Leveling up is a very important part of progression in Pokémon GO. Not only do you gain access to new items as you level up, but you have a much higher chance of encountering rare Pokémon, and the Pokémon you encounter have increasingly higher CP.
If you want to level quickly, the best way to do so is to get your hands on a Lucky Egg. Although this item is commonly purchased in the Shop for real money, you can find Lucky Eggs at Pokéstops, and you are awarded a few for leveling up.
The Lucky Egg provides double experience for 30 minutes. This bonus is substantial, and as a result what you want to do is prepare yourself for large experience gains while the Lucky Egg is active.
Below are all the ways to gain experience:
- “Nice” capture - 10
- Curveball capture - 10
- “Great” capture - 50
- Visit a Pokéspot - 50 or 100
- Capture a Pokémon - 100
- “Excellent” capture - 100
- 2km egg hatch - 200
- 5km egg hatch - 500
- Evolve a Pokémon - 500
- Discover a new Pokémon - 500
- 10km egg hatch - 1,000
- Train at a gym - Variable
- Battle at a gym - Variable
With this in-mind, you will want to do the following before using your Lucky Egg:
- 1. Prepare as many Pokémon as possible for evolution.
- 2. Prepare eggs for hatching by walking with the Pokémon GO app open.
- 3. Move to a spot where many Pokémon are located, preferably a park or Pokéstop with a Lure Module active. Alternatively, you can use an Incense.
Upon using your Lucky Egg, immediately begin evolving Pokémon and hatching eggs. Doing this will provide you with a substantial amount of experience that may just level you up. Then, walk around as much as possible while you search for Pokémon. Pokémon tend to be most easilly found in grass environments, which is denoted by dark green on the map. Pay attention to grass rustling around and approach that location when possible for greater chances at encountering Pokémon.
If you don't have a Lucky Egg, it is advised that you prepare to do each of these things anyway. The experience required to level up becomes extremely high at level 15 and above, making it very important that you use this trick if you want to level at a fast rate. Alternatively, you can visit a Pokéstop with a Lure Module active and take advantage of the "visit a Pokéspot" and "capture a Pokémon" experience gains to make progress, but even these things will be much faster with a Lucky Egg active.