How levelling up and Candy XL work in Pokémon GO

By Matt, MattSimplified 23 October 2026 6 min read

Quick answer

Your trainer level now goes up to 80. A big rework in October 2025 made levelling faster and removed the old level 41 to 50 tasks. Your Pokémon still max out at level 50, or 51 while it's your Best Buddy. Taking one from level 40 to 50 costs about 250,000 Stardust and 296 Candy XL, and you need to be trainer level 31 or higher to earn Candy XL at all.

Before you start

What you need

Trainer level 31 or higher

That's when Candy XL starts dropping. Below 31 you can't earn any, so levelling up yourself comes first.

Candy XL and Stardust

Powering a Pokémon past level 40 needs Candy XL on top of Stardust. Rare Candy XL works for any Pokémon.

A shortlist

You can't max everything. Pick the Pokémon you'll actually use in raids and Max Battles and put your resources there.

Two different levels

Trainer level vs Pokémon level

YouTrainer level: up to 80

This is your level. It went from a cap of 50 to 80 on 15 October 2025, and the whole XP curve was rebalanced. Nobody lost levels, and most players jumped up at least one.

The old level 41 to 50 tasks are gone. Level-up tasks now only apply from 71 to 80.

Your PokémonPokémon level: up to 50

This is how far you can power up each Pokémon. It still caps at 50, and your Best Buddy gets a +1 boost to 51 while it's your buddy.

Levels 40 to 50 need Candy XL as well as regular Candy and Stardust.

The new curve

How much XP each trainer level takes

The October 2025 rework rebalanced every level. Here are the milestones.

Trainer level	Total XP
10	48,000
20	258,000
30	1,083,000
40	3,953,000
50	12,753,000
60	34,353,000
70	85,853,000
80	203,353,000

Level 50 used to take 176 million XP. It now takes under 13 million, so if you stopped in the 40s, you'll level up much faster now.

Levelling now also increases your Pokémon and item storage, and it was applied to everyone retroactively.
From level 15 you get a free Daily Adventure Egg. It sits in its own incubator, hatches after 1 km and gives 10,000 XP.
Levels 71 to 79 each give a Rare Candy XL.
From level 70 you're more likely to become Lucky Friends with your Best Friends.

Stocking up

How to get Candy XL

You need to be trainer level 31 or higher for any of these to give Candy XL.

Where it comes from	How much
Catching	Up to three chances per catch. Higher level wild Pokémon give better odds, and evolved, Legendary and Mythical Pokémon give a guaranteed amount
Raids	Every raid catch gives Candy XL, and in-person raids can also drop Rare Candy XL
Trading	About a 10% chance under 10 km apart, 25% between 10 and 100 km, and guaranteed at 100 km or more
Transferring	One chance per transfer, much better for Pokémon above level 31
Hatching, evolving and buddy walks	A chance each time
Converting	100 regular Candy turns into 1 Candy XL
Weekly bonuses	In-person raids on Wednesdays and in-person Max Battle wins on Max Monday each give 1 Rare Candy XL this season

Lucky Eggs only double XP. They don't do anything for Candy XL.

The real cost

What it costs to power up from 40 to 50

Candy XL per level goes up the higher you go. Slide to see how much you need.

Power up from level 40 to 50

Shadow Pokémon cost 20% more Candy XL and Stardust to power up, and purified ones 10% less. Lucky Pokémon cost half the Stardust. A full 40 to 50 power-up is about 250,000 Stardust for a normal Pokémon.

Why bother

Level beats IVs

My take

Level is what makes a Pokémon hit harder, not IVs. A level 50 Pokémon with average IVs will out-damage a level 40 hundo. So put your Candy XL into the attackers you actually use for raids and Max Battles before you chase perfect IVs. The only time I'd worry about IVs is to complete the 100% Pokédex entry on a rare Pokémon, or if a hundo gets you excited enough to invest in a favourite.

Matt, MattSimplified

Best Buddy: +1 level

Once your buddy reaches Best Buddy, it gets +1 power-up level while it's your buddy, up to level 51. You earn up to 12 hearts a day, or about 26 when it's Excited.

Who to power up first

Your best raid attackers for the types you use most, then your best Max Battle attackers and tanks. A Pokémon that doesn't rank as an attacker can still be your best tank if it has high Defence and HP.

Matt's tips