Ugh, this game is so complicated... after way more time that I wanted to spend reading about how to train a Pokemon since I didn't want to waste time training stuff improperly, this is what I've come up with:
(Please double check for errors. This could be a quick checklist for others to use, rather than spend a stupid amount of time reading and asking random questions like I've been since I got the game)
My first piece of advice is to simply create a quick team you can bring to tournaments without wasting too much time and money on TMs and stuff, and then begin training a Team (after doing some research on what is good and what you want). Don't worry, you can still do this!
How To Train A Pokemon Based On Specific IV, EV and Nature Wants:
Let's say I want something simple like, a Pikachu with a #1: Neutral Nature like Hardy #2: maxed IVs in all stats #3: maxed EV on Speed, Defense and with what is left, HP:
Quick review of terms before we get started, but if you want more detail, look up one of the sites below to find your answers. Or just skip this part if you think you know these well enough. However you feel, this is all I think you really need to know to train:
Nature: Different Natures yield different Stat increase rates. For example, Hardy is even raising across the board (like Mario!) but Calm increases and decreases (by 10%) Special Defense and Attack respectively (nice for a Blissey). Finding a Nature to fit what you want your Pokemon to do is very smart, especially if the Pokemon is to serve a special place in your team like a Wall, Special Sweeper or Speed Demon. Also, there is almost never a reason to use a Neutral Nature like Hardy, as there is virtualy always a Stat you won't care about, meaning you should take advantage of a specific Nature. For example, Blissey has close the lowes attack in the entire game, having any extra percentage of its Stats going towards Attack would be a waste!
EVs: Like... Final Fantasy II- REALLY TEDIOUS. Each Pokemon has Effort Values that contribute to how your Pokemon grows. Kill a bunch of Zubats and get a nice boost in Speed, while killing Golem's (EVs for Defense) yield Defense boost! These can really add up, and we are going to try and manipulate them. However, only a certain number of EVs will contribute to your Stats- after 508 or so, you cannot earn any more. It is all explained below, not that hard to understand, don't worry.
IVs: The ugliest in my oppinion. This is based on luck and is supposed to represent genetics or survival of the fittest or something... Some Pokemon are geneticaly better that others. IVs are scored from 0-31 and are RANDOM, though people say breeding yields better Pokemon than wild capture. For example, my Torchic might have an Individual Value rating of 31 on Attack, and 22 on every other stat while your Torchic has a mesely rating of 19 on every stat - mine eats yours like pop-corn chicken!
Are all these really that important?: Yes and no. Yes if you want to be in highly competitve play, and no if you just want to kick your friend's ***. Manipulating Stats can show gains of over 40 or so in a given stat! You can take this as far as you want though, Charizard is still going to probably KO your Abomasnow in one-hit with Fire Blast, but something like a well braught up Venusaur might surive it just enough to inflict some Damage or Status
#1 Nature:
1st. Breed or Capture until I get a Hardy Pikachu.
(Pokemon Nature graphs are available online, just google one or checkout the Links at the bottom!)
- To make getting a Hardy Pikachu easier, Give a Hardy Ditto an Everstone to make breeding a Hardy Pikachu's chances 50%. Having Ditto of every Nature would be a really nifty thing to have! Also, if you don't like the IVs of a female Pokemon, but you do like the Nature, just give her the Everstone and breed with something in its group. Which leads us to:
#2 Maxing IVs:
1st. Upon obtaining a Hardy Pikachu, get it to a higher level to calculate the Stats in an IV Calculator (mentioned below)-31 being the best possible for that Stat. You could calculate them upon hatching, though that would be worthless, inaccurate information. The higher the level, the more accurate the calculations will be. EVs are taken into account with IV Calculators, so make sure you follow one of these methods:
- The easiest way to do this is by having 6 freshly hatched Pokemon (of the desired Nature!) in your Party while doing a Battle Tower match at Level 100-Battle Tower matches modfiy the Pokemon's Lvl. to whatever you choose if you Battle a friend. Now calculate the Pokemon without even caring about EVs or anything else. If you are one of those people with two game packs, you could do this by 12 at a time!
-Another way to do this is by leaving 2 Pokemon at a time with the Daycare couple, or use Rare Candy. They will reach a high level without you having to keep track of (or receiving unwanted) EVs. You could just compare several Hardy Pikachu at the same level, and choose the one you want. But if you are hardcore, you'll keep using the Calculator until you are ready to settle on something. So you get to forget about EVs for right now!
