This article is about the property of Pokémon. For the Trainer level in Pokémon GO, seeTrainer level.For the level of Gyms in Pokémon GO, seeGym (GO). For the level of theTrainer Card, seeTrainer Card level.

Thelevel (Japanese:レベルlevel), abbreviated asLv. (Japanese:Lv.), is a measurement of how strong aPokémon currently is. It is portrayed differently in theanimation,games,manga, andPokémon Trading Card Game.

In the core series games

In the Pokémon games, a Pokémon's level is determined by how muchexperience it has. A Pokémon's level will range from 1 to 100. When a Pokémon gains a level, its stats increase by a small amount. Depending on the exact level, it may also learn a newmove orevolve. A Pokémon's level is usually used to determinedamage when the Pokémon uses an attacking move. Opponent's levels may be viewed in-battle, andplayers may see their own Pokémon's levels in-battle, in thePC or by using themenu.

Using aRare Candy will increase a Pokémon's level by 1 (and increase its experience to be equal to the minimum experience for that level).

When a Pokémon levels up, it becomes morefriendly; this way,Pokémon that evolve by friendship may eventually evolve by training.

InGeneration IV, during battle, if a Pokémon almost has enough experience to level up, itsPoké Ball will shake in the player's team summary.

InGeneration I, if a Pokémon gains enough experience to gain more than one level, it will grow straight to the new level and isunable to learn any move learned at a skipped level. InGeneration II, the active Pokémon grows level by level, whereasswitched out Pokémon grow straight to the new level (but are able to learn any moves, regardless). FromGeneration III onwards, all Pokémon grow level by level.

After a move is issued, if that Pokémon levels up before its in-battle turn and replaces the move currently awaiting execution with a new move, the new move will be used instead of the old one in every generation exceptGeneration VI. Multiple turn moves, such asPetal Dance, will causemore complex behavior.

Level cap

In thePokémon games, the level cap is level 100. When a Pokémon has reached level 100, it cannot gain any moreexperience or level up. Due to this, previous toGenerationVIII, level 100 Pokémon cannotevolve in any way which requires leveling up. From Generation VIII onwards, using aRare Candy on a level 100 Pokémon is able to trigger these types of Evolutions. InHyperspace Lumiose, Pokémon can be temporarily over level 100, up to level 200.

In GenerationsIII andIV only, when a Pokémon has reached level 100, even if it has not gained maximumEVs, it cannot continue gaining EVs through battle (exceptDeoxys).Vitamins can still be used to raise EVs. In GenerationsI andII as well as from GenerationV onwards, EVs can be gained even by level 100 Pokémon (although theBox trick is required in Generations I and II for thestats to update).

By exploiting theold man glitch in Generation I, a Pokémon can be acquired at a level higher than 100. Also in Generation I, any Pokémon can also be raised to a level above 100 via thePokémon merge glitch; however, Pokémon in the Slow experience group need to be merged with aglitch Pokémon who requires even more experience at level 100. These Pokémon can continue to be leveled up withRare Candies until level 255. Whenever a Pokémon over level 100 gains anyexperience, its level will revert to 100. If a Rare Candy is used on a level 255 Pokémon, it will revert to level 0 due to an overflow.

In Generations I and II, Pokémon were not legitimately available at a level below 2. This could be related to the fact that in Generations I and II, Pokémon in theMedium Slow experience group had anegative experience value at level 1, causing them to level up instantly to level 100 if they were to gain less than 54 experience points in battle (a high possibility on the games' early routes). Instead, Pokémon on the games' earliest routes were found level 2 or level 3, and first partner Pokémon are given out at level 5. Likewise, Pokémon hatch fromPokémon Eggs at level 5.

From Generation III onwards, experience required to level up is taken from a lookup table, rather than by using a programmed equation as in Generations I and II; in Generation III, however, Pokémon still hatch from Eggs at level 5, and no wild Pokémon can be found at a level below 2. From Generation IV onwards, Pokémon hatch from Eggs at level 1 and some Pokémon are available in the wild at level 1 (however,first partner Pokémon are still received at level 5).

