Technologies

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: Best Ways to Farm Exp. Points

Every Pokemon trainer needs as much experience as they can get. Here are the quickest ways to level up your Pokemon.

Exp. Points, you can never get enough of ’em. If you’re progressing through Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, an IV drip of Exp. Points is always a great help. That’s especially true if you’re hoping to complete the Pokedex, which involves leveling up hundreds of Pokemon to spark evolutions.

There are three key ways to farm Exp. Points in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The first is the Chansey method, which becomes available fairly early in the game. The second is a passive method that opens up later on in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: It allows you to earn Exp. Points even if you’re away from your Switch. And finally, there are Tera Raid battles. These are available throughout the game, but become invaluable for Exp. Point farming in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s post-game, when five- and six-star Tera Raids open up.

Below is what you need to know about farming Exp. Points, which level up your Pokemon, in the new games. Note: The first two methods are greatly enhanced if your lead Pokemon is holding a Lucky Egg, which you get after beating your fifth Gym Leader. Lucky Eggs boost Exp. Points earned by 50%.

The Chansey method

This one is simple. Chansey yield huge amounts of Exp. Points when you defeat them, and appear throughout Paldea, the region in which Scarlet and Violet take place. The downside is that they’re rare: Though they can be found in many places, you probably won’t find them often unless you go out of your way to do so.

So it’s time to go out of your way.

The first part of Exp. Point farming via fighting Chansey Pokemon is crafting Ham Sandwiches. Go to an Artisan Bakery store — they’re in many Paldea towns, I went to the one in Levincia — and purchase ham, pickles, mustard and mayonnaise for the inside of the sandwich. The next step is to go to one of Chansey’s natural habitats. You can see said habitats below:

Chansey will appear at different levels depending on where you go. North and northeast are where they’re strongest; southwest and west are where they spawn at lower levels. The Pokemon I wanted to level up was level 40, so I went north, near Team Star’s Fairy Crew base.

Set up a picnic table and assemble your Ham Sandwich. As you can see below, that will offer a few perks. The one we care about is Encounter Power: Normal. It means normal-type Pokemon are more likely to appear. Since Chansey is the only Normal-type Pokemon in several of its habitats, that means eating a Ham Sandwich can kick off a Chansey Party.

You have two options. You can throw a Pokeball at Chansey to start a traditional battle, which will yield thousands of Exp. Points if you’re at a similar level. Or you can activate Let’s Go mode by pressing ZR, which will cause your lead Pokemon to run at all the Chansey. This is easier and more passive, and you’ll earn about 700 Exp. Points per Chansey downed.

Note that if you’re in the northern or northeast habitats, a Blissey may appear. These are Chansey’s evolved form and earn you much more Exp. Points. Initiate an old-school battle if you see a Blissey to savor all that sweet, sweet Exp.

Each Ham Sandwich buffs you for 30 minutes. That’s enough time to earn to earn tens of thousands of Exp. Points.

Passive Golduck Method

This opens up further into the story — or rather, is in an area most will encounter relatively late in the game. If you’ve cleared Team Star’s Fighting Crew base, this Exp. Point farming method is something you can take advantage of. All you need is a good crepe and a grass- or electric-type Pokemon.

Just like with the Chansey method, you want to eat something that boosts encounters with water-type Pokemon. There a few sandwiches that achieve this, but it’s much easier to just fly to Mesagoza and eat a Chocolate Banana Crepe. Next, go to the area shown on the map below. It’s southeast of North Province (Area One) and northwest of South Province (Area Two).

As the topography indicates, you’ll find a water-filled crater. It’s crawling with Golduck, and a few Dratini too. Unleash your Pokemon in Let’s Go mode, then get on your mount and jump to the ledges that circle the crater. From there, you can watch as your Pokemon demolish the Golduck. Or you can, like, go do your washing or something.

