How to power up Pokémon efficiently in Pokémon GO
Only power up Pokémon you plan to use in raids or PvP — not every catch. Save Stardust for hundos / functional hundos in your target role, and never max a mons without checking the CP cap of your target league first.
Pokémon GO has 100 power-up levels (L1 to L50). Each level costs progressively more Stardust + Candy + (above L40) XL Candy. Maxing one L50 Best Buddy build costs ~770 000 dust + 300 XL Candy. Powering up the wrong mons is the most expensive mistake in the game.
Use the power-up planner to figure out the exact cost. Then decide whether the mons is worth the investment — Hundo Hunter's tier list scores every species by raid / PvP role.
- 1Filter your collection by hundo + functional hundo
Use search strings like '4*' (hundo only) or '+atk' (15 Attack only). Anything below 13 in your role-relevant stat isn't worth powering up — there's almost always a better catch coming.
- 2Check the species against the tier list
Open the dex page for the species. The tier ranking + recommended moveset tells you whether the mons is a raid attacker, a PvP pick, or both. If it's C-tier in everything, transfer it for candy.
- 3Pick your target level: 40 (default) or 50 (max)
Most raid attackers are fine at L40 — going to L50 is +5% damage for 4× the cost. PvP picks at the league cap are different: aim for the CP-cap-perfect IV spread, not max level. Use the IV calculator's PvP rank feature.
- 4Use Lucky + Best Buddy for the cheapest builds
Lucky halves all dust costs. Best Buddy adds +1 effective level (so L40 hundo Best Buddy ≈ L41). For a non-XL build, Lucky Best Buddy is the cheapest way to max a mons.
- 5Never power up past your target — check before each click
PvP CP caps (1 500, 2 500) are easy to overshoot. Always check the next power-up's CP preview before clicking. Once past the cap, the mons is unusable in that league.
- ▸XL Candy is the bottleneck for L41-50. Each level past 40 needs 1-10 XL Candy + huge dust costs.
- ▸Hundo Hunter's power-up planner shows the cumulative cost from your current level to any target.
- ▸Save Elite Charged TMs for top-3 raid attackers — never waste one on a mid-tier mons.
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How to power up Pokémon efficiently in Pokémon GO?
Only power up Pokémon you plan to use in raids or PvP — not every catch. Save Stardust for hundos / functional hundos in your target role, and never max a mons without checking the CP cap of your target league first.
What's the first step in power up pokémon efficiently in pokémon go?
Step 1: Filter your collection by hundo + functional hundo. Use search strings like '4*' (hundo only) or '+atk' (15 Attack only). Anything below 13 in your role-relevant stat isn't worth powering up — there's almost always a better catch coming.
How long does power up pokémon efficiently in pokémon go take?
Pokémon GO has 100 power-up levels (L1 to L50). Each level costs progressively more Stardust + Candy + (above L40) XL Candy. Maxing one L50 Best Buddy build costs ~770 000 dust + 300 XL Candy. Powering up the wrong mons is the most expensive mistake in the game.