Advanced EV Guide

[PepperPoots]

[Apparently i cant have a banner cause yall dont read this thread often enough]

The purpose here is to help players decide exactly what EVs they want on their pokemon, not where to EV them.

Hopefully you'll be able to shave a few unnecessary EVs off of some stats so you can put them in others, and wind up with a stronger Pokemon.

I decided to make this guide because there are a few mechanics that even seasoned veterans seem to overlook.

All calculations etc consider a lvl 50 metagame ("comp") only, not counting Little Cup.

Use this to confirm what your stats will be before you actually train your hard-earned breeds.

 

Speed

Spoiler

Usually, you want to have 31 IVs and 252 EVs in speed for Pokemon you want to hit hard and fast. Check out the Speed Tier Guide on here to figure out what you can outspeed in your tier.
Sometimes, you dont need full investment (or even 31 IVs) to outspeed everything you could with full speed. For example, Timid Exeggutor in Sun hits 234 speed with 252 EVs, which is way more than everything (in NU) that doesnt have a Scarf or their speed boosted in another way or isnt named Electrode or Accelgor. You can look at the speed tier chart and say "Oh golly Aerodactyl could get me with a Flying Type move." Aerodactyl hits 200 speed without bonuses, so you could invest only enough in Exeggutor to give him 202 speed in the sun (132 EVs) and have 120 EVs left over to put in HP or WHATEVER YOU WANT. Then you can BOOF Aerodactyl with Solarbeam, he dies before he can hit you with Wing Attack, and you have more defensive bulk for dealing with other pokedudes.

Maybe your Pokemon is the only one in the tier with that base speed - such as Dugtrio - so you can invest a few less EVs and have more for other stats. The only trouble could be if you come up against the same Pokemon.

Maybe you dont even need a +speed nature to outspeed the threats you want to - look at a pokemon's base stats. The higher it is, the more will be gained (or lost) through nature. So maybe you can make an Adamant Gyarados instead of a Jolly one.  This method will require a lot of playing around with stats and the damage calc below.
Remember bonuses like Choice Scarf, Salac Berry, Dragon Dance (+50% of original speed stat), Agility (+100%), and effects that decrease speed, such as Icy Wind.

Speed on walls or slower Pokemon is usually not even worth breeding for, definitely not investing EVs in, but if you want to spend the money, it may come in handy if it comes up against the same type of Pokemon that someone bred without speed.

IVs: odds & evens

Spoiler

First of all, everything in this one spoiler discusses stats, IVs, and EVs, assuming that stat is not affected by nature.

Every other iv point translates to 1 stat point. Therefore, without EVs, an even iv is the same as the odd iv after it. If you're not going to put any EVs in a stat, the total at lv 50 will be the same with a 30 or a 31 IV. With EVs however, an even IV takes 4 less EVs to reach a certain stat point than the odd IV before it (28IV/248EV = 27IV/252EV). Conversely, an Even iv with 8 EVs is the same as the odd IV AFTER it with 4 EVs. If you have 4 EVs left over after putting 252 in 2 stats, dont put them in a stat with even IVs, because there will be no change to the poke's stats.

In this way, you can save some EVs that would otherwise be wasted (no stat gain) and put them into something else. Example: I have a Graveler with 30hp, 30 atk, 31 def, and 30spD. Ill put 248 into HP and attack, 4 into def, and 8 into spD.

bonus w natures

Spoiler

When EV training a pokemon in a stat that is not benefited by nature, every 8 evs translates to 1 more stat point. However, in a stat that IS benefited by nature (such as ATK on an Adamant or Brave poke), sometimes  more evs will give you 2 stat points instead of 1, because the nature gain calculates based on percentage.
For pokemon with Base stats that are multiples of 10 (If yours isnt, youll have to tweak it a little, but this is a better starting point than guessing for 10 multiples of 8):
The first level is 0evs at 31 ivs (Adjust for your specific ivs based on the above odds/evens guide). Example: A Bold Altaria with 31 Def IVs and 0evs has 121 Defense at lvl 50, whereas one with 29 IVs and 0 Evs has 119.
The second is 76evs at 31; the third is 156; the fourth is 236. Obviously after that you're limited by the 252 cap.
This probably works with stats that are damaged by nature but why would you EV train those in the first place

damage calcs: Super Ultra Mega Expert Mode

Spoiler

This is heckin useful.

Put your pokemon up against the strongest threat in the tier that you want that pokemon to be able to handle and figure out how many evs (in attacking power, defensive power, and speed) you need to beat it. For example, you can give Heracross 44 SpD EVs to be able to survive Starmie's Psychic and hit back (nevermind Psyshock or Life Orb).  Please note that Smogon's builds do not necessarily correspond to what is used in PokeMMO, so knowledge of common (and uncommon) builds in this game is important.

This is not really that important; a lot of the time what you need to be best is in fact full Attack and Speed. But i wanted to share in the rare event that you could, for example, invest some extra SpD when you have enough Def to tank Electrode's Explosion with 1 hp left.

 

Stealth rocks and other effects - Maybe dont max out HP

Spoiler

https://www.smogon.com/smog/issue2/saving_hp2

Read that in its entirety, but here's the gist:

Stealth Rock (and burn, leech seed, spikes, etc)'s damage is based as a percent of your total HP. If i have a Crobat fully invested in HP, I get 192 HP at lvl 50. That's divisible by 8 though, so she can switch into Rocks 4 times (weakness to rock type) before it kills her, IF she doesnt take any other damage. (192 / 8 = 24, x 2 =   48 damage every time you switch into Rocks.) However, if we take one stat point off (by lowering EVs) we get 191 which, when divided by 8, produces 23 and a fraction. Therefore, every time this crobat switches in to Rocks, she will take 46 points of damage. 46 x 4 = 184, so this one can switch into rocks 4 times and still be alive. (Or she can switch into Stealth Rocks twice and have more HP left for fighting than if her HP was maxed)
I probably did a bad job explaining that, but I wanted to put it in my own words instead of just linking the smogon guide. But absolutely check that out, it lists all the pokemon that this may affect, considers Leftovers recovery (which is another reason to see what your max hp is divisible by), and really explains it better than I did.

 

 

Edited September 18, 2019 by PepperPoots
being back from the dead and needing to contribute to the community

[PepperPoots]

Reserved for Tony

Edited July 12, 2019 by PepperPoots
tony

[cchiovitti527]

@OrangeManiac

[PepperPoots]

I guess this is done, I cant think of anything to add. Hit me with criticism

[Dibz]

On 5/19/2018 at 5:42 PM, PepperPoots said:

If you're not putting EVs in a stat, the total at lv 50 will be the same with a 30 or a 31 IV.

It won't be the same if it's a nature-boosted stat either. Good guide though!

[PepperPoots]

14 hours ago, Dibz said:

It won't be the same if it's a nature-boosted stat either. Good guide though!

Good catch, thanks!