Guide The PokéBeach EV & IV Guide

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Effort Values​

Effort values, better known as EVs, are a hidden mechanic that increases your Pokémon's stats. They are values associated with each of your Pokémon’s stats that can be acquired by defeating a Pokémon, giving them vitamins, or through Super Training. Knowledge of EVs is important in competitive battling since they can drastically affect a Pokémon’s potential in battle.

EVs are measured in points, where, at Level 100, 4 EV points equate to a bonus of 1 stat point. For instance, 4 HP EVs will increase a Pokémon's health from 150 to 151. A Pokémon at most can have 510 EVs, with a total of 252 EVs in one stat. Therefore, the most efficient way to distribute your Pokémon’s EVs is to put 252 EVs into two stats (+63 stat points), and 4 EVs into one stat (+1), with 2 EVs left over.

Methods for Gaining EVs Through Battling (SM)
The best way to raise EVs in Sun and Moon is through SOS Battles. At the end of an SOS battle, when you knock out the last Pokemon in the chain, the EVs you gain are doubled. There is no way to force an SOS battle, but you can increase the likelihood of them appearing with an Adrenaline Orb or leading your party with a Pokemon with the abilities Pressure, Unnerve, Intimidate or Beast Boost. Note that this doubling of EVs does include any boosts from PokeRus (another x2 modifier) or the Power items (which increase EV gain by 8). As a result, you can max our your EVs incredibly fast. The chart below details the best place to train for each stat.

• HP: Gastrodon (Poni Wilds - Walking)
• Attack: Ariados/Trumbeak (Route 11 - Walking)
• Defense: Torkoal (Route 12 - Walking)
• Sp. Attack: Oricorio (Melemele Meadow - Walking)
• Sp. Defense: Pyukumuku (Route 7 - Fishing)
• Speed: Raticate/Fearow (Route 10 - Walking)

Methods for Gaining EVs Through Battling (XY/ORAS)
Horde encounters are good for EV training as they have trainers fighting 5 Pokémon at once. Spread attacks like Heat Wave, Earthquake and Rock Slide are essential for EV Training, as they hit all 5 opponents at once. To force a horde battle you can either use the item Honey or the move Sweet Scent. The latter option is, however, very much recommended, as it has infinite free uses. An easy way to EV train in a particular stat is to create hordes of the following encounters in the following locations. This is because the following hordes have a total EV yield of 5 in a single stat. The template for the below bullet points is "Stat - XY Pokémon species (location of where to find that horde), ORAS Pokémon species (location of where to find that horde):​

• HP - Gulpin (Route 5), Wurmple (Petalburg Woods)
• Attack - Scraggy (Route 5), Poochyena (Route 101 and Route 103)
• Defense - Geodude (Route 18, Terminus Cave and Victory Road), Sandshrew (Route 111 Desert)
• Special Attack - Psyduck (Route 7), Magnemite (Route 10)
• Special Defense - Hoppip (Route 7), Swablu (Route 114 and Route 115)
• Speed - Wingull (Route 8, Route 12 and Azure Bay), Zigzagoon (Route 101 and Route 104)

EV Training Items

The EV-enhancing items are useful to use while grinding on hordes to maximise EV growth. When held by a Pokémon who is participating in the battle, one of the effects, depending on the item, will occur:​

• Macho Brace - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but doubles EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Weight - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 HP EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Bracer - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 Attack EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Belt - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 Defense EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Lens - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 Special Attack EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Band - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 Special Defense EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Power Anklet - Halves the speed of the Pokémon during battle, but adds 4 Speed EVs (8 in Sun and Moon) to the total EVs gained by the Pokémon at the end.
• Experience Share - EVs gained from a defeated Pokémon are also given to every Pokémon that gains experience.

