Experience and levelling

Your Pokémon level up by defeating wild Pokémon and trainers. This page covers who gets the experience, what boosts it, the region rule that catches many players, where to train, and how much experience each level takes.

The EXP bar under the Pokémon's picture shows its experience so far and what the next level needs.

At a glance

• Who levels: every Pokémon that battled and did not faint, plus Exp. Share holders.
• Boosts: Membership, crew perks, weekends, server events and fishing.
• Region rule: a Pokémon caught in a later region gains no experience in an earlier one until you beat the Elite Four of the region where it was caught.
• Where to train: wild spots, trainers and hordes for every level range.
• Level 100: the maximum. Reset to level 1 up to 4 times for Skill Points.

Who gets experience

After you defeat a wild Pokémon:

• Every Pokémon that took part in the battle and has not fainted gets experience.
• Pokémon holding an Exp. Share get a smaller share without battling. This includes the Exp. Share (Untradable) from the early Sinnoh story and the crafted Exp Shares described on EV training.

The amount depends on the species you defeated, its level and how that level compares to your Pokémon’s. A wild Pokémon above your Pokémon’s level gives more; one far below gives less.

Experience is never shared out between participants, so sending in a second Pokémon does not reduce what the first one gets.

Experience boosts

These boosts stack with each other on top of the base amount:

Boost	Details
Membership	See Game Pass and membership.
Crew perks	For crew members; see Crews and Crew Wars.
Weekends	Every day the server adds a small boost to all experience. On Saturdays and Sundays (server time), a slightly bigger weekend boost replaces it, so the two never add up.
Server events and community goals	Such as the Experience Boost community goal. The server events panel lists the active boosts.
Fishing	Pokémon you meet by fishing give bonus experience as your Fishing level grows; see Fishing.

The region rule

PBO’s regions open in order: Sinnoh, then Jvaloh, Hoenn and Kanto. Pokémon from a later region are held back in earlier regions until you have beaten the right Elite Four:

Pokémon caught in	Gains no experience in	Until you have beaten
A later region	Any earlier region	The Elite Four of the region where it was caught
Anywhere other than Kanto	Kanto	The Elite Four of its own region

For example, a Pokémon you caught in Hoenn gains no experience in Sinnoh or Jvaloh until you have beaten the Hoenn Elite Four.

Lower levels in a new region

In wild and trainer battles in a later region, your Pokémon from an earlier region also fight at a lower level (level 1 in Kanto) until you have beaten that region’s Elite Four. This keeps a new region’s early routes a fair fight. Their real level comes back after the battle.

Things to know has the exact limits and the Region Changers who can re-register a Pokémon as native to their region. The walkthroughs cover each region in order.

Where to level up

Train where the wild Pokémon are around your Pokémon’s level or a little above: they give more experience than weaker ones (see who gets experience). The spots below are sorted by region. Check the region rule before you train a Pokémon outside the region it was caught in.

Train a weak Pokémon

Lead with the Pokémon you want to train, then switch to a strong one. If the first Pokémon has not fainted when you win, it gets the full experience too.

Wild spots by level

In these grass and cave areas, the common and uncommon wild Pokémon all fall in the level range shown. Start at the first place and move on to the second as your team grows. Each place links to its full spawn list.

Sinnoh

Your Pokémon’s level	Where to train	Wild levels
10–20	Eterna Forest, then Route 206	16–20
20–35	Route 210, then Route 213	24–34
35–50	Lake Valor, then Lake Acuity	40–50
50–70	Mt. Coronet 2F, then Stark Mountain	50–60
70–100	No wild Pokémon above level 60: use the Vs. Seeker instead	—

Jvaloh

Your Pokémon’s level	Where to train	Wild levels
10–20	Route 3, then Route 4 Shores	12–20
20–35	Route 5-A, then Route 6	23–33
35–50	Amberwick Pass, then Mt. Inferno Peak	40–48
50–70	Glacier Cave, then Cavity Cavern	53–67
70–100	Champions Road or Dragon Tower	72–75

Hoenn

Your Pokémon’s level	Where to train	Wild levels
10–20	Granite Cave, then Route 114	10–20
20–35	Route 111 (Desert), then Route 119 (South)	20–35
35–50	Route 123, then the Cave of Origin	37–46
50–70	Victory Road, then Sky Pillar	56–66
70–100	Shoal Cave Ice Room (Low Tide)	70–73

Kanto

Your Pokémon’s level	Where to train	Wild levels
10–20	Route 4, then Route 11	11–20
20–35	Rock Tunnel, then Route 16	26–36
35–50	Route 12, then Route 18	38–48
50–70	Seafoam Islands, then Victory Road 3F	52–66
70–100	Cerulean Cave 2F, then Cerulean Cave B1F	70–84

• Shoal Cave: the Shoal Cave Guard on Route 125 lets you in once you have 400 Pokémon caught in your Pokédex. You reach the Ice Room only at low tide.
• Cerulean Cave: the cave is open to every Kanto Champion; see Mewtwo Strikes Back.
• Higher still: the Infernal Sanctum in Hoenn has wild Pokémon at levels 80–86. You need a ticket; see Groudon and the Infernal Sanctum.

