You’ve probably heard the complaints. Ever since Gen 6, the Pokémon community has been in a bit of a civil war over the Exp Share. People call it "easy mode" or say it ruins the "bond" you have with your team because your monsters are leveling up while sitting on the bench eating Malasadas.
But honestly? The Sun Moon Exp Share is a totally different beast than the one we saw in X and Y.
If you go back and play Pokémon Sun or Moon today—or the Ultra versions—you’ll notice something weird. Even with the Exp Share turned on the whole time, you aren't actually steamrolling the game. You might even find yourself underleveled by the time you hit the Elite Four.
The Math That Changed Everything
Basically, Game Freak pulled a sneaky one. In Pokémon X and Y, the experience system was "flat." If you defeated a Level 50 Audino, you got a massive chunk of experience regardless of whether your Pokémon was Level 10 or Level 100. This made the Exp Share feel broken. You’d turn it on, and suddenly your entire party was 15 levels above the next Gym Leader.
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Sun and Moon brought back the "scaled" experience formula from Gen 5 (Black and White).
This is the secret sauce. In this system, the amount of experience a Pokémon earns depends on the level difference between it and the opponent. If your Alolan Raichu is Level 50 and it knocks out a Level 20 Yungoos, it gets almost nothing. But if your Level 10 Bagon is in the back of your party? It gets a massive boost because it's so much lower in level.
How the split actually works
When the Sun Moon Exp Share is toggled ON in your Key Items:
- The Pokémon that actually participates in the battle gets 100% of its earned experience.
- Every other Pokémon in your party gets 50% of the experience they would have earned if they had been the one to win the fight.
Notice that last part. It's not 50% of what the leader got. It's calculated based on the bench warmer's own level.
This creates a "rubber band" effect. Your lead Pokémon hits a soft cap where it stops gaining much XP because it's too high-level, while your weaker team members catch up quickly. It keeps your team balanced without letting you accidentally become a god-king before the third island.
Where to find the Exp Share (and why you can't miss it)
In older games, you had to hunt this thing down. You had to talk to a specific scientist or catch 50 different species. In Alola, they basically hand it to you the moment you've proven you know how to walk.
You get the Exp Share from the Teacher at the Trainers' School on Route 1. This happens extremely early in the story, right after you finish your "lessons" and defeat the school's principal.
It’s a Key Item now. No more making a Pokémon hold it like a weird backpack. You just flip a switch in your bag.
The "Easy Mode" Myth
A lot of players insist on turning the Exp Share off to keep the game "hard."
Look, I get it. I grew up grinding on Victory Road for six hours too. But Sun and Moon (especially the Ultra versions) were actually balanced with the Exp Share in mind. If you keep it off, you’re going to hit a brick wall.
By the time you reach the Alola Pokémon League, the jump in levels is significant. If you haven't been using the share, you might find yourself 10 levels behind Professor Kukui’s team.
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The Totem Pokémon are the real reason the Exp Share is necessary here. These aren't your average Gym Leaders. They have boosted stats and they call in "SOS" allies that use actual strategies—like a Castform using Sunny Day so the Totem Lurantis can fire off instant Solar Blades. If you're underleveled because you're trying to be a "purist," those fights become a nightmare of Revives and frustration.
Pro-Tips for Maximizing Growth
If you’re trying to hit Level 100 or just want to get a competitive team ready, the Exp Share is only one part of the puzzle. You’ve got to stack the bonuses.
- The Lucky Egg: You can’t get this until the post-game in Sun and Moon. Talk to Professor Kukui in his lab after you've registered 50 Pokémon in your Pokédex.
- Affection is Key: Use Pokémon Refresh. If a Pokémon has at least two hearts of affection, it gains a 20% boost in experience. Just feed it a Rainbow Bean. One bean usually does the trick.
- Traded Pokémon: This is the classic trick. Pokémon with a different Trainer ID gain more experience.
- SOS Chaining: This is the fastest way to level up in Alola. Find a Chansey (Poni Plains is the spot), use an Adrenaline Orb, and just keep knocking out the help it calls for. With the Exp Share on, your whole party will skyrocket.
The EV Training Headache
There is one downside to the Sun Moon Exp Share that most people forget until it's too late: Effort Values (EVs).
In this generation, if the Exp Share is on, every Pokémon in your party gains EVs from the battle.
This is great if you're just playing through the story. It sucks if you’re trying to build a competitive Garchomp. If you want your Garchomp to only have Attack and Speed EVs, but you have the Exp Share on while your lead Pokémon is knocking out high-HP Chanseys, your Garchomp is going to end up with a mess of "junk" stats.
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If you’re doing serious training, turn the share OFF or put the Pokémon you don't want to "pollute" in the PC.
Actionable Takeaways for Your Playthrough
- Don't be afraid to leave it on. The level scaling prevents the game from becoming a total cakewalk, unlike the Kalos games.
- Rotate your team. Because of how the scaling works, Sun and Moon is the perfect game to maintain a "squad" of 10 or 12 Pokémon rather than just 6. You can swap them in and out and they'll stay relevant thanks to the catch-up mechanic.
- Toggle it off for specific challenges. If you feel like a specific trial is too easy, flip the switch. That's the beauty of it being a Key Item—you aren't locked into a choice.
- Watch your EVs. If you care about competitive stats, remember that the "Share" applies to more than just experience points.
The Alola games were a turning point for the series. They tried to find a middle ground between the "grind-heavy" past and the "automated" future. By bringing back the Gen 5 scaling, the Sun Moon Exp Share actually feels like a tool for balance rather than a cheat code.
Whether you love it or hate it, understanding the math behind it makes a huge difference in how you approach the trials of Alola. Just keep that Rainbow Bean ready for the affection boost, and you'll be fine.