-Another way -which is harder- is to do a mini-EV training for each Pikachu. For example, kill Zubat and Golbat until your Pikachu reaches Lvl. 25 and tally up how many EV points you totaled. You could also kill stuff for your other Stats as well, as long as you add up the EVs. You could do this while the Day Care raises your other Pokemon to get 3 or more Pokemon leveling up at the same time (Exp. Share and multiple Exp. Share). However, this isn't as fast as the methods mentioned abover, and is much less accurate at lvl. 25 or so (but within about 4-5 points on the IV calculator's estimates).
-Use Macho Brace, Pokerus and Exp. Share to make this slightly less annoying; x*4 on EV where x is the EV obtained from dead Poke (Zubat=4 Speed EVs, Golbat=8 Speed EVs with said items).
2nd. Using an online IV calculator (if you think you are Jason or trust your own math, find the formula and do it yourself), find out your Pikachu's IV value of 0-31 for each Stat. If your Pikachu has unacceptable values, start training another one (yey!).
(google Pokemon IV calculator. Most sites include the formula)
-Chances of getting 31 in all categories is a snowball's chance in ****; accept getting higher IVs (25+) in the desired Stats and good(20-25) in the less desirable/important Stats. You can also be an jerk and just keep trying until you get 31 in all.
#3 EV Training:
1st. We wanted a Maxed Speed, Defense and with what was left, HP. So, kill 252 Zubat, 252 Geodude and 4 Chansey (other combinations of Pokemon will work, just check one of the charts below).
-The maximum EVs a Pokemon can obtain for a Stat to actually benefit is 255, but only 4 EV = 1 Stat, so any more training is dubious. The remaining 4 EV can go to a 3rd Stat, like HP or something. The Total EVs a Pokemon can get is like, 508 I think... so, do the math! You can divide them up however you'd like, but typically two Stats are maxed.
- Avoid any Pokemon that will not give you the EVs you want! EVs for Special Attack aren't what we wanted for our Hardy Pikachu, so avoid killing Pokemon that give you EVs for other stats or Pikachu won't be able to max the desired Stats!
- Use the method of Macho Brace on your Active, Pokerus infected Team, and Exp. Share on your Pikachu (since a low Lvl. Pikachu cannot really kill a bunch of Geodude). This way you only have to kill 1/4 as many EV Pokemon! EVs also go both to the Active and Exp. Share Pokemon without being split up like the Exp. Points!!!11 Also, if you have more than 1 Exp. Share, you could have multiple Pokemon being EV trained at the same time!
-After maxing EVs, finish training the Pikachu at the Elite Four, or wherever you want to get it to reach whatever Level you need for your local tournaments. Once Pikachu has maxed EVs, you can just rack up experience! Usually tournaments range from 30, 50 and 100. Many other variations are around, so make sure you know before you begin training.
Tada! You now have the Pikachu you always wanted .
Additional Notes:
Pomeg and other Berries can remove unwanted EVs at a rate of -10 unwanted Stats per berry. This is REALLY good since it let's you RE-TRAIN Pokemon that you either weren't keeping track of EVs for, or decided to change their uses on your team! Hautte stuff.
Calcium and other Vitamins are good for +10 EVs per Stat per Vitamin. However, there are restrictions on how many you can use (I just don't know what they are).
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I think that is it. My goal was to make this short (it's 4 darn steps!), but include all the information necessary to train a Team (at the BARE minimum). This way all you have to do is follow the guide and you get your desired team, rather than constantly review the articles on each thing. The way it is now, you don't really have to know that much. Just follow what is says and POW!(hand extension), you have a team. Also, move sets and strategies are something so debated, I just decided the best thing would let people research for themselves on that subject.
Sites for help:
serebii.net : INSANE detail. Basically a one-stop. Your have-all site with amazing Pokedex, Articles, TMs, Items, Where/How-to get, Calculators and everything else. Extremely easy to navigate except for when it is busy. Use during the Morning or Extreme-Late night for easier navigation.
Nature Graphs:
(my favorite because it is simple) http://www.psypokes.com/lab/natures.php
http://www.achievebalance.com/pokemon/natures.htm
http://www.pokemonfanuniverse.com/games/rs/natures.php
IV Calculator:
http://www.legendarypokemon.net/ivcalc
(or use serebii's)
EV chart:
(this one has highlights!)
http://www.achievebalance.com/pokemon/effortvalues.htm
(or just use serebii)
Please leave fixes as I don't know much at ALL about this crap and D/P is my first attempt since G/S/C to make a team!
