How to EV Train Your Pokémon

Last Updated: November 6, 2022 References

Have you ever noticed that some people's Pokémon have one or two really high stats but lower than usual stats in a different area? Well, this is probably because that person EV trained their Pokémon. If you'd like to train your own super-strong Pokémon, read the guide below.

Method 1

Method 1 of 4:

Breeding Your Pokémon

1
Start EV training from birth. EV training begins at birth. If you want perfect control over your Pokémon’s EVs, you’ll want to start from the minute they’re born, when their EVs are still a blank slate. Breed Pokémon in order to get eggs in your desired species that you can raise and train to be the best!
2
Use Pokémon with good stats to get Pokémon with good stats. Since many of a Pokémon’s initial states (or IVs) are determined by their parents stats, you will want to use Pokémon with good stats in order to breed Pokémon with good stats. Just make sure that you understand how to breed Pokémon.

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3
Check your Pokémon’s IVs. Once you have a couple of newborn Pokémon, check their IVs using online tools. Google "IV Calculator" and input your Pokémon stats. The best IV for any one stat is 31, but IVs of 29 or 30 are also usable. Take the best out of several Pokémon or stop when you have one with really good stats.

Method 2

Method 2 of 4:

Battle-Training EV

1
Pick your battles carefully. Every time your Pokémon fights in a battle, even if it’s only for a single turn, it will gain EV points from that battle. Because of this, you will want to be very careful about using your Pokémon in battles until they have maxed out their EVs. Only bring out your EV training Pokémon when you encounter a beneficial battle.
- Each type of Pokémon will give your Pokémon different EV points when they battle. Know which Pokémon give which EV points and only fight if those are EV points that you want.
2
Switch Pokémon if you need to. In the early stages of EV training, your Pokémon may not be able to defeat the Pokémon it needs to in order to gain the EV points you want. You can deal with this in a few ways. One way is to get an Exp. Share, which when held by a Pokémon will give it the experience and EVs from a battle even if it does not fight. Another trick is to use the Pokémon in only one round and then switch it for another, stronger Pokémon.
3
Fight the right Pokémon. Some Pokémon give only 1 EV point when they are battled, while some give 3 points!^{[1]
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Research source} If you want to EV train your Pokémon quickly, try to have them battle the Pokémon who give the most points in the stat you are trying to improve.
- For example, fighting a Nidoqueen gives 3 EV points to HP, while fighting a Machamp gives 3 EV points to Attack.
- Keep in mind, however, that while some Pokémon may give a high number of EV points in a particular stat, those Pokémon may be hard to find. You may be better off fighting Pokémon which are easy to encounter but still give at least a point or two in the stat (or stats) you want.

Method 3

Method 3 of 4:

