Academy Ace tournament, you get access to 6-star Raids. 

5, and 6-star raiders have fairly high difficulties, but their rewards are no joke. They take up to 2-3 minutes and reward you with heaps of EXP candy, rare candy, and other goodies.

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Use the Lucky Egg

This is an item you can receive from Jacq, the Biology teacher, outside the sixth Gym. This is part of a story cutscene whenever you enter your 6th Gym after beating five others, so it is unlikely that you will miss this item. 

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The Lucky Egg will increase the share of EXP of the Pokémon holding it by 50%. So make sure to equip it to the Pokémon whose level is your priority. While the Pokémon holding the Lucky Egg does not need to battle to receive the benefits, it can’t use the Lucky Egg in Auto Battles.

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Battling Trainers

Trainers have always been an excellent source of EXP in all Pokémon games, and it is no different in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The only difference is that you have to walk up to and talk to other trainers yourself to initiate a Trainer Battle. 

Trainer Battle difficulty will increase as you approach late-game areas, but these battles will also award you the most EXP, so make sure to defeat any strong trainers you see. These battles are great for quickly stacking up both EXP and money. 

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: Using the EXP Share Mechanic

This is a really simple feature that distributes the EXP from all battles to your whole team, regardless of who took part in the actual fight. This can be extremely useful if you have low-level Pokémon you want to raise quickly. 

Simply team them up with higher-level Pokémon and defeat tougher enemies with your stronger Pokémon. Using EXP share will speed up your leveling experience significantly.

How to Level Up in Pokemon Violet and Scarlet: The Academy Ace Tournament

This is a repeatable tournament that you get access to after completing the game. In this tournament, you have to face fellow trainers from the Academy along with faculty members. 

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The tournament has 4 rounds, and you can participate as many times as you want. With a strong team, you can keep grinding the Ace Academy Tournament and gaining EXP as well as a large sum of cash every time. 

Final Thoughts

That concludes our list of the 7 best methods you should use to level your Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet quickly. We hope this guide was able to help you decide what leveling method suits you the best. Good luck to all trainers heading out to face the tough enemies of Paldea, and stay tuned for more helpful guides.