'Pokemon GO's' newest Battle Showdown event is a great way to grind

Keeping up with its trend of almost monthly events, "Pokémon GO's" latest one is all about being the very best trainer there ever was. Until May 14, trainers battling in gyms and raids will receive twice as many XP from gym and Raid Battles. In addition, every Raid Battle will give out a guaranteed 3,000 Stardust, even if it is unsuccessful. Trainers who successfully complete a raid battle will receive at least one rare candy to use on those Pokemon who are hard to come by, such as Legendary Pokémon like Mew, Zapdos, and Moltres.

Most of the information from this article comes from reports by "Pokemon GO" Live and The Silph Road.

What to expect during this exciting event

Not only does this event make it easier to get XP and Stardust, there are increased spawns for Fighting-Type Pokémon. Some of the spawns available are listed below.

Mankey

Machop

Machoke

Machamp

Hitmonchan

Hitmonlee

Makuhita

Hariyama

While this may not seem like much, there are new Shiny Pokémon because of this event. Shiny Meditie and Shiny Makuhita are now available to catch.

Shiny Pokémon are incredibly rare, so taking advantage of the increased spawn rates is a must.

In addition, when a gym's photo disk is spun, the number of items received is doubled, making it easier to stock up on healing items like revives and potions so trainers can jump right back into battle. The rate at which trainers get experience for gym badges is also doubled, so it's even easier to get gold gym badges for even more items.

Tips and tricks for the Battle Showdown event

There are many ways to get the most out of this event. Because of the double experience points gained during Raid Battles, using a lucky egg while nearby a lot of gyms can net over 12,000 experience points, just from a single tier 1 raid. For a Legendary Raid, the double experience from the event in addition to using a lucky egg can net you a whopping 40,000 XP. If within the 30 minutes you're able to do more than one Legendary Raid or just any raid in general, the closer you are to getting to Level 40.

Because Raid Battles offer 3,000 guaranteed Stardust, using a star piece can give you an extra 1,500 Stardust. Just like lucky eggs, star pieces last for 30 minutes. To best way to maximize these 30 minutes, is by going to tier 1 raids as quickly as possible, as it will net you 4,500 Stardust and 12,000 XP. Because the event is all about battling, running out of healing items is a possibility. However, because of the increased item drop and badge multiplier, being able to obtain a gold gym badge is easier and will replenish the healing items in your bag.