How to transfer Pokémon and get extra Candy in Pokémon Go

Update: Pokémon Go now gives you the ability to transfer multiple Pokémon at the same time! It makes it much easier to clean out your storage — but you might want to wait a bit before using it... You know, in case there's a double Candy event over Christmas the way their was over Halloween.

When you catch a Pokémon in Pokémon Go, you get the creature added to your arsenal, of course — but you also receive Stardust and a few pieces of creature-specific Candy to help Evolve or Power Up that Pokémon later down the road.

But catching creatures isn't the only way to get candy: You can transfer extraneous Pokémon to Professor Willow to clear up your Pokémon storage and get a bonus piece of creature Candy, to boot. If you've got dozens of the same Pokémon (hello, Pidgey), you can use this trick to get even more candy for some evolutionary excellence (or XP grinding).

As such, when you end up with two dozen Rattata, you can clear those critters out of your Pokémon storage with the Transfer command, then use them to evolve your highest Rattata to Raticate, power up your Raticate, or merely grind XP with a Lucky Egg.

Which Pokémon should I transfer and which should I keep?

If you're XP grinding, it doesn't really matter which extraneous Rattata or Pidgey you send to the Professor, but if you're planning on leveling up or evolving your creatures, you're going to want to think about a couple different attributes. If you're trying to fill you Pokédex, keep in mind that you've got new types to evolve, too. For more information on this, check out our guide on the best Pokémon to level up and evolve:

How to transfer a Pokémon to the Professor

  1. Open Pokémon Go.
  2. Tap the Poké Ball along the bottom center of the screen.
  3. Tap the Pokémon icon.
  4. Tap on the Pokémon you want to transfer to the Professor.

  1. Tap the hamburger icon (three horizontal lines), then tap Transfer.
  2. Tap Yes when asked to confirm. You can't get back Pokémon that you transfer to Professor Willow.

You'll get a notification that you successfully transferred the Pokémon to the Professor and you will receive one Candy. Tap one of the remaining Pokémon of the same type to see that there is now one more Candy in your possession.

How to get extra Candy in Pokemon Go

How to transfer multiple Pokémon at once

Thanks to an update to Pokémon GO, you can now transfer multiple 'mons at once. So, getting extra candy from all of those Pidgey and Rattata is faster than ever!

  1. Open Pokémon Go.
  2. Tap the Poké Ball along the bottom center of the screen.
  3. Tap the Pokémon icon.
  4. Press and hold on a Pokémon you want to transfer. A green square will appear around it.

Tap the Pokeball, then select Pokemon, then press on a Pokemon

  1. Select the additional Pokémon that you want to transfer.
  2. Tap Transfer (#) at the bottom center of the screen.
  3. Tap Yes when asked to confirm. You can't get back Pokémon that you transfer to Professor Willow.

Select multiple Pokemon, then tap Transfer

All of the Pokémon that you selected will be transferred and you will receive one candy for each one.

Questions?

Want to know more about transferring your Pokémon? Let us know in the comments.

Serenity Caldwell

Serenity was formerly the Managing Editor at iMore, and now works for Apple. She's been talking, writing about, and tinkering with Apple products since she was old enough to double-click. In her spare time, she sketches, sings, and in her secret superhero life, plays roller derby. Follow her on Twitter @settern.