Is it possible to earn 700000 (seven hundred thousand) Stardust in 1 hour in Pokémon GO? The straight answer is yes. However, this is not common. It only happens during some special occasions in Pokémon. I was able to gain 700,000 Stardust during one of those occasions.
The special occasion was the Pokémon GO Spotlight hour which happened on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time. The spotlight hour featured Shellder with a special bonus of 2x stardust when Pokémon is caught during the event.
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Catching Shellder gives 1000 Stardust per catch. Catching Shellder with the 2x Catch Stardust bonus means it will be 2000 Stardust per catch. Using a Star Piece when catching increases the catch stardust by 1.5x. This means you get 3000 Stardust per Shellder catch.
How Did I Gain 700000 Stardust in 1 Hour in Pokémon GO?
It’s simple! I participated (walking around my neighborhood) in the Pokémon GO Spotlight hour for around 40 minutes. I made sure I used Star Pieces for the entire duration of the Shellder Spotlight hour. I also ensured I used a recommended Pokémon GO autocatcher during the event. The end result was gaining 700,000 Stardust in about 40 minutes.
700000 Stardust in 1 Hour
Putting the above ‘hows’ into numbers, here is the breakdown.
| Info | Before | After | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total Stardust | 42,061,094 | 42,761,741 | 700,647 |
| Shellder Seen | 955 | 1,244 | 289 |
| Shellder Caught | 757 | 996 | 239 |
| Shellder Candy | 2,668 | 3,863 | 1,195 |
| Shellder Candy XL | 252 | 478 | 226 |
I gained 700,647 Stardust catching 239 Shellder. This is approximately 2,932 Stardust per catch. As you may have noticed, this is not 3,000 Stardust per catch. The result is lesser because I powered up a Pokémon during the event. With 239 Shellder caught, the actual Stardust count should be 717,000 Stardust gains.
In conclusion, if you want to gain a lot of Stardust in 1 hour, these types of special events are not to be missed. Other similar special events are those with 2x or more stardust for catching Pokémon. This is better when there are lots of Pokémon spawns in the wild frequently.
Before you go, other interesting numbers are as follows
- 5 Candy per Shellder caught.
- 0.95 Candy XL per Shellder caught.
- 82.7 percent catch rate.