This is a passive method, but it works best if you can keep an eye on your Switch. You may need to heal your Pokemon, and sometimes it’ll withdraw to its Pokeball if it goes long enough without encountering another Pokemon. The Golduck are at around level 50, and will give you about 600 Exp. Points per Golduck defeated if your Pokemon is at a similar level. Over the course of 15 or 30 minutes, that ends up being a lot of Exp. Points.

Caution before the next section: There are mild post-game spoilers.

Tera Raids

This is the simplest method, but takes the longest time to unlock. If you’ve played Pokemon Scarlet and Violet for any period of time, you’ve surely encountered a Tera Raid. They’re initiated by approaching the chunks of crystal that glow into the sky like a searchlight. Upon entering the Raid, you’ll fight a Pokemon that’s Terastalized: superpowered and made of crystal.

Tera Raids are graded on a star scale of difficulty. Once you beat the Elite Four, you’ll unlock five-star Tera Raids. After you beat the Elite Four, you’re given a mission to beat Paldea’s Gym Leaders again. Once you do that and go through more battles at your school, you’ll get access to six-star Tera Raids.

Completing these Tera Raids can be tough — make sure you equip your Pokemon of choice with damage-boosting items, like Choice Specs — but they yield huge amounts of Exp. Points. When you complete a five- or six-star raid, you’ll get an assortment of Exp. Candy, including XL Exp. Candy. Every XL Exp Candy, when used on a Pokemon, gives them 30,000 Exp. Points. That’s on top of the L Exp. Candy and M Exp. Candy you earn, which are worth 10,000 and 3,000 Exp. Points each.

It’s not a fancy trick, but doing circuits of five- and six-star Tera Raids ends up being the quickest way to get a Pokemon from level 1 to 100.

Technologies

Amazon’s Alexa Plus Confounds Chris Hemsworth in Super Bowl Ad as the AI Tool Launches

Alexa Plus is aiming higher with a new superhero Super Bowl spot and a US-wide launch, including a free version for any app user.

The Alexa Plus AI has been in early access for over a year, but this week all that changes, starting with a Thursday preview at Amazon’s upcoming Super Bowl ad featuring Chris Hemsworth. Let’s look at how our phones and smart speakers are getting this smart voice assistant upgrade.

I’ve been reviewing beta Alexa Plus over the past year and found the AI upgrade to be highly conversational and more capable than the old Alexa, bringing new ties to third-party apps like Uber and Ticketmaster. Starting on Tuesday, Amazon has completed its rollout and made Alexa Plus available to anyone who wants to try it in the US.

It’s no wonder Hemsworth got worried at just how responsive the voice assistant could be. The rogue AI scenarios in the Super Bowl ad playfully acknowledge people’s fears over inviting generative artificial intelligence into their private lives as the Australian actor gets hacked by a garage door, drowned in his pool and mauled by an Alexa-ordered bear.

Amazon makes it clear that no damage was ultimately done.

«By casting Chris Hemsworth, the last guy on the planet you’d expect to be scared of anything, we were able to lean into the conversation and put people at ease through humor,» said Jo Shoesmith, Amazon’s global chief creative officer.

Alexa Plus arrives with a free version and more

So, what does this new Alexa Plus expansion — available now — include? The most interesting part is several tiers of the AI’s service, starting with a free version that anyone can use as long as they have the Alexa app downloaded or visit the web portal Alexa.com (which we’ve also tried).

You won’t get any advanced Amazon Echo capabilities that way, but you will be able to test out Alexa’s conversational AI and see how similar it is to talking to a human. Alexa Plus errs on the side of chatty, but its ability to summarize answers, stop in mid-conversation and answer follow-up questions is welcome. As I’ve said before, it feels like what voice assistants were always supposed to be like.

«Alexa Plus is built to make customers’ lives meaningfully easier — and that starts with conversation. Because Alexa Plus lives in the middle of everyday life, it has to be natural and trustworthy,» Panos Panay, senior vice president at Amazon Devices & Services, tells CNET. «The Super Bowl is the perfect moment to introduce this evolution at scale.»

