Battling effectively in Pokémon GO is all about using your resources wisely. One of the most important of these is the energy generated from your Fast Attacks. A good understanding of how energy is generated and how to use it wisely is critical to victory.
When you’re first getting started in the GO Battle League, it may be tempting to send off Charged Attacks as soon as they’re available—and in some cases, that is the right move. But there are many situations when saving that energy for future use is better. Unfortunately, the difference between the two is not always easy to determine. The good news is that as soon as you recognize that energy is a resource for you to manage thoughtfully and creatively, you’re one step closer to figuring out how to use it more effectively.
How Do I Get Energy in Pokémon GO?
Every time you use a Fast Attack, you gain a certain amount of energy that can be used to unleash a powerful Charged Attack. The amount of energy you gain depends on which Fast Attack you choose. For example, let’s look at Swampert, a very popular Pokémon in the GO Battle League. Swampert has two available Fast Attacks: Mud Shot and Water Gun. While Water Gun deals slightly more damage per second (DPS), Mud Shot gives slightly more energy per second (EPS). This means that Mud Shot will make Swampert’s Charged Attacks available faster than Water Gun. This isn’t to say that either attack is better than the other, but each Trainer needs to decide whether to prioritize damage or energy gains when choosing a Fast Attack. With multiple Charged Attacks available to every Pokémon, each requiring different amounts of energy to use, there are lots of variables to consider when choosing your Fast Attack and Charged Attacks. Deciding on a particular Fast Attack will likely influence which Charged Attacks you choose. If you choose a Charged Attack that requires a lot of energy, it might be wise to pair it with the Fast Attack that generates the most energy possible. While it’s difficult to say whether one Fast Attack or Charged Attack is flat-out superior to another, it’s important that Trainers trying to decide on attacks understand all of the factors they need to take into account regarding energy generation and management.
Deciding what to do with your energy, and when, is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in the GO Battle League. That’s where energy farming and energy management come into play.
In order to understand energy management in Pokémon GO, you need to understand energy farming, which you might encounter in player discussions as “farming down.”
Energy farming refers to the practice of continuously using Fast Attacks against your opponent even after you have a Charged Attack available. The purpose is to save energy so you have one or more Charged Attacks ready to go for your opponent’s next Pokémon, or at least get a head start towards the next Charged Attack. Since a lot of battles turn into a race to see who can reach a Charged Attack first, having your most powerful attack when you need it is extremely valuable.
It’s safest to practice energy farming when your Pokémon is facing off against an opponent that won’t deal serious damage to your Pokémon. That way, you can gain energy without expending precious Protect Shields. But this means you should know what Charged Attacks your opponent’s Pokémon have access to. It’s no fun having a ton of energy stored up and unexpectedly seeing your Pokémon knocked out by a Charged Attack you didn’t know was coming. Remember that every Pokémon can use up to two different Charged Attacks, so you should assume that every opposing Pokémon in battle has two.
Note that there is a cap to how much energy you can save up. Once you hit that limit—which you will be able to see because your Charged Attack icons won’t get any fuller—you’ll have to decide whether to use a Charged Attack or continue with your Fast Attacks. For example, if the opponent will be knocked out with one or two more Fast Attacks, it’s probably not worth using a Charged Attack. But each situation, and battle, is unique.
What Are Some Examples of Energy Farming?
One of the easiest ways to understand the concept of energy farming is to see it in action. Here are some examples of competitors making the most of their energy at the 2023 Pokémon Salt Lake City Regional Championships.
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In this clip, we see that Trainer Vergverg’s Umbreon has more than enough energy to unleash a Charged Attack against Trainer 0ELiTE0’s Froslass, but Vergverg continues using his Fast Attacks, gaining more and more energy. After he finally has more than two uses of Foul Play ready to go, he unleashes one. He undercharges the attack by not fully completing the sequence on the screen. His goal is to chip away at Frosslass’s HP while putting off knocking it out so he can get in a few more Fast Attacks, gaining additional energy for Umbreon’s next matchup.
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Here, Trainer birdpower13’s Lickitung has enough energy to deliver a Charged Attack, Power Whip, that could knock out BrokeTravelerEd’s Azumarill. Instead, birdpower13 chooses the Charged Attack Body Slam, which deals significantly less damage but also costs less energy. This allows her to get in a few more Fast Attacks before Azumarill faints. This is possible because birdPower13 knows Azumarill won’t be able to use a Charged Attack before it faints, allowing her Lickitung to safely harvest more energy for its next matchup.
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In the finals, birdpower13—who eventually won the Salt Lake City Regional Championships—once again displays her mastery of energy management. Despite the fact that her Galarian Stunfisk is armed with two fully charged Rock Slides and one Earthquake, she continues to use her Fast Attack Mud Shot against BuckeyeFitzy’s Lickitung. She waits until Lickitung is close to being able to use its Charged Attack (which requires solid skill in counting Fast Attacks) before unleashing a Rock Slide, which she underpowers, knowing it will still knock out Lickitung. This allows her Galarian Stunfisk to face off against BuckeyeFitzy’s Medicham with a Rock Slide and Earthquake charged and ready. Even though Medicham is a powerful counter to Galarian Stunfisk, birdpower13 is able to eliminate half of Medicham’s health before making a safe switch.
What Are the Risks of Energy Farming?
Waiting to use an available Charged Attack has its risks. You might not realize how close your Pokémon is to fainting because you’re focused elsewhere. Losing your Pokémon and all the energy you’ve been saving up would obviously give your opponent an advantage. It’s incredibly important to keep an eye on your Pokémon’s HP while battling—and especially while energy farming—to avoid this scenario.
If your opponent is smart and knows that you’re farming energy, they might switch in a Pokémon that can take the Charged Attack you’re trying to unleash. That threat exists whether you’re farming energy or not, but it’s really a question of how well your opponent can read your decisions. If you spend a lot of time charging up the costly Charged Attack Foul Play with Scrafty and your opponent swaps in an Alolan Ninetales, which is resistant to Dark-type attacks, your energy won’t do as much damage as you hoped. Any waste of time and effort can be dangerous. Still, unless you have a good idea of which Pokémon your opponent is using, it can be difficult to know how to best time your Charged Attacks. Being able to read your opponent’s team makeup based on their decisions in battle is another useful skill that complements energy management, but that’s a topic for another article.
Looking for additional tips and advice for the GO Battle League? Learn how to get started in the GO Battle League, how to make the most of lead and safe switch Pokémon, utilize advanced techniques like counting Fast Attacks and building a balanced team, how to make the most of Shadow Pokémon, and how to master Charged Attacks and Fast Attacks.
