Many players of Pokemon Sword and Shield have completed the story by now as well as the stories of the two DLCs. What's next? Well, many players resort to breeding the perfect Pokemon and/or grinding their Pokemon to level 100 to combat those post-story blues.

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Luckily, with the latest DLC out, grinding your Pokemon to level 100 is now easier than ever. With the Crown Tundra, players now have access to more Pokemon that are higher levels in the wild and can battle higher level double battles in the Galarian Star Tournament. Of course, those are just a few of many tools at a players' disposal for grinding to that 100 level mark.

Updated April 15th, 2021 by Allison Stalberg: With new Pokemon games announced to come out in late 2021 as well as in 2022, players are in a rush to get their fill of Sword and Shield content. The long anticipated remakes, Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl will launch late this year and the new title, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, will come to players in early 2022. Like most Pokemon games, players will likely be able to transfer their Sword and Shield teams to the new titles. With that in mind, many players are grinding to get their favorites to level 100.

10 Experience Candy (Particularly XL)

gyarados levelling up

The real deal for leveling Pokemon up as quickly as possible is Experience Candy. These did not exist in previous games, and they are far more potent to leveling up than Rare Candies. These little candies are to be hoarded by finding them both in the wild as well as getting them as rewards in Dynamax Raids.

How much they can level up a Pokemon depends on their size. For example, Extra Small Candy will yield only 100 experience points and Extra Large Candy will get a Pokemon a sum of 30,000 experience points. With items like that, who needs battles? Every Sword and Shield guide will tell you that these candies are a must for leveling up as quickly as possible.

9 Rare Candy

finding a rare candy in snow

Just because Experience Candy exists does not mean that you should just ignore Rare Candy. Rare Candy works a little differently, as it does not have a certain amount of experience points that it delivers to your Pokemon. Instead, it just guarantees a level.

Due to this, it is recommended to save your Rare Candies for your highest level Pokemon. It should also be noted that Rare Candy will make the experience sky-rocket until a level is reached and won't go any further. That means Rare Candies should also be saved for Pokemon that do not have much experience in their pool towards their next level.

8 Grind Five Star Raids

gyarados raid

So where does one get a steady supply of Exp Candy and Rare Candy? While you can trade BP in the Battle Tower and, with luck, find these items in the wild, the best way to get these items is through Raids. In fact, the Battle Tower is best avoided unless the player is working on raising Pokemon IVs rather than level.

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While Raid battles do not get your used Pokemon experience, it will get you plenty of Exp Candy and Rare Candy. The more stars a Raid Pokemon has, the more rare items you will get, so be sure to prioritize those. The max number of stars a Raid can have is five.

7 Play Online

four players around a raid

If you Raid grind, you will definitely want to play online instead of solo. If you play solo, you will be paired with weak NPC characters for your Raids. Not only does this make it more likely that the Raid Pokemon will defeat you, but it will take a far longer time to defeat the Raid Pokemon. NPC Pokemon are random and do not keep in mind type strengths and weaknesses. That is not ideal for grinding.

For quick battles, you will definitely want to play with friends or at least online strangers. Most people online know what they are doing and use strong Pokemon. Even if there is a weak link in the team, it will still be a far smoother battle than one with NPCs.

6 Traded Pokemon Earn More Experience

surprise trade menu options

If you are still deciding which Pokemon you want to level up to 100 and want to do it fast, then consider the fact that traded Pokemon earn more experience. Pokemon traded from a different game that speaks the same language gets up to a 50 percent increase while ones from other languages can earn as much as a 70 percent experience bonus!

A crazy idea that players try is to trade Pokemon with a friend or acquaintance and then have them quickly raise their level and trade them back. It can be a "you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours" situation. Some Pokemon even evolve when traded, so that is something to consider. If you are completing the Pokedex, you will have to start trading with other players anyway.

5 Optimize A Raid Team

raid against zweilous

Another piece of advice when it comes to grinding raids for Exp Candy and Rare Candy is that you want an optimized Pokemon team for just Raids. That means you may not want to necessarily use the Pokemon that you are trying to level up.

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Pokemon that are best for Raids include Eternatus or one of the legendary wolves, Zacian and Zamazenta. Of course, it is also important to consider type advantages and weaknesses. Some players even consider using Pokemon with short attack animations to make the grind all the quicker.

4 Do Poke Jobs On The Side

checking poke jobs

While they will get you far less experience than grinding battles or feeding your Pokemon candy, Poke Jobs are still worth utilizing just for the fact that you can do both at once. Poke Jobs work in real time, so while you are off grinding Raids online with an optimized team, your other Pokemon can earn a little experience with these jobs. It certainly can't hurt.

To access Poke Jobs, check the Rotomi at any Pokemon Center. Certain jobs want certain types of Pokemon, so be sure to give each job the right type for more experience gain. Jobs can last from one hour to a full day.

3 Camp For Experience Boosts

eating curry with grookey

Not all players care for camping, as it is a new feature in Sword and Shield, but it can increase a Pokemon's friendliness and give them an experience boost. This is especially true for the curry making feature. Between Raid battles, the player can camp and make curry as well as play with their Pokemon using toys. Boosting their affection does also give them experience bonuses.

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Perhaps you can grind experience for your Pokemon while also trying to complete the Curry Pokedex?

2 Grind The Galarian Star Tournament

galarian star tourament partner marnie

The Galarian Star Tournament is unlocked once you complete the Crown Tundra DLC story. It is a better place to grind than the original post-game tournament, as all the Pokemon teams have a higher level here with the expectation that you are stronger too due to the DLC content

Also, it can be fun to slowly unlock the different trainers you can partner up with. Try winning with each trainer at least once to unlock them all. It wont' be as fast and potent as grinding for candy, but it can be a nice break and you aren't limited to your optimized  Raid team. Instead, you can actually use and experiment strategies with the Pokemon you are trying to level up.

1 Get The Lucky Egg

getting the lucky egg

This item is very important and should be the first thing a level grinding player should seek if they do not already have it. This is because the Lucky Egg can increase the experience a Pokemon gains by 50 percent if they hold it (this does not affect Exp Candy though).

To get the Lucky Egg, you need to already be the Champion. So after beating the main story, go to the city where Nessa's gym is and visited the restaurant, The Captain's Table. Do a quest for the chef behind the counter, then a second, and after completing the third quest he will give you the Lucky Egg.

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