Underleveled Pokémon

Main article:Underleveled Pokémon

Through some unique circumstances, it is possible to have Pokémon at a lower level than they are usually available viaEvolution. Underleveled Pokémon appeared as early asRed and Green, with level 4-6Kakuna andMetapod available inViridian Forest. Kakuna and Metapod cannot be obtained by Evolution until level 7.

Prior to Generation V, Pokémon obtained inin-game trades are always the same level as the one being traded away, so many underleveled Pokémon can be obtained through in-game trades. For example, inRed and Blue andFireRed and LeafGreen, it is possible to obtain anElectrode as low as level 3, even though the species evolves fromVoltorb only at level 30 or above. This Electrode can be obtained by catching aPikachu inViridian Forest at level 3, evolving it with theThunderstone, and trading it onCinnabar Island.

InPokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, Pokémon found in the Hideaways of theGrand Underground have their levels based on the amount ofBadges the player has acquired. As having only 1 places the range at levels 16-20, and 2 leaving the range at 25-29, it is possible to find underleveledHoundoom,Gastrodon,Skuntank (only in Brilliant Diamond) andPurugly (only in Shining Pearl).

Somenon-player characterTrainers use underleveled Pokémon in battle. For example,Lance has three underleveledDragonite in GenerationsII andIV, with one being at level 50 and two at level 49 inHeartGold and SoulSilver (Dragonite does not evolve naturally fromDragonair until level 55). Many other in-game Trainers, such asMars andJupiter, also possess underleveled Pokémon.

An application of thePomeg glitch inEmerald makes it possible to evolve a Pokémon while it is still inside an Egg, allowing any such evolved forms to be obtained at level 5. InGeneration IV, this particular exploit of the Pomeg glitch was fixed; the Pomeg glitch was removed entirely inGeneration V.

Disobedience

Main article:Obedience

Outsider Pokémon (Pokémon obtained viatrade orevent distribution) occasionally disobey the player's commands if they are above a certain level. TheBadges the player owns determine the maximum level outsider Pokémon can be before there is a possibility for them to disobey. Not owning the region's second Badge means that no traded Pokémon whose level is above 10 (level 20 since Generation V) will obey the player; if the player has the region's eighth Badge (or theIsland Challenge Completion stamp inAlola), all Pokémon will always obey.

List of moves and Abilities affected by level

Moves

Apart from being part of the generaldamage formula, level also directly affects the following moves.

Abilities

Level affects the following Abilities.

In the spin-off games

Pokémon GO

Main article:Power up

Pokémon levels inPokémon GO are hidden values that may be increased by Powering Up withStardust andCandy. Each power up increases the level by one half, capped based on theTrainer's level. Each time a Pokémon is Powered Up, its CP (determined by HP, Attack, and Defense) is increased.

Pokémon Masters EX

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Details on what items are needed to upgrade Multi pairs (they need less items for each level cap). A table listing what items are needed for each level cap would be much better than just prose.

InPokémon Masters EX,sync pairs have a level cap that can be increased by using certainitems depending on the sync pair's role,type, and current level cap, up to a maximum of 150.

As of version 2.14.0.77663100, the first two level cap unlocks raise a sync pair's maximum level by 10, (to 110 and 120 respectively) while the next four unlocks add an additional 5 levels each to a sync pair's level cap (to 125, 130, 135, and 140 respectively).

• Up until level 140, each increase requires the use of drinks - Buff Blends, Tech Tonics, Aid Aides, Sprint Sodas, or Field Fizzes - depending on the sync pair's role (excluding Multi sync pairs, which use items based on theirEX role). Each successive level cap increase requires higher-grade drinks.
• For the first two level cap increases, Gym Leader Notes are used in addition to drinks. For the second increase (from 110 to 120), Elite Four Notes are needed as well.
• Once a sync pair reaches level 120, in order to raise their level cap further, type-specific tomes or codices are required. 50 tomes matching the sync pair's type are required to raise the level cap to 125, while an additional 150 tomes are needed to raise it again to 130; 50 codices of the same type are used to raise the cap to 135, and an additional 150 are needed to raise the level cap to 140.
• Starting with version 2.24, level caps can be upgraded by one at a time from 140 up to 150, each individual level requiring a Certificate of Excellence.

