Raising Competitive Pokemon Guide Part 2
Step 4a: EVs from Medicine
Vitamins kept in your medicine pocket can be used on a Pokémon to increase its EVs. These items increase the Pokémon’s EVs by 10 per use. However, they reach a cap at 100 EVs in a stat, so a Pokémon will no longer take them once hitting that benchmark. If you want more than 100 EVs in a given stat, you need to continue using a different method.
Feathers kept in your medicine pocket can be used on a Pokémon to increase its EVs. These items increase the Pokémon’s EVs by 1 per use. This is a small amount, but unlike vitamins, feathers do not reach a cap. A Pokémon can continue to take them all the way up to the maximum of 255 EVs for a stat.
Step 4b: EVs from Battle
If experience points are awarded when an enemy Pokémon is defeated, then EVs are also awarded. The awarded EVs are determined by the species of Pokémon that was defeated. For example, a defeated Patrat yields 1 Attack EV while a defeated Roggenrola yields 1 Defense EV. In Pokémon Black and White, if your Pokémon is Level 100 it will not gain experience points by defeating enemy Pokémon but it will still gain EVs if it is able to. There are ways to enhance EV yields from battle, which will be discussed below.
The Macho Brace is a hold item that enhances EV yield. A Pokémon holding the Macho Brace will have reduced Speed while in battle, but it will collect double the EV yield from defeated enemy Pokémon. In this case, defeating a Patrat will yield 2 Attack EVs.
The Power Items are a group of hold items that are similar to the Macho Brace but have more specialized effects. Already useful for breeding, they can come into play in training as well. A Pokémon holding one of these items will have reduced Speed while in battle, but it will collect 4 EVs of a specified stat in addition to the normal EV yield when an enemy Pokémon is defeated. For example, a Pokémon holding the Power Bracer will net 5 Attack EVs from a Patrat, that’s 4 from the Power Bracer and 1 from the Patrat.
The Pokérus is a condition that can be spread between Pokémon and affects their EV collection. Your Pokémon can be infected with Pokérus by coming into contact with an infected wild Pokémon, which is a rare occurrence. If you already have an infected Pokémon, the Pokérus can spread by chance to adjacent party Pokémon at the end of any battle. There is no need to win the battle, so you can quickly spread the virus by encountering wild Pokémon and running away repeatedly.
Once infected, a Pokémon will collect double the total EV yield from defeated enemy Pokémon. This effect is permanent and stacks up with other effects. Therefore, if my Pokémon is infected with Pokerus and is holding a Power Bracer, defeating a Patrat will yield 10 Attack EVs. The Power Bracer yields 4 and the Patrat yields 1 for a total of 5, which is doubled by Pokerus to 10. This essentially cuts the time needed to EV train your Pokémon in half.
*Tip! Only the active Pokérus, indicated as a purple status condition label, will infect other Pokémon in your party. If the date changes while an infected Pokémon is in your party, its Pokérus will be cured, leaving only a small immunity mark in the status screen. This happens even if your game is off, so make sure to keep some infected Pokémon in your PC to preserve the virus.
Step 4c: Removing EVs
There are berries that can be used to remove EVs from a Pokémon. This allows you to correct mistakes when EV training or reconfigure a Pokémon’s stats for any reason. These berries reduce the EVs in their respective stat by 10, essentially acting as reverse vitamins. Using these berries also makes a Pokémon friendlier. There is no limit to the use of these berries. As long as the Pokémon has EVs in the stat or is below maximum friendliness, it will consume the berry. In Pokémon Black and White, these berries can be obtained from the Pokémon Dream World.
*Tip! In the previous generation, using these berries on a Pokémon with over 100 EVs in the corresponding stat brought the total EVs in that stat down to exactly 100, even if the stat was capped at 255 Evs! More information on this and other EV training topics can be found in my original EV Training Guide.
Step 4d: Leveling Up
Once your Pokémon has collected its 510 EVs, it is fully EV trained and simply needs to level up. Holding certain items will make this process go by fairly quickly as well. The Exp. Share allows the Pokémon holding it to collect experience without participating in battle. The Lucky Egg boosts the experience awarded to the Pokémon holding it. Also, a Pokémon will receive boosted experience if it is currently traded to another Trainer’s game.
