Pokémon Let’s Go: Taking advantage of Pokémon Candy
Long time trainers may have noticed a number of changes in Pokémon Let’s Go, and there is one that certainly deserves your attention. The newest installment of the Pokémon franchise has made a made a major change to their training system -and it involves candy. If you’re interested in more guides like this, make sure to check out our other Pokemon Guides!
What changed?
Effort Values (or EVs) have been an important component to any competitive Pokémon strategy. With EVs, you were able to increase a Pokémon’s stats through battling. Battling specific types of Pokémon allowed you to target specific stats. For every four EVs earned in a certain stat at level 100, the stat will be raised by one point. These enhancements were limited to a maximum of 255 EV points per stat and an overall total of 510 EV points across stats. It took a lot of effort and planning but ultimately gave you that competitive edge. However, Pokémon Go has made EV training a thing of the past and replaced them with Awakening Values, or AVs. This new way to give your Pokémon the competitive edge allows a little more room for improvement. One AV is equivalent to one stat point with a limitation of 200 AVs per stat. Unlike with EVs, this stat will be increased no matter the Pokémon’s level, nature, IV, or how much they like you. In other words, you can have some seriously strong low level Pokémon.
How does this involve candy?
There are two ways for you to get these AVs. The first is that with each level-up, a Pokémon will earn an AV in a random stat. The second way they earn AVs is from candy. Pokémon Let’s Go brings a lot more than rare candies to Kanto. In addition to rare candies which still increase a Pokémon by a level, stats candies can be used to raise AVs. The more candy you feed your Pokémon, the more candy (or larger sized candy) they will need to get the same AV boost over time. For example, your Pokémon will start out requiring one candy to increase stat by one, but the same Pokémon will maybe require two or three to get the same stat boost at a later date. The easiest way to get these is to catch a bunch of Pokémon, with combos significantly increasing your chances. Sending Pokémon to Professor Oak will also earn you candies, especially if you send a lot of the same Pokémon. These candies are kept in a candy jar in your bag.
How do I use these candies?
When you want to access the candies, you can do directly from the start menu to your bag. You will see your candy jar as one of the first items, and by clicking on it you can view your entire collection. When you click on a specific candy, you will be prompted to give the candy to the Pokémon in the party as shown on a small menu at the bottom of the screen. Below each Pokémon is a yellow text box letting you know how many candies your Pokémon needs for a stats boost. From there, you just select who you want to feed and go on as long as you want.
How does this involve candy?
There are seven different types of candy -six refer to a specific stat while the final is “species-specific.”
Health Candies – Raise Your HP Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Health Candies: Caterpie, female Nidoran, and Clefairy
Mighty Candies – Raise Your Attack Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Mighty Candies: Paras, Mankey, and Ekans
Tough Candies – Raise Your Attack Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Tough Candies: Sandshrew, Kakuna, and Squirtle
Smart Candies – Raise Your Attack Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Smart Candies: Bulbasaur, Butterfree, and Oddish
Courage Candies – Raise Your Attack Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Courage Candies: Beedrill, Venomat, and Tentacool
Quick Candies – Raise Your Attack Stat
Some Pokemon Who Can Drop Quick Candies: Charmander, Pidgey, and Weedle
Species Specific Candies
Species Specific Candies allow you to raise your AVs up the fastest as they do not have any level requirement and a single candy will allow you to raise all six stats by one AV at the same time. They are dropped by the respective species. Much like in Pokémon Go, the name refers only to the first evolution. For example, a Bulbasaur candy will also work on an Ivysaur or Venusaur.
In addition to types, the stat-specific candies also come in three different sizes. Regular ones can be given at any level with max AVs of 50. The large (L) candies can be used up to an AV of 100, but require the Pokémon to be at least level 30. Finally, extra large (XL) candies can be used for a max AV of 200 for Pokémon with a minimum level of 60. Species-specific candy doesn’t have any of the limitations, however, they are much harder to come by.
Trainer Tips
- Chaining is a great way to get a bunch of candies, especially species-specific candy which max out your AVs much faster. Making great throws or catching tiny/ huge Pokémon can also lead to greater rewards.
- In the middle of chaining, don’t worry if you accidently run into a Pokémon you didn’t mean to. Running away from the encounter will preserve your chain.
- Certain types of Pokémon drop certain types of candy. If you are trying to increase certain AVs it could be a good idea to look into which Pokémon you should be catching.
- Save your candies for Pokémon you want to use on your team, it’s more efficient than wasting candies on Pokémon you don’t plan on keeping around very long. It can also be a great idea to wait until you have the judgement feature and wait to invest into Pokémon with good IVs.
- When playing with friends, you can have the option to not include AVs to make the game more fair.