Most of these items can be obtained via the Cap-UnlockTraining Areas or as rewards inevents, with the exception of Certificates of Excellence, which are primarily obtained via theTrainer Lodge.

This level cap used to vary based on a sync pair's potential, with only 5-star sync pairs being able to achieve level 100. However, after the EX update the base level cap for all sync pairs was raised to 100.

Pokémon hatched fromEggs are an exception to the level cap rule. Sync pairs formed in this fashion start with their level cap already raised to 150.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series

In thePokémon Mystery Dungeon series, level functions similarly to the core series. Like in the core series, each Pokémon's level, ranging from 1 to 100, depends on how muchexperience it has. When a Pokémon gains a level, its stats increase slightly and it may try to learn a new move. The moves that can be learned by each Pokémon, and the exact levels they will try to learn them, are the same as contemporaneous core series games. In order for some Pokémon toevolve, a minimum level is also required. However, Evolution does not occur automatically, requiring access to specific places instead.

The amount of points that each stat increases upon leveling up is fixed for each species and differs for each level up. At very low levels, stats may in fact not increase during a level up.

In the Mystery Dungeon games precedingPokémon Super Mystery Dungeon, Pokémon require significantly more experience to level up than in the core series games, while in Super Mystery Dungeon, experience is gained the same way as in the core series games.

A number of dungeons across the series temporarily set the team's levels to 1 or 5 when entered. Their levels are restored to normal once the dungeon is exited.

AJoy Seed orGolden Banana can be used to increase a Pokémon's level. ADoom Seed can be used to decrease a Pokémon's level. A Pokémon holding aJoy Ribbon orJoy Looplet will gain experience points whenever it takes damage (the amount of experience gained this way varies between games).

Pokémon Shuffle

For the attack power at each level, seeList of Pokémon by Pokémon Shuffle list number → Attack power table

For the amount of experience required per level, see:Experience → Pokémon Shuffle.

Each Pokémon inPokémon Shuffle has a level, which increases when it gains enoughexperience. As a Pokémon's level increases, itsAttack power increases as well, with how much it increases per level determined by the Pokémon's Attack power at level 1.

All Pokémon begin at level 1, with a maximum level of 10. However, Raise Max LevelEnhancements can be used on a Pokémon to increase this cap. Each Pokémon has a limit on how many Raise Max Levels it can use, varying from 5 (for a max level of 15) to 20 (for a max level of 30).

Pokémon Team Turbo

InPokémon Team Turbo, each stage is equivalent to a level in any of the minigames (Crossword Challenge, Domino Dash, Word Finder, Block Out, and Door Dilemma). When the player completes a stage, the text "Level Up!" appears.

Pokémon UNITE

InPokémon UNITE, Pokémon can level up during Unite Battles. Their Level is reduced to Level 1 before every Unite Battle.^[1]. Some types of battle have Pokémon start at higher levels. Levels are earned by obtainingExp. Points. Pokémon can level up 14 times in a battle to reach the maximum of level 15. Leveling up increases the Pokémon's stats, as well as the amount ofAeos energy their Trainer'sUnite Ball can hold. Unite Balls can hold a maximum of 30 Aeos energy until level 8. At level 9, the capacity is upgraded to 40. At level 12, a Unite Ball stores up to 50 Aeos energy.

A Pokémon's current level can be seen in a wheel to the right of theirHP bar, and the Exp. Points are represented by a blue bar going around that wheel. The Exp. Point display is reset upon reaching a new level. Levels are visible to both allies and opponents. Some Pokémon have a graphic displayed around their level that communicates additional information. Both ofUrshifu'sforms have one. The PokémonUmbreon,Espeon,Glaceon,Leafeon, andSylveon all use these graphics while they areEevee. This helps differentiate them while they are Eevee, as each still has different properties while in their shared unevolved form.

