Effort Values Guide

Aug 01, 2007 16:21

I wrote this up, seeing as I searched the memories and couldn't find one already there, and also since it addresses a pretty important issue. With the coming of Diamond/Pearl, there's been a huge rise in the number of people who actually come out of the closet about playing Pokemon. However, since they haven't exactly "been around", many of the people breaking into the large multiplayer scene for the first time become confused with all the advanced tactics used by those who have been playing competitively for some time already. Among the advanced tactics I've seen people ask questions about, however, nothing seems to be as popular a topic as EV training.


Raising Competitive Pokemon: Effort Values

In this guide, I will attempt to explain the meaning of Effort Values (commonly known as EVs) as well as how they work and how trainers can put them to use. I'll start off with a brief history and an explanation of how they fit in to the game mechanics. Following that will be a detailed guide on how to acquire and use Effort Values to a Pokemon's advantage.

A History of Effort Values

In Pokemon Gold/Silver, there existed a concept known as Stat Experience. Information on Stat Experience is difficult to find, and it is really of little importance as it only exists in Gold/Silver as well as Crystal. However, Stat Experience is significant as it is the predecessor of Effort Values.

Effort Values were first introduced in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire, replacing Stat Experience. There was little to no mention of its existence, officially. Knowledge of how these hidden numbers affect gameplay was uncovered mostly by interested gamers who posted their findings on the internet.

The concept of Effort Values survived into Pokemon Diamond/Pearl. It is almost unchanged from how it was in the previous generation of games, save for the fact that it has been expanded upon with new items and such. Also, Effort Values are now mentioned in many strategy guides and have become somewhat common knowledge. However, the official explanations in such guides has been lacking. This is why it is important to have an abundance of online guides (like this one) for the sake of those who want to learn so they can play at the same level as their already seasoned friends!

How Effort Values Work

As any trainer would know, each Pokemon has six variable stats. These are HP (Hit Points), Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. These stats differ from specimen to specimen in many ways. Each breed of Pokemon has its own base stats, and each individual Pokemon has a combination of added numbers to alter those base stats as it levels up (these are set in stone, however, and will have to wait until another guide).

Effort Values are numbers that can be collected by a Pokemon in order to increase any of the six stats mentioned above. It can be said that there are six different kinds of Effort Values, one to go with each stat. So...

Kinds of Effort Values (EVs)
HP EVs
Attack EVs
Defense EVs
Special Attack EVs
Special Defense EVs
Speed EVs

Each stat can collect a total of 255 Effort Values. Therefore, if you want to raise your Pokemon's Attack stat, you can collect up to 255 Attack EVs. Once you do this, your Pokemon's Attack stat will be at its maximum for any level, and the Pokemon will not be able to collect any more Attack EVs. You can do the same for your Pokemon's Speed stat as well -- have the Pokemon collect 255 Speed EVs. Then for whatever level the Pokemon attains, it will have the highest Speed stat it can possibly have at that level.

Now that your Pokemon has 255 Attack EVs and 255 Speed EVs, it has a grand total of 510 Effort Values (You can use the calculator on your Poketch to confirm this!) and you now have a fully EV-trained Pokemon. Congratulations! This is because a Pokemon can only collect a grand total of 510 EVs. So...

Each stat can collect up to a total of 255 Effort Values.

A Pokemon can collect up to a grand total of 510 Effort Values between all six stats.

Given these two conditions, it becomes the trainer's task to decide which stats are most important for their Pokemon and how to split the Effort Values between those stats. Skip ahead to the section on Effort Value Training if you want to learn how to effectively collect Effort Values for your Pokemon.

How Effort Values Work (Advanced)

Now, if you didn't skip ahead, it means you want to know some more about how the Effort Values actually work. In this section, I'll be throwing around the same numbers you can find in the EV guides at places like Serebii.net and Psypoke. Though knowing these numbers is not necessary for understanding the concept of Effort Values, it becomes important if you're getting into advanced things like Stat Calculation.

So, you already know the two limits of Effort Values. Each stat can get up to 255 EVs and each Pokemon can get up to 510 EVs. But how much of an effect is this actually going to have on the Pokemon's stats?