Pokérus is a very useful tool during EV training. It is a status condition which cannot be cured by an item or through healing at the Pokémon center. Its' only effect is that the number of EVs gained by a Pokémon with the condition is doubled, and this effect is applied after the effects of the EV-enhancing items mentioned above. Unlike other status conditions, Pokérus can spread throughout your party. To "infect" other Pokémon with Pokérus, you need to place the Pokémon you wish to infect in between two Pokémon who already have the status condition in your party. So, for example, if the Pokémon in the 1st slot of your party and the 3rd slot of your party have Pokérus and the Pokémon in the 2nd slot of your party does not, the healthy Pokémon will acquire the status condition. Pokérus disappears from a Pokémon 4 days after they are infected, but this can be delayed by depositing the infected Pokémon in the PC.

It is also worth noting that the Exp. Share shares EVs within your party when it's turned on. This means that Pokémon without access to spread attacks can still use hordes to efficiently EV train.

Methods for Gaining EVs Outside of Battle​

The vitamins all give 10 EVs to a stat. They are an infinite resource as you can buy them for 2 BP at the Battle Maison in XY and ORAS.

• HP Up gives 10 EVs into HP.
• Protein gives 10 EVs into Attack.
• Iron gives 10 EVs into Defense.
• Calcium gives 10 EVs into Special Attack.
• Zinc gives 10 EVs into Special Defense.
• Carbos gives 10 EVs into Speed.

Super Training is a new feature in Generation VI, and it is the most conspicuous inclusion of EVs so far in the series. It is accessed through the Touch Screen, meaning that you can EV train your Pokémon inefficiently while you play the main story of your game... if you're good at multitasking. The two ways of using Super Training to EV train are through the punching bags or the football minigame. The games include easy to understand tutorials about the football minigame and the punching bags are self explanatory; you hit the bag and gain the effect which the bag details.

In Sun and Moon, you can EV train using the PokePelago. At a Level 3 PokePelago, your Pokemon will gain 4 EVs in a stat of your choice every session, which lasts 30 minutes. Using PokeBeans, you can reduce the length of a session to 15 minutes for a length of time. After 63 sessions, your Pokemon will have maxed EVs in that stat.

How to Check Your Pokemon's EVs
For the most part, EVs cannot be directly viewed, but there is a trick to viewing your Pokémon’s exact EVs. If you go into Super Training and use a Reset Bag, it will reset all of your Pokémon’s EVs to 0 and display how many EVs were lost, as seen here:

Just make sure you save your game first and reset your game after you're done so you don’t lose all of your progress!
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In Sun and Moon, when viewing a Pokemon's stats, hit the X button to bring up your Pokemon's EV training. If a stat is sparkling, that means the EVs in that stat are full.

How to Rectify Mistakes While EV Training
It's easy to make minor mistakes during EV training. Thankfully there is a way to fix mistakes made. This can be accomplished through using one of 6 berries on your Pokémon. These berries are as follows:​

• Pomeg Berry - Lowers HP EVs by 10 and raises happiness.
• Kelpsy Berry - Lowers Attack EVs by 10 and raises happiness.
• Qualot Berry - Lowers Defense EVs by 10 and raises happiness.
• Hondew Berry - Lowers Special Attack EVs by 10 and raises happiness.
• Grepa Berry - Lowers Special Defense EVs by 10 and raises happiness.
• Tamato Berry - Lowers Speed EVs by 10 and raises happiness.

Furthermore, if for whatever reason you want to start anew, you can use a Reset Bag to reduce all of your Pokémon's EVs to 0.

Individual Values​

Individual Values, or IVs, are hidden values each Pokémon has that help to determine their stats. They are inherent to a Pokémon once they are obtained and cannot be changed. IV values can differ even between Pokémon of the same species, so IVs can make a difference in a Pokémon’s battling potential. Each Pokémon has an IV value for each stat that ranges from 0 to 31. Pokémon that have either five or six IVs with a value of 31 are known as flawless Pokémon. Some people, however, prefer certain customized IV spreads which are difficult to achieve. This is to acquire a certain Hidden Power, to reduce damage taken from Foul Play by reducing the Pokémon's Attack stat, or to reduce your speed for Trick Room. The point is, having flawless IVs aren't always necessary.