At certain levels, Pokémon can learn newmoves, upgrade their existing moves to become more powerful, andevolve. If a Pokémon evolves at a specific level, it is unable to gain that particular level unless it evolves. The Exp. Points that would be obtained are instead deferred, in that they do not contribute to the level of the Pokémon. These Exp. Points are displayed in a green bar going around the wheel. Once the Pokémon evolves, all of the deferred Exp. Points are granted.

In animation

Pokémon the Series

The concept of levels of Pokémon is not as detailed, nor as frequently mentioned, inPokémon the Series. Unlike the games, the term appears to be applied more loosely, with higher levels correlating with the increased strength of the Pokémon and its moves.

There are a couple of instances inPokémon the Series where the concept of levels more closely resembles that of the games:

• In thePokémon the Series: The Beginning episodeThe School of Hard Knocks,Joe, one of the students atPokémon Tech, is able to quote the levels at whichPidgey and the rest of its familyevolve and learn certainmoves. Additionally,Giselle, another student, states thatAsh's Pikachu should be at least level 25.
• In thePokémon the Series: Gold and Silver episodeWill the Real Oak Please Stand Up?,Nurse Joy asksProfessor Oak andJames (disguised as Professor Oak) what moveSlowbro learns at level 46, for whichAmnesia was the correct answer.

Pokémon the Series: The Beginning

InPokémon Emergency!,Meowth says thatAsh's Pikachu is "powerful beyond its evolutionary level."

InBulbasaur's Mysterious Garden,Misty deduces that theRhyhorn thatAsh's Bulbasaur is battling must be at a high level after seeing how much itsTake Down attack hurt Bulbasaur.

Levels are mentioned in the Japanese version of several episodes:

• InShowdown at the Po-ké Corral,Gary mentions taking the opponent's level into account before beginning a battle.
• InMake Room for Gloom,Florinda mentions that herGloom is not on a proper level to take on thePokémon League.
• InFriend and Foe Alike, the announcer points out the big level difference betweenAsh's Charizard andRitchie'sCharmander,Zippo.
• InHello, Pummelo!,Tracey notes thatAsh's Pikachu was able to defeatDrake'sDitto because his level had increased from repeated battling, allowing him to outlast histransformed opponent.

InEnter The Dragonite, whenAsh chooses Bulbasaur to battle Drake'sElectabuzz, Tracey reminds Ash that level had to be taken into account as well as type despiteGrass Pokémon being resistant toElectric-type moves. After Bulbasaur is defeated, Drake comments that Ash's Charizard is at a higher level than he thought, as he was able to withstand a series of super effective Electric attacks from Electabuzz.

InThe Rivalry Revival, Misty deduced thatGary's Eevee was at an exceptionally high level when it barely took any damage from Pikachu'sQuick Attack after usingReflect.

Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver

InRoll On, Pokémon!, Ash'sPokédex mentions that the length of aDonphan's tusks indicates its level, allowingBrock to deduce that the short-tusked Donphan they had just encountered is a young and low-level one.

InTricks of the Trade,Team Rocket claims that their faketrade machine increases the level of the traded Pokémon, although this is just a ruse to get people to use the machine. In actuality, Meowth hides inside the machine and swaps the inserted Poké Balls with empty ones.

InThe Totodile Duel, Misty comments that herStaryu is on a much higher level thanAsh's Chikorita.

InThe Grass Route, Brock attributesEphraim'sSkiploom, Skippy, learningSolar Beam in the middle of his battle with Ash to its level having gone up during the match. He also mentions how gainingexperience can help a Pokémon grow to a higher level and learn more powerful attacks.

InDoin' What Comes Natu-rally!, Brock mentions that moves become more powerful as a Pokémon's level is raised, and Ash adds that the best way to raise levels is by battling.

Celebi: The Voice of the Forest

TheIron-Masked Marauder says that hisDark Balls raises any Pokémoncaught with them to the highest level.

Pokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire

InQueen of the Serpentine!, Brock comments thatLucy'sMilotic is at a high level after it defeatedAsh's Donphan with a single hit.

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

InA Pyramiding Rage!,Reggie states thatBrandon's Regirock is a high level Pokémon andPaul knows it, making it important for Paul to use moves that are an effective match against it.