The answer can be visualized if you assume that your Pokemon is at Level 100. At Level 100, your Pokemon's stat will be increased by 1 point for every 4 EVs collected in that stat. Therefore, if you raise your Pokemon all the way to Level 100 (or you warp it to Level 100 for the duration of a Level 100 Wi-Fi battle) and you maximized its Attack and Speed as in the previous example, then your Pokemon's Attack and Speed will both be 63 points higher than if they had collected no EVs at all. That's a big difference! Of course, you can notice this difference at lower levels as well, but it will not be quite as profound.

Ways to Collect Effort Values

Now that Effort Values have been defined and explained, it is time to go and seek them out! There are two methods by which Effort Values can be collected by a Pokemon. They can be earned from enemy Pokemon or obtained from items.

Earning Effort Values from enemy Pokemon is simple -- just encounter an enemy Pokemon and defeat it. The enemy Pokemon can be wild or controlled by a trainer, but it must award you experience points for defeating it. This is because the Effort Values come hidden with experience points. Every Pokemon that gains experience from a fainted enemy also gains Effort Values from that enemy. However, the Pokemon will not actually collect the Effort Values unless it still can (much like a Level 100 Pokemon will not actually collect experience points it gains from battling).

Remember how there are six different kinds of Effort Values, one for each stat? This is where it gets complicated -- different breeds of Pokemon will give different Effort Values when you defeat them. You can look up what Effort Values each Pokemon gives at some websites, including Serebii.net.

Obtaining Effort Values from items is easy, but can be expensive. The items used to do this are commonly referred to as vitamins and are stored in the Medicine pocket of your bag. You probably know them already as HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc, and Carbos. Each of these items awards 10 Effort Values for a certain stat. So...

Effort Values from Vitamins
1 HP Up ----> 10 HP EVs
1 Protein --> 10 Attack EVs
1 Iron -----> 10 Defense EVs
1 Calcium --> 10 Special Attack EVs
1 Zinc -----> 10 Special Defense EVs
1 Carbos ---> 10 Speed EVs

However, one more condition applies to this method. Any stat can only collect up to 100 EVs by using vitamins on the Pokemon. Therefore, if your Pokemon currently has no Speed EVs, you can give it a total of 10 Carbos, which makes the Pokemon collect 100 Speed EVs. If you want to continue to the maximum 255 Speed EVs, you must do so by earning the EVs from enemy Pokemon. Also, if your Pokemon already collected Speed EVs from defeating enemies, that decreases the amount of Carbos you can use to obtain Speed EVs since the stat can only collect up to the "100 EVs" mark from vitamin use.

Effort Value Training

Here is the climax of this Effort Values guide. We have discussed the purpose of Effort Values and the methods by which they are obtained. Now we will finish things off by looking at some ways in which you can maximize their effectiveness!

Effort Value Training (or EV Training) refers to the stage of a Pokemon's training during which the focus is not gaining experience for leveling, but collecting the proper Effort Values to increase the Pokemon's important stats. Because a freshly caught or hatched Pokemon starts off with no Effort Values, it will begin collecting them from its very first battle for experience points. Therefore, it is important to begin EV training a new Pokemon right away so that you can keep track of what EVs it is collecting.

Use hold items to your advantage! There are many ways in which you can use hold items to enhance your Pokemon's EV training. Here are some item-by-item tips.

Exp. Share -- The Exp. Share is an excellent tool for early EV training. A Pokemon just hatched at Level 1 will have a hard time fighting on its own. Make it hold the Exp. Share and have a stronger Pokemon defeat enemies that give the EVs you need. Because the new Pokemon will collect experience points from the Exp. Share, it will also collect the EVs given by the enemy. EVs are not split between your Pokemon the same way experience points are. For example, Zubat gives 1 Speed EV. When a Zubat is defeated, any Pokemon that gains experience points from it will also gain 1 Speed EV.

Macho Brace -- A Pokemon holding a Macho Brace will move more slowly in battle, but it will collect double the amount of EV points when defeating an enemy. For example, defeating a Zubat while holding the Macho Brace will earn your Pokemon 2 Speed EVs instead of 1 like before. This would make defeating a Zubat have the same EV worth as defeating a Golbat, which normally gives 2 Speed EVs. Similarly, defeating that Golbat while holding the Macho Brace nets you 4 Speed EVs instead of just 2.