Thanks to David (Moltres423) for helping me! I <3 U, Sexi Boi
Thanks also to others who contributed.:thumb:
(Please double check for errors. This could be a quick checklist for others to use, rather than spend a stupid amount of time reading and asking random questions like I've been since I got the game)
My first piece of advice is to simply create a quick team you can bring to tournaments without wasting too much time and money on TMs and stuff, and then begin training a Team (after doing some research on what is good and what you want). Don't worry, you can still do this!
How To Train A Pokemon Based On Specific IV, EV and Nature Wants:
Let's say I want something simple like, a Pikachu with a #1: Neutral Nature like Hardy #2: maxed IVs in all stats #3: maxed EV on Speed, Defense and with what is left, HP:
Quick review of terms before we get started, but if you want more detail, look up one of the sites below to find your answers. Or just skip this part if you think you know these well enough. However you feel, this is all I think you really need to know to train:
Nature: Different Natures yield different Stat increase rates. For example, Hardy is even raising across the board (like Mario!) but Calm increases and decreases (by 10%) Special Defense and Attack respectively (nice for a Blissey). Finding a Nature to fit what you want your Pokemon to do is very smart, especially if the Pokemon is to serve a special place in your team like a Wall, Special Sweeper or Speed Demon. Also, there is almost never a reason to use a Neutral Nature like Hardy, as there is virtualy always a Stat you won't care about, meaning you should take advantage of a specific Nature. For example, Blissey has close the lowes attack in the entire game, having any extra percentage of its Stats going towards Attack would be a waste!
EVs: Like... Final Fantasy II- REALLY TEDIOUS. Each Pokemon has Effort Values that contribute to how your Pokemon grows. Kill a bunch of Zubats and get a nice boost in Speed, while killing Golem's (EVs for Defense) yield Defense boost! These can really add up, and we are going to try and manipulate them. However, only a certain number of EVs will contribute to your Stats- after 508 or so, you cannot earn any more. It is all explained below, not that hard to understand, don't worry.
IVs: The ugliest in my oppinion. This is based on luck and is supposed to represent genetics or survival of the fittest or something... Some Pokemon are geneticaly better that others. IVs are scored from 0-31 and are RANDOM, though people say breeding yields better Pokemon than wild capture. For example, my Torchic might have an Individual Value rating of 31 on Attack, and 22 on every other stat while your Torchic has a mesely rating of 19 on every stat - mine eats yours like pop-corn chicken!
Are all these really that important?: Yes and no. Yes if you want to be in highly competitve play, and no if you just want to kick your friend's ***. Manipulating Stats can show gains of over 40 or so in a given stat! You can take this as far as you want though, Charizard is still going to probably KO your Abomasnow in one-hit with Fire Blast, but something like a well braught up Venusaur might surive it just enough to inflict some Damage or Status
#1 Nature:
1st. Breed or Capture until I get a Hardy Pikachu.
(Pokemon Nature graphs are available online, just google one or checkout the Links at the bottom!)
- To make getting a Hardy Pikachu easier, Give a Hardy Ditto an Everstone to make breeding a Hardy Pikachu's chances 50%. Having Ditto of every Nature would be a really nifty thing to have! Also, if you don't like the IVs of a female Pokemon, but you do like the Nature, just give her the Everstone and breed with something in its group. Which leads us to:
#2 Maxing IVs:
1st. Upon obtaining a Hardy Pikachu, get it to a higher level to calculate the Stats in an IV Calculator (mentioned below)-31 being the best possible for that Stat. You could calculate them upon hatching, though that would be worthless, inaccurate information. The higher the level, the more accurate the calculations will be. EVs are taken into account with IV Calculators, so make sure you follow one of these methods:
- The easiest way to do this is by having 6 freshly hatched Pokemon (of the desired Nature!) in your Party while doing a Battle Tower match at Level 100-Battle Tower matches modfiy the Pokemon's Lvl. to whatever you choose if you Battle a friend. Now calculate the Pokemon without even caring about EVs or anything else. If you are one of those people with two game packs, you could do this by 12 at a time!
-Another way to do this is by leaving 2 Pokemon at a time with the Daycare couple, or use Rare Candy. They will reach a high level without you having to keep track of (or receiving unwanted) EVs. You could just compare several Hardy Pikachu at the same level, and choose the one you want. But if you are hardcore, you'll keep using the Calculator until you are ready to settle on something. So you get to forget about EVs for right now!