Acquiring Perfect IVs
Besides extremely good luck or unrealistic time investment, finding perfect IVs in the wild is almost impossible. There are a couple of ways to help you find flawless wild Pokémon besides constant hunting in the wild:​

• The most reliable way to get a desired IV set is through breeding. This is a somewhat complex process, but we've got an in-depth guide detailing how to breed competitive Pokémon right here! This link can also be found at the bottom of this post. To save yourself some time while breeding, it is actually recommended for players to use the below method to get off to a good start.
• Pokémon captured in Friend Safaris have 2 perfect IVs. It's recommended that, whenever possible, you capture parent Pokémon in Friend Safaris because of this if you want to breed for a competitive Pokémon.
• Pokémon in the "No Eggs" egg group are guaranteed to have 3 perfect IVs when found in the wild thanks to them being unbreedable. This makes soft resetting for legendary Pokémon easier, though with baby Pokémon it's almost always preferred to simply breed its older evolutionary relatives.
• Chaining Pokémon with the DexNav is surprisingly simple. After you encounter a certain amount of Pokémon of one species, the DexNav adds details about that type of Pokémon when the DexNav has detected that species in your area. These features include abilities, egg moves, and IVs. IVs are symbolized by the three stars on the Pokémon’s details. If one star is filled it is a 1 IV Pokémon, two stars a two IV Pokémon, and three stars a three IV Pokémon. If it has four or more perfect IVs, however, it is not shown. Catching a Pokémon will let you rebattle Pokémon of that same species anytime if you're on any route that species appears on.
• SOS Battles in Sun and Moon will give you higher IVed Pokemon as you get higher into your chain. After defeating five Pokemon, you are guaranteed one perfect IV. After 10, two perfect IVs are guaranteed, while defeating 20 guarantees at least three. Finally, after defeating 30, you are guaranteed at least four perfect IVs.

Determining IVs

IVs cannot be determined exactly, but you can get some information on them by going to the IV Judge that is located in either the Pokémon Centre located in the Battle Resort in ORAS or the Pokémon Centre located in Kiloude City in XY. When you speak to him he will ask you to judge one of the Pokémon in your party and give you three messages related to their IV spread. He will first say something about the total of your Pokémon’s IVs (for instance, a Pokémon with an IV spread of 12/31/20/4/13/8 would have an IV total of 12+31+20+4+13+8=88) giving one of the following messages:​

• "This Pokémon’s potential is decent all around.” (total of 0-90 IVs)
• "This Pokémon’s potential is above average overall.” (total of 91-120 IVs)
• "This Pokémon has relatively superior potential overall.” (total of 121-150 IVs)
• "This Pokémon has outstanding potential overall.” (total of 151-186 IVs)

Then, he will tell you which of your Pokémon’s stats has the highest IV, saying "Incidentally, I would say its greatest potential lies in its (insert stat here)”. If another stat has the same value, he will mention those as well using the following template (Note: when a stat is mentioned in the initial phrase, it wont be mentioned again with its unique phrase):

• "But its Attack stat is good, too."
• "Hmm. And its Defense stat is good, too."
• "Although its Sp. Attack stat is equally good."
• "Its Sp. Defence stat seems just as good, though."
• "And, well, its Speed stat is good, too."

Finally, the judge will tell you how high the stat(s) he just mentioned are.

• "It has rather decent stats, I'd say. That's how I judge it." (the highest stat is between 1-15)
• "It's definitely got some good stats. That's how I judge it." (the highest stat is between 16-25)
• "This Pokémon has some fantastic stats. That's how I judge it.” (the highest stat is between 26-30)
• "Stats like those... They simply can't be beat! That's how I judge it." (the highest stat is 31)

Incidentally, if your Pokémon has 0 IVs in a certain stat, he will say one of the following:

• "But its HP... It's pretty dismal, you know?"
• "But that Attack stat... It's terrible..."
• "But how can you make it through battle with this kind of Defense stat?"
• "But this Sp. Atk won't even leave a scratch on an opponent..."
• "But this low of a Sp. Def stat is going to leave you high and dry..."
• "But you won't get anywhere fast with this low of a Speed stat..."

