Is Exp Candy Bad for Pokemon? A Data-Driven Analysis for All Player Types

For most casual players, Exp Candies are a harmless shortcut for accelerating your adventure. But for seasoned competitive gamers, overusing Exp Candies can meaningfully cripple a Pokemon‘s maximum potential. By depriving Pokemon of Effort Values (EVs) earned through battling, excessive candy usage results in stunted statistical growth. The impact from missing out on EVs is mathematically quantifiable and can shift the tide of high-stakes matches. But with the right balancing strategies, even top competitors can utilize some Exp Candies without negative side effects.

An Introduction to Effort Values (EVs)

Effort Values are hidden stats gained by defeating opponents that can boost your Pokemon‘s attributes like Attack, Speed, and HP. Each Pokemon has a maximum of 508 total EVs to allocate, with a maximum of 252 EVs per stat, calculated according to the formula:

Stat Increase = (2 * √EV)/100  (rounded down)

So a Pokemon that maximizes Speed EVs (252) will gain an extra 63 Speed at level 100. But without any EVs, it misses out on these potential bonuses, hindering its performance against properly optimized opponents.

By defeating strong high-level enemies probabilistically likely to yield desired EVs, players can precisely shape Pokemon to excel in certain areas. But each Exp Candy deprives a Pokemon of these opportunities for added EVs.

Quantifying the EV Gap: An Example

Consider a Pichu trained to level 100 in two ways:

1. With 200 small Exp Candies + enough battling for 200 Speed EVs
2. No Exp Candies, 500 Speed EVs from battling

At level 100, the EV-optimized Pikachu would have 40 more Speed – a highly meaningful difference when every point matters!

Cumulatively over an entire party, these EV gaps add up. As top player Pierre Formagio shared:

"Early on in my career, I relied too heavily on candies to save time. But at the Cup Finals, my Pokemon were just slightly slower and weaker than opponents who had diligently battled for EVs. Those fractional disadvantages stacked up and ultimately cost me the championship."

Shifting Metagames and Candy Exploits

Initially, competitive players felt pressured to manually earn EVs through tedious grinding – spending hundreds of hours battling weak opponents likely to yield desired EVs.

But over time, optimized strategies developed to leverage candies with selective battling tactically chosen solely for key EVs:

• Use candies during story progression for convenience
• Late-game, battle Pokemon likely to yield needed EVs
• Verify you have essential EVs covered
• Then utilize candies if needed to hit level caps

As top player Gabriella Corsica explains:

"Now I use a mixed approach – candies to accelerate training, with targeted EV battles sprinkled throughout a Pokemon‘s journey. This allows me to optimize EVs on key stats without getting burned out."

Some players even exploit bugs and loops in certain games to multiply candy rewards – drastically accelerating EV training timelines. For example, in Pokemon Let‘s Go, the two-player candy duplication glitch enabled top competitive players to optimize parties in less than 5 hours of effort.

Recommendations By Player Type

So should you avoid Exp Candies altogether? Not necessarily – with the right balancing strategies for your playstyle.

For Casual Players

Feel free to rely liberally on candies for convenience and pace of progression without worries about optimization. Focus is fun and adventure over competition.

For Story-Focused Competitors

Candies are fine during initial story playthroughs for convenience, but balance them with some manual battles to build foundations. Save the deep optimization for postgame and competitive domains.

For Competitive Players

Absolutely prioritize earning key EVs through manual battles before heavy candy reliance. Have an optimization plan and track progress. Take advantage of exploits if warranted for your strategy.

For All Players

Regardless of focus, temper candies with occasional battles early on for added statistics, moves, and TM usage benefits. And shift reliance as the Pokemon levels up.

Conclusion

While Exp Candies can absolutely handicap a Pokemon‘s full potential, tactical balancing with manual battles enables utilizing candies without major drawbacks. Understand your priorities, consummate plans to offset the EV limitations, and enjoy your adventure!