Since IVs are a staple in competitive battling, I thought I'd compile a helpful guide to learning about the wonders of IVs and what and how they affect the Pokemon scene. They are not required to enjoy the games, but they definitely help beef your monsters up if you're into more competitive play...
So What are IVs?
Simply put, IVs (short for Individual Values) are a randomly
generated value for any given stat of any given Pokemon. This value ranges from
anywhere between 0 and 31, with 0 being the absolute lowest and 31 being the
absolute highest value. IVs are different among every Pokemon you will ever
encounter in the games, and are essentially random in their distribution.
For example, if you have two Spindas at the same exact
level, with the same exact EVs in Attack and the same exact nature, you might
notice that their Attack stats aren’t equal. This is because they both have
different IVs in their Attack stat; one might have 26, while the other might
have 4. These values also contribute directly to the Pokemon’s overall stat,
meaning that if both of your Spindas are at level 100 and again have max EV
investment in Attack and an Attack-boosting nature, the one with 26 IVs in
Attack might have an overall stat of 235, while the one with 4 IVs might have
one of 213. So the difference is not extremely impacting, but for those of you
nit-pickers like myself, you might want the maximum IVs you can possibly
obtain.
So in a nutshell, here are the basics:
- · IVs are a randomly generated value for each individual Pokemon; two Pokemon of the same exact species might have completely different IVs for any given stat.
- · IVs differ for every stat of a Pokemon, meaning that your Scyther might have 29 IVs in Attack, 30 in Defense, and 3 in Speed. Again, it’s all random.
- · IVs range in value from 0 (the lowest) to 31 (the highest).
- · Unfortunately, as of now there is no true way to determine your Pokemon’s exact IVs in-game, though there are certain ways of finding out generally which stat has the most IVs.
- · A Pokemon’s IVs can be passed down to its offspring through breeding.
(Kinda) Determining your Pokemon’s IVs
If you’ve ever looked at every
minute detail of a Pokemon’s “Summary” page, you might have noticed that at the
bottom, under where it shows the Nature and place met of the Pokemon, it has a
little phrase about the Pokemon’s personality, such as “Likes to Eat” or “Proud
of its Power”. This, while seemingly pointless at first glance, actually has a
bit more use than you might think, as it reveals the Pokemon’s stat with the
highest IVs. It’s not a completely precise means of learning your Pokemon’s
IVs, but it does give you a little bit of insight. Below are the different
phrases and what they mean. The phrase will display which of the six stats your
Pokemon has the highest IVs in, with a few different possibilities of what
those IVs could be. If more than one of its stats are tied for the highest, one
will be displayed at random.
If the highest IVs are Hit Points (HP):
-“Often dozes off”= 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs in this
stat.
-“Loves to eat”= 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in this
stat.
- “Likes to relax”= 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this
stat.
-“Scatters things often”= 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in
this stat.
-“Often scatters things”= 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in
this stat.
If the highest IVs are Attack:
-“Likes to thrash about” =1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs in
this stat.
-“Proud of its power” = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in
this stat.
-“Quick tempered” = 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this
stat.
-“Likes to fight” = 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in this
stat.
-“A little quick tempered” = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in
this stat.
If the highest IVs are Defense:
-“Capable of taking hits” =1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs
in this stat.
-“Sturdy body” = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in this
stat.
-“Good perseverance” = 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this
stat.
-“Good endurance” = 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in this
stat.
-“Highly persistent” = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in this
stat.
If the highest IVs are Special Attack:
-“Mischievous” =1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs in this
stat.
-“Highly curious” = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in this
stat.
-“Very finicky” = 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this stat.
-“Often lost in thought” = 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in
this stat.
-“Thoroughly cunning” = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in this
stat.
If the highest IVs are Special Defense:
-“Somewhat vain” =1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs in this
stat.
-“Strong willed” = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in this
stat.
-“Somewhat stubborn” = 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this
stat.
-“Hates to lose” = 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in this stat.
-“Strongly defiant” = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in this
stat.
If the highest IVs are Speed:
-“Alert to sounds” =1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, or 31 IVs in this
stat.
-“Likes to run” = 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 IVs in this
stat.
-“Quick to flee” = 4, 9, 14, 19, 24, or 29 IVs in this stat.
-“Somewhat of a clown” = 3, 8, 13, 18, 23, or 28 IVs in this
stat.
-“Impetuous and silly” = 2, 7, 12, 17, 22, or 27 IVs in this
stat.
*Take a look at your Pokemon’s “Summary” screen. When you
identify its trait, search for it on this page by clicking CTRL+F on your
computer so that you can see which of these IVs your Pokemon might have.
Also, keep in mind that if your Pokemon has two or more
stats with the same exact IVs, it will still only display one of these phrases,
displaying one of those stats at random.
I hope this helped!
The best way I've found to determine IVs in-game is to use the battle house in Nimbasa. First make sure you have zero effort, either with berries or by using a newly bred/caught Pokemon, then bring your Pokemon there. It will automatically set the level of your Pokemon to 50, which, except in a few weird cases involving natures, should reduce the range of possible IVs in all stats to two. You can find IV calculators on the web to find this range for you.
ReplyDeleteOnce you have your range down to two, you can reduce it with a few targeted effort points. I completely forget if you've gone over effort on this blog before, but whatever. Put four points in each stat and bring your Pokemon back to the Battle House. It does not make you save before entering, so you can safely do this without keeping the extra EVs. If your stat changes, then your IV was odd. If it doesn't, then your IV was even.
Unfortunately, the battle house does have species clause on, so you can only check one Pokemon at a time. If you are comparing newly bred Pokemon, it is best to get a team with four of them and two other things you don't care about. Save right before entering, and immediately soft-reset once you've recorded their stats. Also, the above method of determining IVs precisely only works if the initial step gives you a range of two. It might take a little more playing around if you get something weird.