Stark MountainSinnoh's highest wild Pokémon live here, at levels 58–60.Wild Pokémon here

Champions Road #1Wild Pokémon here are levels 72–75, on the way to the Jvaloh Elite Four.Wild Pokémon here

Shoal Cave Ice Room (Low Tide)Wild Pokémon here are levels 70–73, and you reach the room at low tide.Wild Pokémon here

Cerulean Cave B1FKanto's highest wild Pokémon live here, at levels 80–84.Wild Pokémon here

Trainer battles

Beating most trainers gives experience to every Pokémon in your party, even those that did not battle. The amount is worked out once per battle, from the trainer’s first Pokémon. These trainers can be fought again and again:

Trainers	When you can fight them again
Vs. Seeker trainers in Sinnoh’s Pokémon Centers	When the Vs. Seeker recharges, after 2 hours of play time
The daily trainer houses in Hoenn	Once a day, from midnight UTC
Kanto gym rebattles	From midnight UTC 2 days after a win

Vs. Seeker trainers and, after your first wins, the trainer house teams match your highest-level Pokémon. One strong Pokémon can win these battles while low-level teammates collect the experience.

The Elite Four members, the Battle Frontier, the Battle Tower and the Jvaloh gym reruns give your Pokémon no experience.

Hordes

Once you have unlocked natural hordes, every wild Pokémon you defeat in a horde gives its own experience. One horde battle pays several times over. Pure Nectar makes hordes on land more common and bigger.

Items and boosts

• Exp. Share: give one to each Pokémon you want to train next to your lead. The FAQ explains how to equip it and where to buy more.
• Rare Candy: it raises a Pokémon by 1 level, but levels from a Rare Candy don’t raise friendship. Until you are Kanto Champion, you can’t use one in Kanto or on a Pokémon caught in Kanto. Rewards such as Vs. Seeker item drops and Kanto gym rebattles can include them.
• Boosts that stack: Membership (its item lists a 10% experience boost), the crew skill Wild Battle Experience, weekends and server events all add up. See experience boosts.
• Global Exp Boosts: the 1-Hour Global Exp Boost and 3-Hour Global Exp Boost add 10% to wild-Pokémon experience for everyone online. See other boosts in the Donator Shop.
• Ho-Oh Priest: when the server’s donations reach the target, everyone gets +100% experience for an hour; see the FAQ.

Level 100 and Skill resets

Level 100 is the maximum. A level 100 Pokémon can be reset to level 1 to earn Skill Points, up to 4 times; see Skills and field abilities.

A reset Pokémon keeps its IVs, EVs, nature and moves, but levels up again on a slower curve: every level needs twice as much experience as the first time.

Climb	First time	After a reset
Levels 1–50	156,250	312,500
Levels 50–100	1,093,750	2,187,500
Levels 1–100	1,250,000	2,500,000

The Pokémon’s card shows the numbers next to the EXP bar under its picture (“current / needed”). From 100,000 they are shortened, for example 1.06M. At level 100 it says Max level.

Experience needed for every level

From level	To next level, first time	To next level, after a reset
1	10	20
2	23	46
3	47	94
4	76	152
5	114	228
6	158	316
7	212	424
8	271	542
9	339	678
10	413	826
11	497	994
12	586	1,172
13	684	1,368
14	788	1,576
15	902	1,804
16	1,021	2,042
17	1,149	2,298
18	1,283	2,566
19	1,427	2,854
20	1,576	3,152
21	1,734	3,468
22	1,898	3,796
23	2,072	4,144
24	2,251	4,502
25	2,439	4,878
26	2,633	5,266
27	2,837	5,674
28	3,046	6,092
29	3,264	6,528
30	3,488	6,976
31	3,722	7,444
32	3,961	7,922
33	4,209	8,418
34	4,463	8,926
35	4,727	9,454
36	4,996	9,992
37	5,274	10,548
38	5,558	11,116
39	5,852	11,704
40	6,151	12,302
41	6,459	12,918
42	6,773	13,546
43	7,097	14,194
44	7,426	14,852
45	7,764	15,528
46	8,108	16,216
47	8,462	16,924
48	8,821	17,642
49	9,189	18,378
50	9,563	19,126
51	9,947	19,894
52	10,336	20,672
53	10,734	21,468
54	11,138	22,276
55	11,552	23,104
56	11,971	23,942
57	12,399	24,798
58	12,833	25,666
59	13,277	26,554
60	13,726	27,452
61	14,184	28,368
62	14,648	29,296
63	15,122	30,244
64	15,601	31,202
65	16,089	32,178
66	16,583	33,166
67	17,087	34,174
68	17,596	35,192
69	18,114	36,228
70	18,638	37,276
71	19,172	38,344
72	19,711	39,422
73	20,259	40,518
74	20,813	41,626
75	21,377	42,754
76	21,946	43,892
77	22,524	45,048
78	23,108	46,216
79	23,702	47,404
80	24,301	48,602
81	24,909	49,818
82	25,523	51,046
83	26,147	52,294
84	26,776	53,552
85	27,414	54,828
86	28,058	56,116
87	28,712	57,424
88	29,371	58,742
89	30,039	60,078
90	30,713	61,426
91	31,397	62,794
92	32,086	64,172
93	32,784	65,568
94	33,488	66,976
95	34,202	68,404
96	34,921	69,842
97	35,649	71,298
98	36,383	72,766
99	37,127	74,254

Related pages

Skills and field abilitiesWhat to spend the Skill Points from a reset on.

EV trainingTrain EVs while you level, with Power items and an Exp. Share.

Things to knowLevel limits in new regions and the Region Changers.

WalkthroughsEach region's story in order.

Vs. SeekerRematch trainers who match your strongest Pokémon.

Pokémon locationsEvery wild Pokémon, area by area, with its levels.

Credits

Based on Exp Table. on the PBO forums. That table matches the “after a reset” curve; Pokémon that have never been reset use the faster “first time” curve. Rewritten and checked against the game on 1 October 2026.