Leveling Guide

Pokémon GO Level 80 Leveling Guide

In October 2025 Pokémon GO raised its level cap from 50 to 80 and rebalanced the XP curve. This guide shows the XP you need at each milestone, the rewards you earn, and what the sources say about earning it.

Updated September 30, 2026 · 9 min read · Leveling Guide
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Read This First

The level 80 numbers here come from Leek Duck and DittoBase, quoting Niantic's announcement. We could not open the official Pokémon.com announcement ourselves, so we label these as reported. Neither source gives the XP for every single level, only milestones, so we do not invent the in-between values.

For Stardust and XL Candy, which gate Pokémon strength rather than trainer level, see our Stardust and XL Candy guide.

How the Cap Moved

DateChange
Launch eraLevel cap of 40
November 30, 2020Cap raised to 50, and XP rewards for many activities raised (Niantic's Beyond update)
October 15, 2025Cap raised to 80 with a rebalanced XP curve

Source for the dates: Wikipedia (Reported). The 2020 XP changes are covered below.

The XP Curve

Leek Duck gives total XP at each tenth level:

LevelTotal XPXP from the previous milestone (our subtraction)
1048,00048,000
20258,000210,000
301,083,000825,000
403,953,0002,870,000
5012,753,0008,800,000
6034,353,00021,600,000
7085,853,00051,500,000
80203,353,000117,500,000

What the curve means. The last ten levels cost 117.5 million XP, which is more than the whole first 70 levels combined at 85.9 million. Our arithmetic: 117,500,000 against 85,853,000. For most players, level 80 is a multi-year project rather than a goal for a season.

To make that concrete with one number from the sources: the Daily Adventure Egg gives 10,000 XP. At that rate alone it would take 11,750 days to cover levels 70 to 80. Egg XP is a bonus, not a plan.

Level Rewards

Leek Duck and DittoBase list avatar rewards:

LevelsReward
25, 30, 35Poké Ball cap, shoes, jacket
40, 45, 50Great Ball cap, shoes, jacket
55, 60, 65Ultra Ball cap, shoes, jacket
71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 80Level-themed shoes, shades, pants, pose, hairstyle and jacket

Leek Duck adds that leveling provides increased storage for Pokémon, items, gifts and postcards, and that from level 70 there is an increased chance of Lucky Friends with Best Friends. It does not say that level-ups give Rare Candy XL or Stardust, and neither do we. In the Pokémon GO Hub XL Candy guide, Rare Candy XL does come from level 71 to 80 researcher tasks, which is a different system.

What Happened to Existing Players

Leek Duck quotes the announcement: when the update went live, all the XP you had earned was applied to the rebalanced curve to determine your new level. No players decreased in level, though the XP needed for the next level may have changed. Avatar items earned from levels 40 to 50 under the old system can no longer be earned, but items you had stay.

Where the XP Comes From

The only source-backed XP figures we have are from Niantic's December 2020 announcement, as reported by Pokémon GO Hub, and they may have changed since: an Excellent Throw catch went from 100 to 1,000 XP, evolving from 500 to 1,000, defeating a Gym from 100 to 1,000, hatching a 10 km egg from 1,000 to 2,000, daily catch and spin streak bonuses from 500 to 1,500, and the seven-day streak bonus from 2,000 to 6,000. September 2026 events add event-specific XP: Gible Community Day has 3x XP for catching, and weekly challenges listed 20,000 XP.

Treat those 2020 numbers as a baseline, not current rates. We could not find a post-October 2025 XP table from Niantic, so check the in-game XP values in your own results screen.

How to Level Efficiently

  1. Use event XP. A Community Day with 3x catch XP is the cheapest XP in the game.
  2. Hold evolutions for XP bonuses. A Spotlight Hour with 2x evolution XP shows the pattern.
  3. Keep the daily streaks. The 2020 streak bonuses were among the largest XP items.
  4. Do the Daily Adventure Egg for its 10,000 XP.
  5. Keep expectations realistic above 60. The XP between milestone levels more than doubles every ten levels.

Common Mistakes

Related pages:

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the level cap in Pokémon GO?

Level 80. Wikipedia says the cap was 40, was raised to 50 on November 30, 2020, and was raised to 80 following a leveling update on October 15, 2025.

How much XP is level 80?

Leek Duck lists 203,353,000 total XP for level 80. The rebalanced curve has level 50 at 12,753,000, level 60 at 34,353,000 and level 70 at 85,853,000.

Did I lose my level when the cap changed?

No. Leek Duck quotes the announcement: all the XP you had earned was applied to the rebalanced curve to set your new level, and no players decreased in level.

What do you get at level 80?

Level 80 gives an avatar jacket. Levels 71 to 80 give exclusive avatar items. Leek Duck also says that from level 70, you have a higher chance of becoming Lucky Friends with Best Friends.

What does the Daily Adventure Egg give?

Leek Duck lists 10,000 XP for the Daily Adventure Egg.

Can I still get the old level 40 to 50 avatar items?

DittoBase says the old items earned from levels 40 to 50 are no longer obtainable after October 15, 2025, though items already earned stay with players.

Sources

Confirmed items come from Niantic or Pokémon announcements as quoted by the sources we could read. Reported items come from Pokémon GO Hub, Leek Duck, DittoBase and Wikipedia. Stardust and XL Candy figures change with events. Last checked September 30, 2026.

MD
MMODude Editorial Team
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