And, if any other stat has an IV of 0, he will then say:

• "And that's quite a disappointing Attack stat there, isn't it?"
• "And that Defense stat is nothing to write home about, you know?"
• "And I'm afraid that its Sp. Atk is pretty bad, too..."
• "And it looks like it's no great shakes when it comes to Sp. Def either..."
• "And that Speed stat... Well, it's nothing to brag about, that's for sure."

There is a rather funny instance in X/Y when your pokemon has 0 in all 6 IVs.

In ORAS he will say:

Spoiler: ORAS Phrase order

This Pokémon’s potential is decent all around.
But its HP... It's pretty dismal, you know?
And that's quite a disappointing Attack stat there, isn't it?
And that Defense stat is nothing to write home about, you know?
And I'm afraid that its Sp. Atk is pretty bad, too...
And it looks like it's no great shakes when it comes to Sp. Def either...
And that Speed stat... Well, it's nothing to brag about, that's for sure.

However in X/Y he instead goes all out with:

Spoiler: XY Phrase order

This Pokémon’s potential is decent all around.

Incidentally, I would say its greatest potential lies in its HP
But its Attack stat is good, too.
Hmm. And its Defense stat is good, too.
Although its Sp. Atk stat is equally good.
Its Sp. Def stat seems just as good, though.
And, well, its Speed stat is good, too.

It has rather decent stats, I'd say. That's how I judge it.

But its HP... It's pretty dismal, you know?
And that's quite a disappointing Attack stat there, isn't it?
And that Defense stat is nothing to write home about, you know?
And I'm afraid that its Sp. Atk is pretty bad, too...
And it looks like it's no great shakes when it comes to Sp. Def either...
And that Speed stat... Well, it's nothing to brag about, that's for sure.

When viewing a Pokémon's summary, there is a "characteristic". This characteristic hints at the value of one of the Pokémon's IVs. A list of these characteristics and what each one of them means can be found in the below spoiler.
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In Sun and Moon, you get an IV checker in your PC after hatching 20 eggs and speaking to an NPC at the Battle Tree lobby. Using the "Check" feature in the PC, you can see the IVs your Pokemon have.

• If a stat is described as "Best", it has 31 IVs in the stat.
• If a stat is described as "Fantastic", it has 30 IVs in the stat.
• If a stat is described as "Very Good", the stat's IVs are between 26 and 29.
• A description of "Pretty Good" means the IVs are between 16 and 25.
• If it says the stat is "Decent", the IVs are between 1 and 15.
• Finally, if a stat is "No Good", the IVs are 0.

The IV checker will also describe your Pokemon's potential by looking at the sum of the IVs.

• A Pokemon has "Outstanding Potential" has between 151 and 186 total IVs.
• "Relatively Superior Potential" has an IV total between 121 and 150.
• "Above Average Potential" means the IV total is 91 to 120.
• Finally, a Pokemon with "Decent Potential" has an IV total between 0 and 90.

Spoiler

HP:

• Loves to eat - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30
• Takes plenty of siestas - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• Nods off a lot - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Scatters things often - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Likes to relax - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29

Attack:

• Proud of its power - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30
• Likes to thrash about - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• A little quick tempered - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Likes to fight - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Quick tempered - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29

Defense:

• Sturdy body - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30
• Capable of taking hits - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• Highly persistent - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Good endurance - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Good perseverance - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29

Special Attack:

• Highly curious - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30
• Mischievous - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• Thoroughly cunning - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Often lost in thought - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Very finicky - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29

Special Defense:

• Strong willed - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30
• Somewhat vain - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• Strongly defiant - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Hates to lose - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Somewhat stubborn - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24 or 29

Speed:

• Likes to run - 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30
• Alert to sounds - 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31
• Impetuous and silly - 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27
• Somewhat of a clown - 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28
• Quick to flee - 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29

You can also use a calculator that can help predict your Pokemon's IVs, found here if you're around a computer or WiFi.
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Other Related Guides

• Vocabulary
• Breeding