The Power Items -- In Pokemon Diamond/Pearl, new items were introduced that became known collectively as the Power Items. There is a Power item that corresponds to each stat, for a total of six. So...

Power Items for Stats
Power Weight --> HP
Power Bracer --> Attack
Power Belt ----> Defense
Power Lens ----> Special Attack
Power Band ----> Special Defense
Power Anklet --> Speed

Each Power item is similar to the Macho Brace in that holding it will reduce a Pokemon's Speed during battle. However, when defeating an enemy while holding a Power item, a Pokemon will collect 4 EVs in the stat corresponding to the Power item being held in addition to the usual EVs gained from defeating that enemy! For example, your Pokemon is holding the Power Bracer when it defeats a Zubat. Your Pokemon will collect 4 Attack EVs from the Power Bracer and 1 Speed EV from the Zubat. If your Pokemon was holding the Power Anklet, it would get 5 Speed EVs (4 from the Anklet plus 1 from the Zubat).

Use the Pokerus! Do you know about the beneficial infection known as the Pokerus (PKRS)? Once infected with the Pokerus, a Pokemon has a permanent effect similar to the Macho Brace that doubles the amount of EVs collected from defeated enemies but does not reduce Speed in battle. The effect stays even after the Pokerus wears off, making it very useful for speeding up any Pokemon's EV training.

Here is a prime example of good EV training in action. My Starly is infected with the Pokerus and is holding the Power Bracer when it defeats a wild Zubat. The Power Bracer gives Starly 4 Attack EVs and the Zubat gives Starly 1 Speed EV. However, the effect of the Pokerus doubles the EVs my Starly obtains, so Starly ends up collecting 8 Attack EVs and 2 Speed EVs. And this is just from one Zubat, which would have given Starly only 1 Speed EV if not for the Power Bracer and Pokerus. Impressive!

Use the Effort Ribbon as a goal! When a Pokemon has collected its maximum of 510 Effort Values, it becomes eligible to recieve the aptly-named Effort Ribbon. This ribbon can be recieved from the woman inside of the Sunyshore Market at any time, but only if the Pokemon at the top of your roster has earned it by collecting 510 Effort Values. While EV training your Pokemon, check with this woman on occasion. If the Pokemon you are EV training earns the Effort Ribbon, then its EV training is complete and you are free to battle with it against any opponent you like without fear of disrupting its crucial stats. Congratulations!

Using Berries to Delete Improper EVs

Before I go, I'm sure someone would like to ask me "But what do I do if I accidently collect the wrong EVs?"

Well, there's an answer to that, too! Back in Pokemon Emerald, we were graced with special berries that claimed themselves to have the effect of "making a Pokemon more friendly, but lowering its base stats." These berries are not difficult to obtain, and their effect is actually extremely useful for just a situation. The truth is that each of these six berries removes EVs from each of your Pokemon's six stats. So...

EV Berries for Stats
#21 Pomeg Berry ---> HP
#22 Kelpsy Berry --> Attack
#23 Qualot Berry --> Defense
#24 Hondew Berry --> Special Attack
#25 Grepa Berry ---> Special Defense
#26 Tamato Berry --> Speed

Each of these berries acts as a reverse-vitamin of sorts. They will take away 10 EVs from the stat they correspond to. For example, using a Tamato Berry on your Pokemon will remove 10 Speed EVs. That way, you take away from the total Effort Values (which cannot exceed 510) and can add EVs to another stat for replacement. Also, using these berries makes your Pokemon like you more as an added bonus!

Here's a special note about these berries I recently discovered: If a Pokemon has well over 100 EVs in a stat (the maximum of 255, for instance), the first berry you feed it will reduce the EVs to exactly 100. Therefore, in order to completely reset the EVs for one stat on your Pokemon you will need no more that 11 berries for that stat.

That's it for this guide. The purpose of this was to inform people of what Effort Values are and how to use them. Advanced strategies on collecting and using them more efficiently can be found in various articles in the community memories, and perhaps even in future guides! Comment with any questions you may have, and I'll revise this guide as needed.
Previous post Next post
Up