Try going to Nimbasa City or riding the Royal Unova to fight powerful trainers on a daily basis. Some people also hunt Audino for its exceptionally large yield of experience points. At this point, it is only a matter of time until your Pokémon is all finished and ready to go. Keep in mind that competitive Pokémon should be raised to at least Level 50 so that they can properly participate in the Battle Subway and official tournaments.
*Tip! You can confirm that your Pokémon has finished EV training in a couple of ways. A fully EV trained Pokémon will not accept any more vitamins or feathers for any stat. Also, there is a Lady in Opelucid City who will judge the Pokémon’s EVs. If she says your Pokémon has put in a great effort, then you are done!
Conclusion
So, we’ve gone over the process of creating a Pokémon, starting with a basic concept and moving all the way through to capture and training. I will add a few final tidbits here to supplement the guide and give you a few more tips.
Appendix A: EV Item Table
Effort Values Item Reference
Pokémon Stat
Vitamin
Feather
Power Item
Berry
HP
HP Up
Health Wing
Power Weight
Pomeg
Attack
Protein
Muscle Wing
Power Bracer
Kelpsy
Defense
Iron
Resist Wing
Power Belt
Qualot
Special Attack
Calcium
Genius Wing
Power Lens
Hondew
Special Defense
Zinc
Clever Wing
Power Band
Grepa
Speed
Carbos
Swift Wing
Power Anklet
Tamato
Appendix B: EV Training Checklists
Collecting HP EVs
Collecting Attack EVs
Collecting Defense EVs
Collecting Special Attack EVs
Collecting Special Defense EVs
With that, I will be ending this guide. I hope it has been helpful to you in planning out your competitive Pokémon. If there are any questions, I will be glad to answer them either directly or in the form of future guides. Until then, have fun! Put this information to good use and go win some battles. Good luck!
Vitamins kept in your medicine pocket can be used on a Pokémon to increase its EVs. These items increase the Pokémon’s EVs by 10 per use. However, they reach a cap at 100 EVs in a stat, so a Pokémon will no longer take them once hitting that benchmark. If you want more than 100 EVs in a given stat, you need to continue using a different method.
Feathers kept in your medicine pocket can be used on a Pokémon to increase its EVs. These items increase the Pokémon’s EVs by 1 per use. This is a small amount, but unlike vitamins, feathers do not reach a cap. A Pokémon can continue to take them all the way up to the maximum of 255 EVs for a stat.
Step 4b: EVs from Battle
If experience points are awarded when an enemy Pokémon is defeated, then EVs are also awarded. The awarded EVs are determined by the species of Pokémon that was defeated. For example, a defeated Patrat yields 1 Attack EV while a defeated Roggenrola yields 1 Defense EV. In Pokémon Black and White, if your Pokémon is Level 100 it will not gain experience points by defeating enemy Pokémon but it will still gain EVs if it is able to. There are ways to enhance EV yields from battle, which will be discussed below.
The Macho Brace is a hold item that enhances EV yield. A Pokémon holding the Macho Brace will have reduced Speed while in battle, but it will collect double the EV yield from defeated enemy Pokémon. In this case, defeating a Patrat will yield 2 Attack EVs.
The Power Items are a group of hold items that are similar to the Macho Brace but have more specialized effects. Already useful for breeding, they can come into play in training as well. A Pokémon holding one of these items will have reduced Speed while in battle, but it will collect 4 EVs of a specified stat in addition to the normal EV yield when an enemy Pokémon is defeated. For example, a Pokémon holding the Power Bracer will net 5 Attack EVs from a Patrat, that’s 4 from the Power Bracer and 1 from the Patrat.
The Pokérus is a condition that can be spread between Pokémon and affects their EV collection. Your Pokémon can be infected with Pokérus by coming into contact with an infected wild Pokémon, which is a rare occurrence. If you already have an infected Pokémon, the Pokérus can spread by chance to adjacent party Pokémon at the end of any battle. There is no need to win the battle, so you can quickly spread the virus by encountering wild Pokémon and running away repeatedly.
Once infected, a Pokémon will collect double the total EV yield from defeated enemy Pokémon. This effect is permanent and stacks up with other effects. Therefore, if my Pokémon is infected with Pokerus and is holding a Power Bracer, defeating a Patrat will yield 10 Attack EVs. The Power Bracer yields 4 and the Patrat yields 1 for a total of 5, which is doubled by Pokerus to 10. This essentially cuts the time needed to EV train your Pokémon in half.
