How to train EVs and raise a Pokemon
Where the training points come from, how to spend them, and where to find the levels.
In short
- Level up to earn training points: 3 per level, 4 if the Pokemon holds a Training Weight.
- Spend them in the Team's Train tab, on any stat, 4 points per stat point at level 100.
- 252 per stat, 510 in total. Vitamins fill the last 114.
- Spending is permanent. Decide the build first.
1. Decide the build
Look at the species' base stats on its Pokédex page. Put points where the Pokemon is already strong, or into Speed to move first; spreading them evenly wastes them. A physical attacker wants Attack and Speed, a wall wants HP and the defence it is weakest in. Two numbers usually get 252 each, and the last 6 go into a third.
2. Level up
Every level-up adds free points to the Pokemon's pool. Give it a Training Weight to hold and each level adds 4 instead of 3. Wild battles, trainers and the training grounds all give experience, and a trainer battle gives half as much again as a wild one of the same level.
Experience is shared: the Pokemon that fights gets the full amount and every other party member gets half, so a new catch levels while it sits in slot six.
3. Spend in the Train tab
Open Team, pick the Pokemon, open Train. Each stat shows its current EVs and the pool shows how many points are unspent. Add points to a stat and confirm. The confirmation is there because there is no undo.
4. Vitamins
HP Up, Protein, Iron, Calcium, Zinc and Carbos each add EVs to one stat, bought at a Poké Mart. A Pokemon can take 114 points' worth of vitamins in total, which, with the Training Weight, is exactly what reaches the 510 cap. Without the item a Pokemon tops out at 411.
Where the levels come from
| Source | Good for |
|---|---|
| Wild battles on a route | the first twenty levels, and catching on the way |
| Route trainers | half again the experience, and money; each fights once |
| Training grounds | the keepers' Pokemon in a level band, for an hourly pass |
| Rare Candy | one level, no battle |
The four training grounds are the intended way to climb from one gym's level window to the next. Tier 1 serves levels 10 to 25, tier 4 serves 55 to 80, and a pass lasts an hour.
Moves
A Pokemon learns moves as it levels, and the Moves tab shows what it knows and what it can learn. It holds four. A forgotten move can be re-learned from the same tab if the species knows it at that level. TMs teach a move from the Bag.
