Article: Pokemon individual values and effort values, explained
Pokemon is the highest-grossing media frachise in the world, and it needs no introduction. The mainline series Pokemon games have had several core multiplayer mechanics since their inception, and amongst the most important of these is battling Pokemon with other players. Pokemon battles have been a staple of the franchise ever since generation 1 (Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow), and players have always looked for ways to make their Pokemon stronger.
Starting from generation 3 (Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald), every single mainline series Pokemon game has maintained the same system for individualizing Pokemon by their stats: indvidual values (IVs) and effort values (EVs). EVs and IVs are completely different aspects of a Pokemon. The classic analogy is to compare IVs to an individual Pokemon's "genetics" and EVs to physical training. We'll go over IVs first, as they are usually the more complicated of the two to understand :)
Let's talk stats
One of the main characteristics of Pokemon is their stats. Every Pokemon has the following 6 stats:
- HP - the number of hit points the Pokemon has
- Attack - How much damage the Pokemon can do from Physical Attacks
- Defense - How much the Pokemon can defend against Physical Attacks
- Special Attack - How much damage the Pokemon can do with Special Attacks
- Special Defense - How much the pokemon can defend against Special Attacks
- Speed - Determines which Pokemon goes first in a given turn
Each species of Pokemon has what is known as a base stats which are the stats that the species will have at level 50, prior to applying the effects of nature, IVs, or EVs. Note that we use level 50 as most Pokemon Videogame Championship (VGC) Tournaments cap the levels to 50. For example, the Pokemon Quagsire has the following base stats:
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| HP |
95
|
| Attack |
85
|
| Defense |
85
|
| Sp. Attack |
65
|
| Sp. Defense |
65
|
| Speed |
35
|
These base stats often tell us a lot about what the Pokemon will particularly excel at, and these stats are what we aim to manipulate through the use of EVs and IVs. For example, in Quagsire's case, his attack base stat is better than his special attack base stat, so we would likely want to maximize his attack stat rather than his special attack. With this in mind, we will start by taking a look at IVs and how they affect a Pokemon's base stats.
Individual Values (IVs)
The key idea is this: A Pokemon's IVs are set when it is caught or hatched from an egg, and, as of generation 9 (Pokemon Scarlet and Violet), there is no way to change IVs in-game. Each Pokemon has a total of 6 IV values, one for each stat. Each IV value can range from 0-31. The specific IV value for a given stat dictates the additional number of points that will go into that stat when the Pokemon reaches level 100. If we want to know how many stat points a specific IV is adding onto our Pokemon's base stat, we can simply:
- Divide 100 by your Pokemon's level, round down if a decimal results from calculation (e.g., Quagsire is Level 50, so 100/50 = 2)
- Divide the Pokemon's IV value by the number calculated in (1).
Practice: Let's suppose that our Quagsire has the following IV values:
- HP: 22
- Attack: 31
- Defense: 20
- Special Attack: 6
- Special Defense: 18
- Speed: 26
This will mean that once our Quagsire reaches level 50, he will have the following stats:
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| HP |
95+22/2=106
|
| Attack |
85+31/2=100
|
| Defense |
85+20/2=95
|
| Sp. Attack |
65+6/2=68
|
| Sp. Defense |
65+18/2=74
|
| Speed |
35+26/2=48
|
That's basically all there is to IVs when it comes to their effects on a Pokemon's stats.
Here's the fun part though: there is no legitimate way to know a pokemon's exact IVs in-game.
Also, doing some basic math, we find that the chances of finding a Pokemon with perfect IVs in the wild is 1 in 316 = 887,503,681.
...that ain't happening bro.
Back in generations 3, 4 and 5, you had to use some IV calculator by inputting the Pokemon's stats and the EVs that they have gained (which could at least be "tracked" back then).
However because the developers are not monsters, they slowly began adding more help for people who are looking to get Pokemon with good IVs.
Ever since generation 3, there have been some NPCs known as stats judges that would provide you with an estimate of where a specific Pokemon's IVs landed on.
Effort Values (EVs)
I personally find EVs to be slightly simpler that IVs.
Every Pokemon can hold up to 510 "EV points."
EV points can go into any of the six stats, with a maximum of 252 EV points per stat.
Every four EV points in a particular stat equate to an extra stat point when the Pokemon reaches level 50.
This means that if we were to max out the EVs for a specific stat, we would be able to get 252/4 = 63 more stat points on that particular stat!
