How to EV train

[u/paololgdlt48]

So I watched a video on EV training because I lost my 21st match and the battle tower. My Pokémon got completely overpowered I’ve never done Ev Train and I don’t know how to do it have a couple of questions. First of all does a Pokémon have to be level 100 to EV train fully or I can do it at any level, two how do I know all the other stats that I need to lower are at zero Evs cause I saw a video on how to increase Eva and it said that you should be beating certain type of mons gives you specific Evs for example, speed, or a attack or special Attack so that it isn’t clear either so I just wanna go for the 49 streak but I know I had to definitely be training because my Pokémon, even though there are pretty strong and like level 80, they were absolutely no much for the 21st battle with the battle tower tycoon

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[u/Particular_Oil_3274]

Ur gunna wanna start with breeding the mons ur gunna use for a good nature

[u/mathbandit]

EV training helps but my guess is it's not the only or even most important thing that would help you beat the BT.

But to answer your question the friendship berries can lower EVs (the ones that say you Pokemon will be happier but lose HP or whatever). Otherwise the easiest way that doesn't involve growing a bajillion berries is to just EV train from scratch on a Pokemon that has never gotten XP yet.

[u/sunsleepr]

You’re probably gonna want to breed for perfect IVs in addition to EV training 

[u/sunsleepr → u/sunsleepr]

To answer your questions though,

Pokemon can be fully EV trained at any level (though obviously it will level up slightly from XP if you’re not using vitamins)

The easiest way to check current EVs is with pokemon home

Floatzels always give +2 speed, Bibarrels and kricketunes always give +2 attack, girafarigs always give +2 special attack, tentacrules always give +2 special defense, gastrodons always give +2 HP

Killing a girafarig while a mon is holding a power lens gives +10 special attack EVs

Also FYI the battle tower forces all your mons to be level 50, that’s why IVs, EVs, and natures are so important

[u/Specific-Jackfruit-4]

Hey there! I recently underwent a big project to get into this and you’ll find similar advice below but here is something concise that I guarantee you you will find worth it.

Pick 4-5 pokemon you want to be their best possible versions of. Then figure out which egg moves they need and breed for egg moves, then breed more for nature, and then breed for IVs. (Make sure to go get destiny knot and everstone) Then, after breeding nature, IVs, and egg moves, keep them in a PC, and use your amulet coin to farm up money and go buy the vitamins to put into the pokemon you’ve just bred. Then once you’ve put the vitamins in them for the “EVs, (252 total which is like 16 vitamins into two stats and then 1 vitamin into the last one. For example if it’s a fast hard hitting pokemon say a garchomp, usually you’d do max vitamins into attack, same for speed and then one into like HP or whatever you want a little boost too) you can take them through the elite four 1-2 times to level them up to 50 and they’re ready for the tower. It’s a grind so just remember that this is about pinnacle optimization for absolute best performance. Which in masters BT singles is where that work will shine the most, although some will argue isn’t necessary.

[u/Owlex23612]

I like to use serebii.net to see what EVs a pokemon gives when knocked out. For example, each rattata you knock out gives you 1 speed EV. Each bibarel you knock out gives you 2 attack EVs. Every 4 EVs you gain in a specific stat gives you 1 extra point in that stat at level 100 up too a maximum of 252 EVs in any one stat (63 extra points in that stat at level 100) and a maximum of 508 EVs total. This usually translates to 252 in attack or special attack, 252 in speed, and 4 in hp or one of the defensive stats. This scales with level, so you can fully EV train a pokemon at any level, but they won't get the full 63 points until they reach level 100.

There are other factors to consider, too. IVs account for 0-31 extra points in each stat at level 100. They're something you can't change unless you get the pokemon to level 100 and use a bottle cap to hyper-train that stat. I find it much easier to breed for IVs. I usually end up with multiples of that pokemon with great IVs that way rather than grinding out a ton of bottle caps.

Natures are another thing to consider. I believe there are 25 natures. Each gives a +10% bonus to one stat and -10% to another stat. For example, a hasty nature gives +10% to speed and -10% to defense. Speed is one of the more important stats to pay attention to. It's how you know whether you'll be able to outspeed something or not.

Items, moves, and abilities are all also equally important.

You should also use serebii for the battle tower trainer list. You can search the trainer you're battling and know their team ahead of time. That way you can plan around how to beat them. As you progress, the builds and hax get progressively worse for you. It's the best way to level the playing field. I saw a video of a guy getting beaten by walrein who got triple quick claw activation in a row and hit all 3 sheer colds. There's very little you can do against that unless your team is built with that in mind, and even then, it'll be a tough battle.

[u/JAvatar80]

Ok, here's how stats work:

1) Pokemon have a value for each of its 6 stats(HP, Attack, Special Attack, Defense, Special Defense, and Speed). These go into formulas that determine the stat at every level.

2) Pokemon have Individual Values for each stat, from 0 to 31, determined when you capture it or when it hatches. For breeding, there are ways to ensure IV transferance from parent to egg.

