Guide to Effort Values in Generation VI
Effort Values or EVs are gradually added to each stat as a reward for pokémon battling experience. Each pokémon you battle either in the wild or by battling a trainer or Gym leader in the game has an assigned Effort Value. Unlike experience points that are divided among all the pokémon in the battle and those with Experience Share, all the pokémon involved receive full share in EVs.
These Effort Values range in each stat from 0-252. The maximum total Effort Values counted towards each pokémon is 510 for all stats combined. For every 4 EVs in one particular stat, 1 point is added to that base stat. Since you need 4 EVs to add one stat point, the maximum EVs that can be used is 252 for each stat equal to 63 stat points. Similar to IVs these will be distributed as the pokemon grows in level until it reaches level 100.
Effort Values are still maxed out at 510 in this generation, but the cap for each category has been set at 252 preventing training up to the previous 255 and gaining unusable effort points. The Super Training screen on the 3DS will give you a visual tracking of your EV training and when the bar to the right has been filled, a biceped icon will appear above the training bag indicating that your Effort Values have reached their max. There is also a man at the Pokémon Fan Club in Laverre City that can tell you if you have reached your goal and award you with an Effort Ribbon.
In previous generations, Effort Values were awarded with the next level up making it impossible to add them through battling once a pokémon reached level 100. Now they are added after each battle
One neat trick if you want to know exactly where your training stands is to save the game and use a reset bag. Your current EVs will be displayed numerically before they disappear. Just soft-reset without saving after doing this.
Vitamins, Wings and Juicing
Vitamins will increase a pokémon’s Effort Value by 10 points, but cannot raise it above 100 (or the total EVs above 510) so if you want to use them, do it early in the training process. These Vitamins can be found through gameplay, received over pokémon Global Link, bought for $9,800 at the Laverre City pokémon center or exchanged for 2 BP at the Battle Maison.
- HP Up raises HP
- Protein raises Attack
- Iron raises Defense
- Calcium raises Special Attack
- Zinc raises Special Defense
- Carbos raises Speed
Wings increase Effort Values by one point and are more useful for fine tuning stats rather than growing them. Wings can be given as prizes in Super Training and at the pokémon Global Link. A Health Wing can be obtained every day in Ambrette Town by having a pokémon that has a high enough speed to please the lady in the house near the pokémon Center.
- Health Wing raises HP
- Muscle Wing raises Attack
- Resist Wing raises Defense
- Genius Wing raises Special Attack
- Clever Wing raises Special Defense
- Swift Wing raises Speed
Juice On Autumnal Avenue in Lumiose City there is a Juice Shoppe where you can purchase and create Berry Juices for your pokémon to drink. You can chose which pokémon in your party you wish to give the juice to after it is bought or created. On the left you can purchase pre-made juices of various strengths and on the right you can create you own juice once per day. These juices can raise Effort Values from 4 to 32 points depending on the berries you use.
This thread talks about he Juice Shoppe