*Tip! Only the active Pokérus, indicated as a purple status condition label, will infect other Pokémon in your party. If the date changes while an infected Pokémon is in your party, its Pokérus will be cured, leaving only a small immunity mark in the status screen. This happens even if your game is off, so make sure to keep some infected Pokémon in your PC to preserve the virus.
Step 4c: Removing EVs
There are berries that can be used to remove EVs from a Pokémon. This allows you to correct mistakes when EV training or reconfigure a Pokémon’s stats for any reason. These berries reduce the EVs in their respective stat by 10, essentially acting as reverse vitamins. Using these berries also makes a Pokémon friendlier. There is no limit to the use of these berries. As long as the Pokémon has EVs in the stat or is below maximum friendliness, it will consume the berry. In Pokémon Black and White, these berries can be obtained from the Pokémon Dream World.
*Tip! In the previous generation, using these berries on a Pokémon with over 100 EVs in the corresponding stat brought the total EVs in that stat down to exactly 100, even if the stat was capped at 255 Evs! More information on this and other EV training topics can be found in my original EV Training Guide.
Step 4d: Leveling Up
Once your Pokémon has collected its 510 EVs, it is fully EV trained and simply needs to level up. Holding certain items will make this process go by fairly quickly as well. The Exp. Share allows the Pokémon holding it to collect experience without participating in battle. The Lucky Egg boosts the experience awarded to the Pokémon holding it. Also, a Pokémon will receive boosted experience if it is currently traded to another Trainer’s game.
Try going to Nimbasa City or riding the Royal Unova to fight powerful trainers on a daily basis. Some people also hunt Audino for its exceptionally large yield of experience points. At this point, it is only a matter of time until your Pokémon is all finished and ready to go. Keep in mind that competitive Pokémon should be raised to at least Level 50 so that they can properly participate in the Battle Subway and official tournaments.
*Tip! You can confirm that your Pokémon has finished EV training in a couple of ways. A fully EV trained Pokémon will not accept any more vitamins or feathers for any stat. Also, there is a Lady in Opelucid City who will judge the Pokémon’s EVs. If she says your Pokémon has put in a great effort, then you are done!
Conclusion
So, we’ve gone over the process of creating a Pokémon, starting with a basic concept and moving all the way through to capture and training. I will add a few final tidbits here to supplement the guide and give you a few more tips.
Appendix A: EV Item Table
Effort Values Item Reference
Pokémon Stat
Vitamin
Feather
Power Item
Berry
HP
HP Up
Health Wing
Power Weight
Pomeg
Attack
Protein
Muscle Wing
Power Bracer
Kelpsy
Defense
Iron
Resist Wing
Power Belt
Qualot
Special Attack
Calcium
Genius Wing
Power Lens
Hondew
Special Defense
Zinc
Clever Wing
Power Band
Grepa
Speed
Carbos
Swift Wing
Power Anklet
Tamato
Appendix B: EV Training Checklists
Collecting HP EVs
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 HP Up.
- Feed your Pokémon Health Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Weight.
- Battle wild Stunfisk and Palpitoad on Route 8. They reward 2 HP EVs each.
Collecting Attack EVs
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 Protein.
- Feed your Pokémon Muscle Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Bracer.
- Battle wild Patrat and Lillipup on Route 1. They reward 1 Attack EV each.
Collecting Defense EVs
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 Iron.
- Feed your Pokémon Resist Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Belt.
- Battle wild Roggenrola in Wellspring Cave. They reward 1 Defense EVs each.
Collecting Special Attack EVs
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 Calcium.
- Feed your Pokémon Genius Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Lens.
- Battle wild Litwick and Elgyem in Celestial Tower. They reward 1 Special Attack EV each.
Collecting Special Defense EVs
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 Zinc.
- Feed your Pokémon Clever Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Band.
- Battle wild Frillish by Surfing on Route 4. They reward 1 Special Defense EV each.
- Feed your Pokémon up to 10 Carbos.
- Feed your Pokémon Swift Wings.
- Have your Pokémon hold the Power Anklet.
- Battle wild Basculin by Surfing on Route 1. They reward 2 Speed EVs each.
With that, I will be ending this guide. I hope it has been helpful to you in planning out your competitive Pokémon. If there are any questions, I will be glad to answer them either directly or in the form of future guides. Until then, have fun! Put this information to good use and go win some battles. Good luck!