So that sounds cool, but how do we actually get EVs to individual stats?
The main gist is this: whenever your Pokemon defeats or participates in the defeat of an opponent Pokemon, they will earn EV points equivalent to the defeated Pokemon's "EV yield."
An opponent Pokemon's EV yield is the number of EV points that it will "reward" after being defeated.
Certain species of Pokemon only yield one EV point to some stat, while other can yield 3 total EV points!
Most Pokemon's EV yields target one stat, but some species yield EV points to multiple stats.
The only way to know the EV yield of a particular species is by Googling it (or via very time-consuming and tedious experimentation...)
Practice: The EV yield for a Zigzagoon is 1 speed EV point. This means that if Quagsire were to defeat 252 Zigzagoons, Quag will get 252 speed EV points, which equates to 63 more stat points for his speed!
Practice: The EV yield for a Rayquaza is 2 Attack and 1 Special Attack EV points. If Quagsire were to defeat 126 Rayquazas, Quag will have 252 attack EVs and 126 special attack EV points, which equates to 63 and 36 more attack and special attack stat points, respectively!
The issue here is that defeating 126 Rayquazas is not a very viable strategy for farming EV points, as there is usually only one Rayquaza per save file.
Because of this, EV training often involves killing a common Pokemon that yields a high amount of EV points to a particular stat.
There are also several shortcuts to get more EV points after defeating a foe.
One of the most important ones are the Power items, which are a collection of bracelets that, when held by a Pokemon, will add 8 EV points to a particular stat after a foe is defeated.
| Item | Description |
|---|---|
Power Anklet
|
+8 Speed EVs |
Power Band
|
+8 Special Defense EVs |
Power Belt
|
+8 Defense EVs |
Power Bracer
|
+8 Attack EVs |
Power Lens
|
+8 Special Attack EVs |
Power Weight
|
+8 HP EVs |
For example, if Quagsire is holding the Power Bracer, and he defeats a Zigzagoon (recall that they have a +1 Speed EV yield), Quagsire will obtain +8 attack EVs and +1 Speed EVs!
If Quagsire were holding the Power Anklet instead, he would have received +9 Speed EVs after defeating the Zigzagoon.
If we wanted to max out Quagsire's speed by fighting Zigzagoons, we'd have to defeat 252 / 9 = 28 Zigzagoons!
Although it's still a lot of Zigzagoons, it is much better than fighting 252.
The Battle Items, although incredibly useful for EV training, can be very tedious to obtain.
Usually, these items have to be purchased for Battle Points (BP) from the respective game's Battle Tower.
The only way to obtain BP is by defeating trainers in these towers, so getting these items will definitely consume a couple afternoons 😵💫.
Another way to boost the amount of EVs obtained after a battle is Pokerus. Pokerus is a "disease" that your Pokemon can obtain after battling a wild Pokemon - but it is extremely rare. Players will be notified that their Pokemon have contracted Pokerus when visiting a Pokemon center with a Pokemon with Pokerus for the first time.
More specifically, the odds of obtaining Pokerus from a random encounter are 1 in 21,845. Note that once a member in your party obtains the Pokerus virus, there is a chance that the virus will spread to other members of your party after each battle. However, after a certain amount of time passes, an infected Pokemon may be "cured" of Pokerus, preventing it from being transferred further. You can prevent a Pokemon from curing itself by placing it inside a PC. It is best to spread Pokerus to as many Pokemon as possible once a member of your party is infected.
| Icon | Description |
|---|---|
 |
The Pokemon is currently infected with the Pokerus virus. The virus can spread to other members of your party. |
 |
The Pokemon has been cured of Pokerus. Although the Pokemon can no longer spread the virus to other members of your party, the Pokemon will still have the benefits of Pokerus. |
So why go through all the trouble of infecting your Pokemon with a disease? Simple - Pokerus doubles the amount of EV points that you obtain after defeating opposing Pokemon.
That's right. So let's go back to the example of Quagsire and the Zigzagoons.
If our Quagsire was infected with Pokerus and defeated one Zigzagoon, he would gain 1 * 2 = 2 Speed EVs.
However, if Quagsire was infected with Pokerus, was holding the Power Anklet, and defeated one Zigzagoon, he would gain a total of 2 * (1 + 8) = 18 Speed EV points!
At this rate, Quagsire would only have to defeat a total of 14 Zigzagoons to max out his speed stat!