Professions
Every character has every profession from the start, and all seven are live. The core idea is that crafting an item takes ingredients from other professions. Gatherers sell their materials to crafters, and crafters sell to everyone.
There are seven professions: four Gathering and three Crafting. Every
profession caps at level 50. The Professions window opens with the R key and
shows your level, your current bonuses and each profession's progression, level by
level.
How to learn a profession
Every profession starts locked. To open one, do its training quest with its teacher, from trainer level 15. Every teacher is in the Union Room (take the stairs in any Pokemon Center after you beat Brock):
| Profession | Teacher | Where | Quest |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fisher | Otto | Fisher Lodge | Defeat 3 fished Pokemon and catch a Magikarp |
| Ranger | Wren | Ranger Camp | Harvest 3 Pidgeotto (Routes 3, 24 and 25) and 3 Ekans (Route 4) |
| Miner | Flint, then Hale | Miner Tunnel, then the Pewter Museum | Pass Flint's quiz and take his letter to Hale |
| Botanist | Tessa | Botanist Greenhouse | Cut 3 berry bushes and hand over an Oran Berry |
| Researcher | Heath | Researcher Lab | Craft an Ability Capsule and register 3 Pokemon |
| Alchemist | Sora | Apothecary | Brew and drink a Berry Juice |
| Artisan | Rosa | Artisan Workshop | Craft a Worn Kit and deliver it to Wren |
The teacher hands over the first tool (or the materials for the first recipe), and the quest teaches the profession as soon as you accept it.
Items that come from professions
Everything beyond the basics comes from professions (and, in a few cases, from quests, chests or the Trainer's Route). If you don't level a profession, you buy from someone who did, on the Global Trade Station.
| Item | Made by |
|---|---|
| Held items (items a Pokémon holds) | Artisan |
| Every tool: rods, kits, pickaxes and sickles | Artisan |
| Affinity balls (Nest, Dive, Fast, Heavy, Swamp, Dusk, Dream, Inferno, Gale) | Researcher |
| Evolution stones (Leaf, Water, Fire, Thunder and Moon Stone) | Researcher |
| Shiny Radar | Researcher |
| Super Potion, Hyper Potion, Max Potion, Max Revive, Full Restore and food | Alchemist |
Marty only sells the basics: Poké Ball, Great Ball and Ultra Ball, Potion, Revive and Full Heal. He does not sell tools: every tool is crafted by the Artisan.
Ranks
Each profession has five ranks: Novice (level 1), Apprentice (10), Adept (25), Expert (40) and Master (50). Ranking up gives you:
- a big on-screen celebration;
- trainer experience: a share of a full level that grows with each rank (table below), paid only once per profession and rank;
- a profession achievement;
- at Master rank, a title (Master Angler, Ranger Captain, Master Miner, Master Botanist, Ball Engineer, Master Alchemist or Master Artisan).
| Rank | Level | Total profession XP | Trainer XP when reached |
|---|---|---|---|
| Novice | 1 | 0 | — |
| Apprentice | 10 | 665 | 25% of a level |
| Adept | 25 | 8,811 | 50% of a level |
| Expert | 40 | 35,700 | 100% of a level |
| Master | 50 | 69,705 | 150% of a level |
Professions only give trainer experience when you rank up. No profession action gives trainer experience, so hunting is still the way to level up.
The first ranks come quickly. Apprentice takes about 1 h 40 min of profession time, Adept about 12 h, Expert about 34 h and Master about 55 h. On top of that, every level gives you something: a tool, a material, a recipe or a profession bonus:
| Profession | What each level improves |
|---|---|
| Fisher | The chance a catch brings two or three Pokémon of the same species |
| Ranger | The chance to find the part a Pokémon sheds (+0.5% per level) |
| Miner and Botanist | The rare find chance (+0.5% per level) |
| Researcher, Alchemist and Artisan | The masterwork chance: a craft comes out with an extra copy (+0.4% per level, 20% at 50) |
Gathering
Gathering professions take materials from the world. The tool you wear (in the tool slot) decides what you can reach, and your profession level unlocks better tools and new materials. Each tool comes in four versions, one per rank (levels 1, 10, 25 and 40), and all of them are crafted by the Artisan.
Fisher
Fishes Water-type Pokémon out of any water. Some Pokémon only appear on a line. A fished Pokémon can also bring a Pearl, Big Pearl or Heart Scale. Tool: fishing rod
Ranger
Use the kit on a wild Pokémon you defeated while it lies fainted to collect what it sheds: extra materials of its own species and, with luck, a shed part that matches its type (such as Soft Down, Molted Plume or Glossy Scale). Each defeated Pokémon gives one harvest. The materials go to the Artisan and the Alchemist. Tool: kit
Miner
Breaks ore veins for ore, evolution stone shards and fossils. Tool: pickaxe
Botanist
Harvests berry bushes for berries, Apricorns and rare herbs. Bushes only grow outdoors, never in caves. Tool: sickle
Labor
Mining and harvesting spend Labor, a pool of points shared by your whole account (all your characters use the same one). Each vein or bush costs 10 points. The maximum is 2,000, and you get 1 point back every 30 seconds, online or offline: an empty pool refills in about 17 hours. Without enough Labor, the harvest is refused and nothing is spent.
Crafting
Crafting professions turn materials into items. Each one has its own workbench, and you need to stand next to it to craft. Every workbench is in the Union Room: once you beat Brock (Boulder Badge), take the stairs in any Pokemon Center up. The room's stairs take you back down to the Center you came from.
- Every craft takes a few seconds. The workbench makes one item at a time, from a queue of up to 10.
- Finished items wait on the workbench until you collect them.
- The first time you craft a recipe gives bonus experience (discovery).
Researcher
Crafts the affinity balls (five per craft), the evolution stones (with the Miner's shards) and the Shiny Radar. Workbench: Research Center, in the Union Room
Alchemist
Brews the stronger potions and revives, plus food that gives your Pokémon temporary bonuses. Only one food is active at a time: eating another replaces it. Workbench: Laboratory, in the Union Room
Artisan
Crafts Pokémon held items and every tool the gathering professions use, from wild Pokémon materials and materials from the other professions. Workbench: Atelier, in the Union Room