SoulGold EV training, EXP farming and money farming
EV train with vitamins and power items, farm EXP with the Exp. Share, Candy Jar and Kitakami's Audino trainer, and farm money with Pickup, Yanma and the Arcade.
Short answer
EV train with vitamins and power items from the Goldenrod Dept. Store, since vitamins aren't capped at 100 here. For EXP, keep the Exp. Share on, carry the Candy Jar, and pay 10,000 to fight Kitakami's Audino and Blissey trainer. For money, use Pickup early, farm Wide Lenses from Route 35 Yanma in the midgame, buy Nuggets at the Battle Factory after 8 badges, and play the Rocket Arcade in the postgame.
EV training in SoulGold is mostly shopping. Vitamins aren’t capped at 100 EVs here, and power items were buffed hard, so the Goldenrod Dept. Store does most of the work. EXP comes almost for free with the Exp. Share and the Candy Jar. Money is the slow one, so set up a farm the moment you reach Goldenrod.
SoulGold EV training
Vitamins are the fast way. HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc and Carbos are on Goldenrod Dept. Store 4F, and they keep working past 100 EVs.
- Decide the spread first. For most attackers that’s 252 in the attacking stat, 252 in Speed and 4 in HP.
- Buy vitamins at Goldenrod Dept. Store 4F and feed them until the stat stops going up.
- Hold a power item from the same floor while you battle for whatever’s left. Power Weight, Bracer, Belt, Lens, Band and Anklet are all there, and they’re much stronger than in the old games.
- Made a mistake? Zeromin on 3F resets every EV to 0, and the Dept. Store’s EV-reducing berries take a stat down without a full reset.
In the postgame, the Battle Tower BP shop sells EX vitamins, HP Up EX through Calcium EX, for 10 BP each. Each one maxes a stat in one go.
Exp. Share and Exp. All
Yes, SoulGold has an Exp. Share. Your rival hands it to you right before Violet City, and it’s on by default. Leave it on. I never saw a separate Exp. All item, and with the Share already on for the whole run, you won’t miss one.
Trainer battles also pay 1.2 times the normal EXP, so clearing every trainer on a route keeps your team on pace without a grind.
The Candy Jar
Elm’s aide gives you the Candy Jar with the Egg after the first gym. Keep it in your Bag for the rest of the game. Every time a foe faints, 90% of its EXP goes into the jar, on top of the EXP your team already gets. The jar holds up to 99,999,999.
Use it from the Bag to cash out. It turns the stored EXP into the biggest candies it can:
| Candy | EXP per candy |
|---|---|
| Exp. Candy L | 10,000 |
| Exp. Candy M | 3,000 |
| Exp. Candy S | 800 |
| Exp. Candy XS | 100 |
It makes up to 999 of each size per use, and whatever is left over stays in the jar. Exp. Candy XL never comes out of the jar. Buy that one at the Battle Tower for 3 BP each.
I saved my jar for new catches. A fresh ‘mon from the Safari Zone got to the cap in a few minutes of feeding candies.
SoulGold EXP farm spots
These are the best EXP sources, in the order you’ll reach them.
- Route trainers with the VS Seeker. You get it from the quiz on Radio Tower 1F in Goldenrod. It recharges every 200 steps and resets the route trainers, and trainers pay 1.2 times EXP.
- Gym rematches in the postgame. They’re Lv 75 to 82 and spread around Johto.
- The Kitakami Audino and Blissey trainer. Pay 10,000 and fight Do Jo’s six Pokémon at Lv 55. Audino’s base EXP was raised in v1.2, so this is the best paid grind in the game.
- Rare Candies. Pickup finds them from Lv 11, at 1% early and 4% to 5% from Lv 51. Grottos and hidden items drop them too.
Hold a Lucky Egg on whatever you’re training:
| Lucky Egg source | When |
|---|---|
| Kitakami Mountain (item ball) | After you reach Kitakami |
| Route 47 Hidden Grotto (rare item) | Any day you roll it |
| Battle Tower BP shop | Postgame |
If you overshoot, Reverse Candy on Dept. Store 4F takes a level off.
SoulGold money farm
Money is tight early, and you’ll want a lot of it. The Olivine tutor costs 44,444, the Blackthorn egg move master costs 88,888, and the Kitakami trainer is 10,000 a fight. Farm in this order.
- Early game, run Pickup. Put a Pickup ‘mon in your party. In SoulGold the item goes straight to your Bag even if it’s holding something, so give it a held item and forget about it. Nuggets show up from Lv 21 and Big Nuggets too.
- From Goldenrod, steal Wide Lenses.
Yanma on Route 35 hold Wide Lenses, and they sell for a lot. Teach Covet to Butterfree or Thief to Persian, chain Yanma with the DexNav and take a lens from each one. Put a Compound Eyes or Super Luck ‘mon in the first slot so more of them hold an item. - On the side, sell feathers and shards. Fish up feathers and smash rocks for shards, then sell them.
- After 8 badges, buy Nuggets. The Battle Factory lobby adds Nuggets (10 BP) and Big Nuggets (30 BP) to its stock. Win rounds, buy Nuggets, sell them.
- Postgame, play the Rocket Arcade in Goldenrod. It pays money instead of BP. A round is seven battles, and the pot climbs from 4,000 after one win to 384,000 after seven. You can cash out after any win, but lose after pressing on and you get nothing.
The Amulet Coin is an item ball in the Goldenrod Dept. Store basement. It doubles your trainer payout when the holder battles, so keep it on your lead while you clear routes.
The Yanma farm carried my money through the midgame. One evening of Covet runs paid for the tutor.
There’s no unlimited money trick. Cheats aren’t supported and can corrupt your save, and the cheats page explains why the usual codes fail.
Get to Goldenrod, teach Covet, and start on the Route 35 Yanma.
Frequently asked questions
Does SoulGold have an Exp. Share?
Yes. Your rival gives it to you right before Violet City, and it's on by default. I never saw a separate Exp. All item, and you don't need one.
What does the Candy Jar do in SoulGold?
It banks 90% of the EXP from every foe you knock out, on top of what your team gets. Use it from the Bag to turn the stored EXP into Exp. Candies, 10,000 EXP per L candy down to 100 per XS.
What is the best money farm in SoulGold?
Rocket Arcade in the postgame. Before that, buy Nuggets and Big Nuggets with BP at the Battle Factory after 8 badges, and steal Wide Lenses from Route 35 Yanma from Goldenrod on.
Is there unlimited money in SoulGold?
No. Cheats aren't supported and can corrupt your save. The Rocket Arcade is the closest thing, because you can keep playing it for cash.
Where do I get a Lucky Egg in SoulGold?
Kitakami Mountain, the Route 47 Hidden Grotto as its rare item, or the Battle Tower BP shop in the postgame.
Spotted something that changed in a newer patch? Send a correction. Guides are checked against the version shown at the top of the page and the official SoulGold documentation.