Two other Alexa AI tiers exist. The first comes when you subscribe to Amazon Prime for $15 per month. That unlocks not only Prime’s own content but also all Alexa Plus capabilities across all compatible devices. This includes Echo smart speakers and AI video summaries for Ring security cameras, among other tricks. You can try telling your Echo device to «Upgrade to Alexa Plus» to get started.

The final option is paying $20 per month to unlock all Alexa Plus capabilities across all devices, independent of an Amazon Prime subscription. Alexa won’t be able to interact with Prime content like videos or Amazon Music, but it can connect with everything else the AI upgrade offers. Since you need an Amazon account either way, this tier is for specific people who want to avoid Prime content.

Is the new Alexa AI worth your time?

If you’re wondering whether Alexa Plus is worth it compared to alternatives like Gemini for Home or whatever Apple is cooking up with Siri, I found my experience with the voice assistant to be the most positive I’ve had overall. Sometimes a little too positive — as we’ve seen with chatbots, Alexa Plus can be very willing to agree with you and promise to do anything, even if it can’t.

Also, if you use an Echo, it will send your voice recordings to Amazon for automatic analysis; there’s no getting around that privacy concession if you want Alexa on a smart device.

Those issues aside, Alexa Plus as part of Amazon Prime for $15 is an excellent deal, especially if you already use Prime for ordering, catching up on Fallout, etc. If you’re not sure how talking to the new and vivacious Alexa feels like, all you need is an Amazon account to try it out online.

Technologies

Snag a Rare Discount on the Amazing Beats Powerbeats Fit Earbuds With This Limited-Time Deal

Get yourself these amazing earbuds while they’re back down to their lowest-ever price.

The 2025 Beats Powerbeats Fit is on our list of the best workout earbuds and headphones, and right now you can get yourself these powerful Beats Powerbeats Fit earbuds for $180. That’s a $20 discount and brings them back down to their all-time low price. They’re worth it at full price, so if you want them, now’s a fantastic chance to pick them up for less. The only issue is that Amazon’s limited-time deals don’t last long, so you’ll need to be quick if you want to secure them at this price.

The upgrades on the Powerbeats Fit are mostly cosmetic and concern ear fit, so they’re a better fit for people who don’t currently own another pair of Beats in the Powerbeats family. In his review, CNET’s audio expert David Carnoy said, «The design upgrades to the wingtips and case do improve the buds, which remain quite appealing for those looking for secure-fitting earbuds for workouts and everyday use.»

The Powerbeats Fit includes ear tips in four sizes, including extra small, so that everyone can find a secure fit. They can last up to 30 hours when carrying around their charging case, and they offer active noise cancellation that comes in handy when you’re getting your reps in. Both the earbuds and the case are IPX4 water and sweatproof, which means your workout won’t get in the way of your music or audiobooks.

Need more ideas for your next pair of earbuds upgrade? We’ve got a list of the best wireless earbuds you can check out so you can make the most of your holiday cash gifts.

HEADPHONE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Sony WH-1000XM5 Wireless Noise Canceling Headphones (Black):

$248 (save $152)
Beats Studio Pro Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Black):

$170 (save $181)
Sony WH-1000XM6 Wireless Noise Cancelling Over-Ear Headphones:

$398 (save $62)
Bose QuietComfort Wireless Noise Cancelling Headphones (Twilight Blue):

$179 (save $170)
Sennheiser Momentum 4 Wireless ANC Over-Ear Headphones (Black):

$200 (save $250)

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why this deal matters

Like other audio gear from Beats, the Powerbeats Fit earbuds offer excellent sound, a comfortable fit and decent noise cancellation. However, they usually command a price of $200. This modest Amazon discount of $20 brings them down to $180 for a limited time, their best price to date across several colors.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for Feb. 5, #970

Here are some hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for Feb. 5 #970.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is kind of tough. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Star-spangled signs.

Green group hint: Smash into.

Blue group hint: Not green or red.

Purple group hint: Same surname.