It combines with Stardust to form one of the central mechanics in Pokémon Go outside of finding and catching Pokémon themselves, but thankfully, there’s many ways to get your hands on it, including using the Rare Candy item. Below, you can find helpful information on how to get Candy easily, and how Rare Candy works exactly. Make sure to check out our Pokémon Go XL Candy guide as well. On this page: Below, you can find out how to get Candy in Pokémon Go.
Catching Pokémon
The best way is, unfortunately, through grinding out those catches. You’ll get x3 Candy per Pokémon that you catch, and as part of the Gen 2 update, second and third tier evolutions will now give out more Candy in the wild compared to their first evolution counterparts, increasing from x3 Candy to x5 and x10 respectively. There are ways to speed up the process for the creature you need, from finding Pokémon nests to finding Pokémon spawn locations. It’s worth noting that, now and again, seasonal updates look to increase the rates of some drops, such as double Candy during Pokémon Go’s Halloween event, so be sure to keep an eye on game updates to increase your stock. To check if there are boosted Candy rates as part of an event, tap the binoculars symbol in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen and then tap the ‘Today’ tab. If there is a boosted catch Candy rate, it will be listed in one of the event sections.
Using Berries in battle
As part of the Gen 2 Pokémon update, new Berries were added, introducing new effects when encountering wild Pokémon. One of these is the Pinap Berries, which will double the amount of Candy you receive if your next catch attempt succeeds. Using a Silver Pinap Berry has the same effect, but it also makes the Pokémon easier to catch.
Using Berries at Gyms
As part of the summer 2017’s huge Gym rework, by feeding a creature at a Gym owned by your team, there is a slim chance a Candy for that Pokémon will drop. This makes it one of the easiest ways to get high level Candy, with Gyms usually stacked with Blisseys, Tyranitars and Dragonites. It also gives you another compelling reason to hang onto those Berries.
Walking with a Buddy Pokémon
As part of the game’s September 2016 update, you can assign a Pokémon as a Buddy that, after a set walking distance, will give you Candy. There are quite a few quirks to this system - some Pokémon require longer distances to drop rewards than others, for example - which we go through in detail as part of our extensive Pokémon Go Buddy system piece. Like eggs, it’s a way to get bonus items for free, so it’s worth exploring the ins and outs of the system to make it work for you.
Transferring Pokémon
Not only does transferring Pokémon clear them out of your inventory (go to your Pokémon screen, click the menu at the bottom right then hit transfer) but it also gives you one Candy in return.
How to get Candy from hatching eggs in Pokémon Go
The alternative means of getting Candy is through eggs. You’ll get a considerable amount of Candy from hatching eggs, however the difficulty is that actually hatching the relevant Pokémon is essentially a guessing game. Our egg-hatching guide and egg chart can help you narrow it down and hatch those eggs as quickly as possible at least, but it’s still an inelegant solution overall. That being said, it’s often your primary means of evolving or powering up Pokémon found from 10km eggs, such as Snorlax, as the Candy awarded for hatching the egg is normally pretty significant. The estimated amounts of Candy you’ll get from hatching eggs - based purely on anecdotal evidence at this point - is as follows:
2km egg: between x5 and x15 Candy 5km egg: between x10 and x21 Candy 7km egg - between x10 and x21 Candy 10km egg - between x16 and x32 Candy 12km egg - between x16 and x32 Candy
You might get slightly more or slightly less than those figures, but these are the most common Candy hatch rates in the game. The Candy you get from hatching an egg can also double during certain special events. Remember to check your ‘Today’ tab from the binoculars menu to see what event bonuses are currently running if you want to take advantage of boosted Candy rates.
Trading Pokémon
The amount of Candy you get from trading a Pokémon depends on the distance the creature’s were caught apart:
Caught under 10km apart from each other: x1 Candy Caught between 10km and 100km apart from each other: x2 Candies Caught over 100km apart from each other: x3 Candies
As with catching and hatching, Candy transfer rates can increase during special events. The Season of Mythical Wishes continues with the Winter Holiday event, which has brought Mega Glalie to Pokémon Go. Don’t forget to partake in the new Go Battle League season. Elsewhere, be sure to use Daily Adventure Incense for the chance of encountering Galarian Articuno, Galarian Zapdos and Galarian Moltres.
How to get Rare Candy in Pokémon Go and how it works
This out-of-battle item that when used on a Pokémon, will turn into one Candy of its type. Introduced as one of the many new Raid rewards, Rare Candy is the best way get Candy in Pokémon Go. The amount of Rare Candy you get is not fixed when winning raids, and it’s not a guaranteed reward. Other ways you can get Rare Candy in Pokémon Go include:
Field Research Research Breakthrough Trainer Battles Battle League
In April 2022, Niantic announced Rare Candy drops in raids would be “slightly” reduced, “slightly” increased in the Go Battle League, and can now appear when opening Gifts. It’s not the most generous reward, but for certain creatures Candy can be incredibly hard to come by, and every piece counts. Either way, it’s not unlike Rare Candy from the main games, which increase your creature level by one. Best of luck getting Candy in Pokémon Go!