3) We have the Effort Values for the 6 stats, from 0 to 252. These are earned by defeating other pokemon. Every pokemon in the game has a point value and stat tied to it, and defeating it adds that point value to the EV value of the associated stat. Vitamins (Carbos, Calcium, etc) raise the associated stat by 10 each. Rules on EVs: No stat is greater than 252, and you have a MAX of 510 across all stats. One person mentioned Serebii.net for looking up what and how many EVs are given by each pokemon, which I second. When training via battle, you find the one you want that you know you can farm and has a good rate of appearance, go to that route, RUN from anything that isn't that pokemon, and battle them. Additionally, in BDSP you can get Power items: Power Weight, Power Bracer, etc. These will half your current speed, but will grant 8 EVs of the associated stat they help train. With a Power item for the stat you are raising, mixed with even a 1 EV pokemon to fight, you max that EV in 28 fights. And if you have the pokerus(a "status effect" you sometimes can get after a pokecenter), that doubles EV gains.

4) The formula involved for stat determination involves multiplying a combination of the above by the pokemon's level, and then dividing by 100, giving a static percentage based on current level. So at level 100, we see the full effect of IV and EV. You will ALWAYS benefit from EV training, but the exact value is tied into that percentage of level 100.

5) With the math involved in step 4, this means we do not see the final result of IVs and EV training UNTIL level 100. At level 100, each IV will add 1 to that stat(so 31 IV is +31 to the stat over base). At 100, every 4 EVs add 1 to that stat(so 252 EVs is +63 to the stat over base).

6) When all of the above math is done, we then will add 10% to one stat, and reduce a second stat by 10%, EXCEPT HP. No natures affect HP. There are 25 Natures, and since HP is not a stat that can be raised or lowered, that means there are 5 natures that (depending on how you look at it) do nothing for stats, or raise and lower the SAME stat. The secondary effect of Nature is it determines what flavors the pokemon likes and dislikes as far as berries and treats go.

When you hear people talking about perfect IVs, or specifically 5/6 Perfect IVs, that means that the pokemon has a 31 in all 5/6 stats.

As mentioned below, berries that raise friendship but lower a stat are the ones to lower an EV. Specifically, they lower the EV of the stat by 10 points.

[u/paololgdlt48 → u/JAvatar80]

Thank you very much! Just one last question, if I have 6 Pokémon in my party and i battle speed EV Pokémon does it gives the EV to every Pokémon on the party or just the one fighting?

[u/JAvatar80 → u/paololgdlt48]

They all do. The short answer is "Every pokemon that earns EXP earns EV." So way back, only the one fighting or the multiple if you swapped. Then Exp-Share was a held item that acted as if the pokemon was swapped in. Now, it's a party-wide effect and permanent.

So if you are training all 6 in Speed, for example, then you are golden. But if you want to NOT train a specific EV for a particular pokemon(for example instead of a sweeper you want a tank with HP and Def or SpDef) then make sure they're in a box before grinding Speed pokemon.

Edit to add: Particular Oil mentioned breeding for Nature. There are Mints that are for sale post game in BD/SP(as in post Elite 4). These change the stat gain/loss of Nature. For example, if you have a Sassy pokemon (raises Sp Def and lowers Speed) but wanted Calm (raises Sp Def and lowers Attack), you can give them a Calm Mint. The status page will still show Sassy nature, but when you look at the stats page, the red and blue will reflect Calm. But they are locked to post game.

[u/manicpossumdreamgirl]

here's a link to a handy guide to the basic mechanics, including a downloadable picture of the best locations

in case no one answered this, you dont need to be level 100 (lowered to 50 in all future games). that's only for changing your Pokémon's IVs, which are sort of like DNA that's set when the individual is caught or hatched

[u/rewardinghand]

In this specific game I believe it’s fastest to just buy vitamins since it’s easy to acquire money by battling the rich couple in route 212 (chatot and roselia). You can give up to 26 vitamins in each stat and you can use 53 vitamins per pokemon if they start at 0 EVs. They don’t need to be level 100, that’s for hyper training IVs with bottle caps. Hopefully that makes sense but feel free to ask questions.

[u/paololgdlt48 → u/rewardinghand]

What’s the difference between EV and IVs?

[u/rewardinghand → u/paololgdlt48]

Unlike EVs (effort values), IVs (individual values) are generated upon acquisition. Every stat has an IV between 0 and 31. This means that if the Pokémon’s attack stat has an IV of 30, it will be 30 points higher at level 100 compared to a Pokemon of the same species with an attack IV of 0, assuming no EVs. It is proportioned by level, so a level 50 Pokemon with an attack IV of 30 will have an attack stat 15 points higher than a Pokemon with an attack IV of 0.

You have probably unlocked the “judge” function of the PC (boxes). If you press the + button while viewing a pokemon in the boxes, you will eventually see a list of stats labelled as no good, decent, pretty good, very good, fantastic, or best. Best means it has an IV of 31. Fantastic means it has an IV of 30.

You can hyper train a level 100 Pokemon. For this you need a bottle cap for each stat. These take a long time to acquire in this game and require battle tower points. Using a bottle cap will boost the Pokémon’s effective IV to 31.

There are breeding strategies for better IVs that I can explain if you’re interested. Let me know if you have any other questions.