Great... but how do you get enough Candy to evolve?
To evolve you need Candy. A lot of it. The amount you need starts small but grows as you get to higher levels. Candy also has to match the Pokéman family you want to evolve or power up. So you need Geodude Candy to evolve to Graveler and Golem, and you need more Geodude Candy to power up Golem as well.
- Three Candies per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- Fire Candies per second-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- Ten Candies per third-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- One Candy per Pokémon transferred to the Professor.
- Five to 15 Candies per 2 KM Egg hatched.
- 10 to 21 Candies per 5 KM Egg hatched.
- 16 to 32 Candies per 10 KM Egg hatched.
- One Candy per Buddy distance walked.
- Six Candies per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
- 10 Candies per second-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
- 20 Candies per third-level Pokémon caught in the wild while using a Pinap Berry.
And that's just the standard Candy. Now that Trainers can Go Beyond Level 40, you'll need XL Candy to fully power up your best Pokémon. While you can exchange 100 of a Pokémon's normal Candy for a single XL Candy, you'll have better luck randomly earning those XL Candy from catching, hatching, trading, and transferring.
How do you know which specific Pokémon to evolve?
If a Pokémon is particularly rare you might not have much choice as to which one you evolve. If you live in a place where Eevee spawn every few minutes, though, deciding which one(s) to evolve can be trickier. That's where Appraisals come in.
All Pokémon have these three stats: stamina, attack, and defense. You can get a good idea of where your Pokémon ranks by having your Team Leader appraise your Pokémon. Ideally, you want to evolve the Pokémon with the best appraisal. Those will be the ones with the highest stats and, eventually, the highest CP.
Appraisals used to be a lot more complicated but now, your Team Leader will rate your Pokémon with up to four stars, with only perfect IV Pokémon being four stars. The appraisal will show exactly what each of your Pokémon's three stats are as well, so you can prioritize your three and four stars for powering up.
How do you get TMs in Pokémon Go?
You get Technical Machines — both Fast TMs and Charged TMs — by beating Raid Bosses and completing Research. Each time you complete a Raid or Research, you get rewards. The higher level the raid — from one to four normally, five for special events — the more rewards you get and the more likely it is you'll get one or more technical machines. For Research, each task specifies what Rewards you'll get.
More recently, Niantic introduced Elite TMs. These also come in Fast and Charged, but unlike normal TMs, Elite TMs let you pick any move you want for your Pokémon from any move that Pokémon species has ever been able to learn. This means Elite TMs can give your Pokémon a legacy move. In general, Elite TMs are very limited. They are occasionally included in Community Day bundles or similar limited event purchases.
How do you get enough Stardust to power up your Pokémon?
To power up you need more Candy but you also need Stardust. Stardust is generic. You can use any Stardust you got from any source on any Pokémon you want. The amount you need starts small but grows as you get to higher levels. So, how do you get as much Candy and Stardust as possible to power up as much as possible?
- 100 Stardust per base-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 300 Stardust per second-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 500 Stardust per third-level Pokémon caught in the wild.
- 500-1500 Stardust per 2 KM Egg hatched.
- 1000-2100 Stardust per 5KM Egg hatched.
- 1600-3200 Stardust per 10 KM Egg hatched.
To evolve a Dratini into Dragonair and Dragonite takes 125 Dratini Candy. To power up a Dragonite to over 3000 CP could take another 70 Dratini Candy and 80,000 Stardust or more.
So, catch, hatch, walk, and claim as much Candy and Stardust as you can. If you have Star Pieces, you should also make sure to use them whenever you're going to be playing a lot. These items give you 50% more Stardust for half an hour and can be bought in the PokéShop or earned through some events and research. I recommend using one during any event or Community Day to make the most of your Stardust.
Any questions about the Pokémon you absolutely need to evolve, TM, and power-up for Raids?
Do you have any questions about which Pokémon to prioritize powering up, evolving, and using TMs on? Got any tips for your fellow Trainers? Drop them in the comments below and be sure to check out our Best Portable Battery Packs so your phone stays charged on the journey to becoming a Pokémon Master!
