Shuffling Stages

Pokémon Shuffle has come a long way since it was first released. Its stages have also, for lack of a better word, evolved, though many of the mechanics remain the same. With the way I play the game, however, I don't spend on Jewels to get extra Hearts to play through the stages. So I've developed my own guidelines on how to deal with the stages that appear in the game using purely the Hearts I obtain as replenished by time or occasionally from bonus gifts.

Main Stages. Since I've played from the very beginning, I've caught up with the main stages, except maybe for a few of the more recent ones. In recent times, some Main Stages have had repeated Pokémon as a way to furnish personal Skill Boosters; other than for this, clearing them for an S Rank, catching Pokémon I haven't caught, pursuing Missions on Mission Cards, and other rare cases, I don't replay them. I also defer clearing new stages should they appear until I feel that I have caught up on Special Stages, since the latter only appears for a limited time.

Expert Stages and ordinary Special Stages. Expert Stages appear as you clear Main Stages with an S Rank, which is why that becomes important. However, there is no apparent bonus to clearing them with specific ranks, so once I have caught the Pokémon for that stage, I refrain from replaying them. The same is true of ordinary special stages (which include those that only appear for one day or even once a day); once I have caught the Pokémon, I don't replay them except in rare cases.

Special Stages, "weekly bonuses". The weekly bonuses are an Eevee booster gift stage, an experience stage (previously Victini, now Magearna), and a Meowth coin stage. All of these I play once to get their associated bonuses, but not more than that as after the first play each week, the stages need to be unlocked with Jewels, something I'm not interested in doing. Previously these stages only appeared once per week. The experience stage (and to a lesser extent the Eevee booster stage as well) gives out lots of experience points, so it becomes important for Pokémon that I haven't raised or used much.

Special Stages, Pokémon Safari and Escalation Stages. These stages are important because there is a bunch of Pokémon lumped together as one stage for the former and there is a bunch of items that can be obtained in the latter. In both cases, I devote as many Hearts as possible until I have caught all the Pokémon (the former) or I feel that it's not worth the effort to obtain specific items (the latter). At those points I stop playing them and move on to something else.

Special Stages, Competitions. This stage is important for getting as many bonus items as possible based on ranking, but even more important if it's for a Mega Stone. Typically I don't pursue playing these stages until I'm at the top of the heap of players; I just play them as best as I can to get the items, then I stop. Should they reappear, then I might try for larger bonuses, but that is not terribly important.

These are just my own guidelines for treating these stages; if I had a fortune, I would not hesitate to spend Jewels for them, but I don't, so these are what I do to make up for that with only the Hearts I have. In any case, all of these stages reflect how far Pokémon Shuffle has come. And as things go, they may change again, so these guidelines may change as those stages change.