EVs and IVs are the stats that determine the power of your Pokémon in Pokémon Sword & Shield. For most of the game, you probably won’t need to worry about them — IVs especially are only important if you’re planning on playing competitively against other trainers. Here, I’m going to explain how to check these stats, and why you’ll even want to!
EVs (Effort Values) and IVs (Individual Values) are advanced stats only hardcore Pokémon players really need to know about. If you’re trying to breed the very best Pokémon, or just train your Pokémon to be as powerful as they can be, you’ll need to know how to check these stats. IVs are kind of like the genes of your Pokémon, and maxed-out IVs are the holy grail of Pokémon for breed — you can pass on those awesome genes to the next generation.
More Pokémon Sword & Shield guides:
How To Evolve All The New Galar Region Pokémon | Evolution Guide | What’s Exclusive To Each Version? | How To Catch Shiny Pokémon | Pick This Starter Pokémon For An Early Advantage | How To Easily Evolve Farfetch’d Into Sirfetch’d | Brilliant Aura System | How To Catch Improved Pokemon | Combo & Ultimate Moves | Move Tutor Locations | How To Catch Pokemon Easier | False Swipe & Hypnosis Guide
EVs (Effort Values) and IVs (Individual Values) are the major stats the determine how strong your Pokémon is. Both values are related to the six major stats — HP, Attack, Special Attack, Speed, Defense and Special Defense. IVs (normally) can’t be increased until much later in the game, while EVs will naturally grow as you battle Pokémon.
How EVs Work: Depending on the Pokémon you defeat, EVs will increase — some Pokémon you defeat will increase HP, while others will increase Special Attack, etc. All Pokémon in your team will gain EVs when defeating a Pokémon — EVs are why a trained Pokémon is more powerful than a wild Pokémon!
- NOTE: For every 4 EVs you earn in a specific stat, you’ll earn +1 to the base stat. For example: after earning 4 Attack EVs, your Pokémon will gain +1 Attack on their Summary Menu.
How IVs Work: IVs are the secret stats that determine the ‘genes’ of a Pokémon. IVs are associated with the six major stats — high IVs will make a Pokémon innately better. IVs determinate the base stats, and they’re only really important for breeding and maxing-out your Pokemon — a Pokémon with high IVs will pass their genetics on to other Pokémon.
That’s a quick explanation of EVs and IVs, but the question is — how do I check these stats? It’s actually not that easy. There’s a lot more to get into when it comes to EVs and IVs, but let’s cut to the chase.
How To Check EVs & IVs
Checking EVs and IVs is a semi-secret feature that is designed for high-level Pokémon players. Here’s how it works.
- How To Check EVs: Open your Pokémon Summary page and select the Stats tab. Press [X] to check EVs
A graph will appear after checking your EVs. If the graph is yellow / orange, it has not been maxed out. If the graph is blue, it has been maxed out. If one of the stats sparkle — you’ve maxed out that individual stat.
- How To Check IVs: After completing the main story, access the Battle Tower, then defeat Leon — he’ll reward you with the IV Checker.
- Go to the Pokémon Summary page and select the Stats tab. Press [+] to check IVs.
IVs are the hidden stats that determine the strengths (and weaknesses) of a Pokémon. Some Pokémon you find can have maxed stats — and Pokémon caught from Max Raid dens are guaranteed to have at least two max IVs.
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