To find EXP Candy in Pokémon Sword and Shield, you just have to participate in the many Raids within the Wild Area.
The different types of EXP Candy
- XS : +100 experience points
- S: +800 experience
- M: +3,000 experience
- L: +10,000 experience
- XL: +30,000 experience
Rare Candy can also be found, which instantly levels up a Pokémon.
Experience according to Pokémon
It's not simply enough to give a Pokémon x candy to raise it to Level 100 — it depends on the Pokémon and the experience group in which it is located.
We will not do the math here, but to simplify things — there are six different groups of Pokémon. For each group, a calculation curve is defined and influences the speed at which the Pokémon gains experience.
- The Fast Curve
- The Med-Fast curve
- The Med-Slow curve
- The Slow Curve
- The Erratic curve
- The Fluctuating Curve
To find out in which group the Pokémon you want to improve is located, a list can be found on Bulbapedia.
How many Candy to reach Level 100?
Once you have identified which group your Pokémon is in, refer to this table to find out how many Candy to give.
All calculations made in obtaining results below were performed by Evstirling on Reddit.
Conclusion: It takes 34 XL Candy to give a Pokémon 1,000,000 experience points. If it belongs to the "Med-Fast" group (like most Pokémon), then it will reach Level 100 after 34 XL Candy.
In order not to waste a single Candy, the most efficient combination would be to use 33 XL Candy and one L Candy.
Optimization to reach Level 100
- Erratic: 20 XL Candy
- Fast: 26 XL Candy + 2 L Candy
- Med-Fast: 33 XL Candy + 1 L Candy
- Med-Slow: 29 XL Candy + 1 M Candy + 5 XS Candy + 6 Rare Candy
- Slow: 29 XL Candy + 1 L Candy + 1 S Candy + 4 XS Candy + 11 Rare Candy
- Fluctuating: 27 XL Candy + 2 L Candy + 1 M Candy + 3 S Candy + 17 Rare Candy