-Another way -which is harder- is to do a mini-EV training for each Pikachu. For example, kill Zubat and Golbat until your Pikachu reaches Lvl. 25 and tally up how many EV points you totaled. You could also kill stuff for your other Stats as well, as long as you add up the EVs. You could do this while the Day Care raises your other Pokemon to get 3 or more Pokemon leveling up at the same time (Exp. Share and multiple Exp. Share). However, this isn't as fast as the methods mentioned abover, and is much less accurate at lvl. 25 or so (but within about 4-5 points on the IV calculator's estimates).
-Use Macho Brace, Pokerus and Exp. Share to make this slightly less annoying; x*4 on EV where x is the EV obtained from dead Poke (Zubat=4 Speed EVs, Golbat=8 Speed EVs with said items).
2nd. Using an online IV calculator (if you think you are Jason or trust your own math, find the formula and do it yourself), find out your Pikachu's IV value of 0-31 for each Stat. If your Pikachu has unacceptable values, start training another one (yey!).
(google Pokemon IV calculator. Most sites include the formula)
-Chances of getting 31 in all categories is a snowball's chance in ****; accept getting higher IVs (25+) in the desired Stats and good(20-25) in the less desirable/important Stats. You can also be an jerk and just keep trying until you get 31 in all.
#3 EV Training:
1st. We wanted a Maxed Speed, Defense and with what was left, HP. So, kill 252 Zubat, 252 Geodude and 4 Chansey (other combinations of Pokemon will work, just check one of the charts below).
-The maximum EVs a Pokemon can obtain for a Stat to actually benefit is 255, but only 4 EV = 1 Stat, so any more training is dubious. The remaining 4 EV can go to a 3rd Stat, like HP or something. The Total EVs a Pokemon can get is like, 508 I think... so, do the math! You can divide them up however you'd like, but typically two Stats are maxed.
- Avoid any Pokemon that will not give you the EVs you want! EVs for Special Attack aren't what we wanted for our Hardy Pikachu, so avoid killing Pokemon that give you EVs for other stats or Pikachu won't be able to max the desired Stats!
- Use the method of Macho Brace on your Active, Pokerus infected Team, and Exp. Share on your Pikachu (since a low Lvl. Pikachu cannot really kill a bunch of Geodude). This way you only have to kill 1/4 as many EV Pokemon! EVs also go both to the Active and Exp. Share Pokemon without being split up like the Exp. Points!!!11 Also, if you have more than 1 Exp. Share, you could have multiple Pokemon being EV trained at the same time!
-After maxing EVs, finish training the Pikachu at the Elite Four, or wherever you want to get it to reach whatever Level you need for your local tournaments. Once Pikachu has maxed EVs, you can just rack up experience! Usually tournaments range from 30, 50 and 100. Many other variations are around, so make sure you know before you begin training.
Tada! You now have the Pikachu you always wanted .
Additional Notes:
Pomeg and other Berries can remove unwanted EVs at a rate of -10 unwanted Stats per berry. This is REALLY good since it let's you RE-TRAIN Pokemon that you either weren't keeping track of EVs for, or decided to change their uses on your team! Hautte stuff.
Calcium and other Vitamins are good for +10 EVs per Stat per Vitamin. However, there are restrictions on how many you can use (I just don't know what they are).
_____________________________________________________________________________________
I think that is it. My goal was to make this short (it's 4 darn steps!), but include all the information necessary to train a Team (at the BARE minimum). This way all you have to do is follow the guide and you get your desired team, rather than constantly review the articles on each thing. The way it is now, you don't really have to know that much. Just follow what is says and POW!(hand extension), you have a team. Also, move sets and strategies are something so debated, I just decided the best thing would let people research for themselves on that subject.
Sites for help:
serebii.net : INSANE detail. Basically a one-stop. Your have-all site with amazing Pokedex, Articles, TMs, Items, Where/How-to get, Calculators and everything else. Extremely easy to navigate except for when it is busy. Use during the Morning or Extreme-Late night for easier navigation.
Nature Graphs:
(my favorite because it is simple) http://www.psypokes.com/lab/natures.php
http://www.achievebalance.com/pokemon/natures.htm
http://www.pokemonfanuniverse.com/games/rs/natures.php
IV Calculator:
http://www.legendarypokemon.net/ivcalc
(or use serebii's)
EV chart:
(this one has highlights!)
http://www.achievebalance.com/pokemon/effortvalues.htm
(or just use serebii)
Please leave fixes as I don't know much at ALL about this crap and D/P is my first attempt since G/S/C to make a team!
Thanks to David (Moltres423) for helping me! I <3 U, Sexi Boi
Thanks also to others who contributed.:thumb:
