But like every Pokémon game, there comes a point when random encounters and challenge battles just aren’t giving you enough experience to continue on with your journey. That’s where grinding comes in. If you wanna get the most of your grinding sessions, let’s check out some of the top spots to level up your team across all of Alola’s islands.
5. Ten Carat Hill, Melemele Island
After you’ve beaten Island Kahuna Hala, spend a little more time exploring Melemele Island before hopping over to Akala. You’ll want to start your grind after you snag a Lucky Egg from Professor Kukui’s lab. It grants extra XP to whichever Pokémon is holding it, making all of your grinding efforts even more worthwhile! Ten Carat Hill offers a couple of different locations where you can encounter wild Pokémon. In Verdant Cavern you’ll come across Zubat, Diglett, Roggenrola, and Carbink. Carbink are your best bet for fast leveling in the caves. Then once you hit Farthest Hollow you can continue to grind for Roggenrola, but the best EXP farms in this area are the level 14 Machops.
4. Paniola Ranch
Paniola Ranch is located on Akala Island, serving to connect Routes 4, 5, and 6 by intersecting with Paniola Town. You’ll run into Tauros, Lillipup, and Mudbray here, but running into a Milltank will net you a huge boost in EXP. There’s only a 5% chance to encounter the Milk Cow Pokémon, but it’s worth grinding to get you up a few levels. And don’t forget to try out your Stoutland Search while you’re looking for wild Pokémon battles! He’ll help you sniff out special hidden items across the Ranch.
3. Akala Outskirts
On the east side of Akala Island are the Outskirts, a location teeming with grass patches to help you level quickly. During the day, Gumshoos have the highest yield. But night time brings out the Alolan Raticates. These babies offer a huge burst of EXP relative to the other Pokémon in this area, so it’s worth staying up after dark to really cash in. And if you happen across a Stufful, be sure to grab one while you’re here. They’re pretty rare in Sun and Moon, only available in the Akala Outskirts with a 5% encounter rate.
2. Altar of the Sunne or Moone
Once you’ve traversed Poni Island, you’ll head to the Altar of the Sunne or Altar of the Moone, where you’ll encounter the legendary Solgaleo or Lunala. After playing through that section of the main game, you’ll have the opportunity to head off the beaten path to grass patches hiding some experience-heavy Lycanroc, Skarmory, and Machoke. You’ll want to spend a good amount of time here. Because it’s the last chance for you to powerlevel endlessly before the Elite Four. And the Battle Buffet is great, but limited to one visit a day, limiting your grind significantly.
1. Battle Buffet
To hit level 60-70 before taking on the Elite Four, you can go back to Melemele Island and spend some time in the Battle Buffet. There, you battle it out with hungry trainers who want to get their hands on the scrumptious dishes you have your eye on. Each trainer only has one level 55 Pokémon, and your goal is to knock out as many as you can in 10 turns. For example, if you knock out the first trainer in 2 turns, you have 8 turns left to work with. Knocking out trainers in less turns means more experience for you. It’s a great way to grind before the Elite Four. Especially if you turn back the clock on your 3DS to replay the same “day” over and over.