InFighting Ire with Fire!, Brock mentionsBarry's Empoleon has leveled up a ton since last seeing it, referring to how its battle against aMothim went.

InDealing with a Fierce Double Ditto Drama!, when teachingNarissa, Brock says "Now let's level you up. And the only way to do that is to get experience from battling."

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon episodes

Levels are mentioned in thePokémon Mystery Dungeon special episodesPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Team Go-Getters Out of the Gate! andPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time & Darkness, but are not explained.

In the manga

The Electric Tale of Pikachu

InPikachu's Excellent Adventure,Samurai mentions that level 99Slowpoke andMagikarp are said to be found in theHidden Village.

Pokémon Adventures

At the end of everyvolume, or starting fromVolume 15, at the end of certain arcs, the current levels of at least one of the main characters' Pokémon are given in a Pokédex or Adventure Map section.

The level mechanic appears in the plot twice. In theFireRed & LeafGreen arc,Orm's blackPokédex was able to deduce the power ofYellow's Pokémon in terms of level; Yellow then used her own mysterious power to sharply raise her team members' levels. In theEmerald arc,Emerald found out that theSceptile he used during hisBattle Factory challenge, and later smuggled out, was able to survive an opposingGlalie'sSheer Cold due to his higher level; Sceptile was at level 51, even though Emerald's challenge was in the Level 50, Single Battle mode, meaning that the rest of the rental Pokémon were at level 50.

Pokémon: Yeah! I Got Pokémon!

InCatch Bellsprout!,Shu comments that theBellsprout he is battling against is at a higher level than hisPonyta.

In the TCG

Levels have appeared in the TCG as a form of flavor text, but do not have an impact on gameplay.

From the TCG's debut setBase Set untilLegendary Collection, Pokémon cards include a level in their flavor text. This level has no effect on gameplay. Certain Pokémon cards inJungle,Fossil,Team Rocket,Gym Challenge andNeo Destiny featurePokémon with levels lower than they could be obtained in the games. In thePokémon Trading Card Game video game, the level is sometimes used to differentiate two cards depicting the same Pokémon, for example,Pikachu Lv. 12 andPikachu Lv. 14.

FromDiamond & Pearl untilArceus, Pokémon cards include a level next to their name. This level is not considered part of their name, and has no effect on gameplay.

SomePokémon SP have a level that refers back to the individual Pokémon from thecore series games that the card is based on.

Pokémon Lv.X

Main article:Pokémon LV.X (TCG)

Pokémon LV.X are special Pokémon cards first introduced inDiamond & Pearl and last appearing inArceus. While the levels seen on normal cards is not gameplay relevant information, Pokémon LV.X are a group of Pokémon that do have an effect on gameplay.

Pokémon LV.X function similarly to anEvolution. Just like Evolution, a player cannot place a LV.X on a Pokémon evolved or played in the same turn and when leveling up a Pokémon with a LV.X card, also theirSpecial Conditions are removed from a Pokémon LV.X when it is played.

Gengar LV.X has thePoké-PowerLevel Down, which removes a Pokémon LV.X card from a Pokémon and shuffles it into its owners deck. The name and effect imply that Pokémon can lose levels that they have already gained.

Boss Pokémon

The Boss Pokémon cards battled against inPokémon Trading Card Game Raid Battle have Levels. However, this number is more of a reference toMax Raid Battles having different levels.

Trivia

• BeforeGeneration IV, it was impossible to get a Pokémon at level 1 without the aid of a glitch or cheating device. The lowest level Pokémon would be at level 2 in the wild, and Eggs would hatch at level 5. In Generation IV, however, Eggs are hatched at level 1,Regigigas andMagikarp can be caught at level 1 inPokémon Platinum, andDialga,Palkia, orGiratina can be obtained at level 1 inPokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
• InGeneration I, it is possible to encounter and catch Pokémon at levels over 100 through theold man glitch, and encounter them inglitch Trainers' parties through theMew glitch.

In other languages

References

Related articles

• Level-based Evolution

This game mechanic article is part ofProject Games, aBulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on thePokémon games.

• Articles needing more information
• Game mechanics
• Terminology