Boosting Training Efficiency

1
Use vitamins. Vitamins will give your Pokémon 10 EV points in a particular stat. You can give your Pokémon up to 10 vitamins, meaning that this is a fast way to get 100 EV points (out of the limit of 510 EV points). Vitamins cost $9,800 each.
- You can buy Vitamins from Shopping Mall 9 in Black and White.
2
Use items. There are a variety of items that you can equip on your Pokémon to make them gain EV points faster. The best item is the Macho Brace, which doubles all EV points gained but cuts your Pokémon’s speed. Other items, like a Power Weight or a Power Belt, only double a single stat but still cut the speed.
3
Try to contract Pokérus. Pokérus is a Pokémon virus. Though rare, Pokérus is a status affliction that cannot be cured via Pokémon Center. Although it is possible to battle a Pokémon with Pokérus (which can only be received by said method by battling with a Pokémon and not by running), you will most likely have better luck receiving one over trade. Much like a regular virus, once one of your Pokémon catches the virus, it can spread to your other Pokémon. This virus will double the EVs you get from battles and works with the other items which increase EVs gained. However, your Pokémon will only have it for a certain period of time and then they will heal, usually around a day after contracting Pokérus.^{[2]
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- Find out if your Pokémon has Pokérus by checking their status effects. You'll also be told by the nurse at a Pokémon Center if your Pokémon has Pokérus.
- Keep in mind that this virus is very rare. You may never encounter it.
4
Find and use wings. Wings are items which can occasionally be found on Marvellous Bridge and Driftveil Drawbridge. These increase a given stat by 1 EV point. While these give less points than vitamins, they don’t have a limit, so you can use as many as you want (assuming you can find them).
- The major downside it that the wings only increase 1 stat and which wing you find is random. It is also time consuming to find the wings.
5
Use items from Join Avenue. Join Avenue will have a number of items available for sale which can raise your EVs. Try the items at the Dojo or Cafe to make your EVs rise as much as 48 points. Be aware, however, that this can be very expensive. Secret Dish A, for example, which raises your HP EVs by 48 points costs $72000!^{[3]
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6
Use Rare Candies to level your Pokémon. Since your EV Trained Pokémon will only see so many battles, you will need to have an alternative way to level it. The best way to do this is to use Rare Candies. These raise your Pokémon 1 level. They cost $4800 and are found in a lot of different places, depending on which game you are playing.

Method 4

Method 4 of 4:

Resetting Your EVs

1
Be careful about resetting your EVs. Each Pokémon can only have 510 EV points. Only 252 of those points can be in any one stat. You may want to reset your EVs, say, if you accidentally used your Pokémon in a battle or if you decided to EV train a Pokémon after you had had it for a little while and it had seen a few battles. However, you will want to avoid items which might lower your EVs if you do not want them lowered.
2
Use berries. If you are playing Black or White, you can use Berries to lower your EVs. They are pretty much the opposite of vitamins in that they reduce a given EV number by 10. However, in Black and White, the Berries can only be found and grown in the Dream World.^{[4]
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3
Use items from Join Avenue. Join Avenue will have a number of items available for sale which can lower your EVs. Your best bet for items which lower EVs will come from the Beauty Salon, as these will very effectively lower EVs.^{[5]
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Community Q&A

Question

Can I EV train in pokemon heartgold and soulsilver?

Community Answer

Yes. You can.
Question

How long is the average time to EV train one Pokemon?

EditorKrijim

Community Answer

It depends on what you battle to get EVs, what items you use, and whether or not you have Pokerus on your game. Just by battling in S.O.S battles in Sun and Moon without items, it can take a few hours; with items and Pokerus, that amount of time will be cut to less than half an hour.
Question

I don't really understand the whole max EV points being 510, because I have plenty of Pokemon with at least 600 points if you add up all their stats. Am I not supposed to count HP?

Acebob11

Community Answer

EVs do not equate to stats. In a level 100 pokemon, 4 EVs will increase a stat by 1 point, but even still, Pokemon have different base stats. It is also important to consider the difference between IVs and EVs - IVs cannot be affected, EVs can be trained up and reset, and base stats are a base for a Pokemon's stats. Leveling up also affects stats. It's very complicated how all of it works, but for your final question, yes, you count HP. It is a stat.

Warnings

If you are lucky enough to obtain the Pokérus virus, be aware that after roughly 24 hours in the party, any infected Pokémon will be unable to pass on the virus anymore and will never catch it again. This is indicated by a small smiley face in the bottom-right of the Pokémon's picture. They'll still keep the 'double EVs' effect, however, so don't panic. In the PC, however, the Pokérus lasts indefinitely.

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Helpful 31 Not Helpful 10
Keep track of your EVs or you'll probably have to start over! In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, use the counter app. In the other games (Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, Fire Red, Leaf Green, HeartGold, SoulSilver, Black, White, Black 2, White 2, X, and Y) it's easy if you mark it down on paper. The only definite way to tell anything about EVs in Ruby and Sapphire is to talk to the Effort Ribbon lady in Slateport City - she will give your Pokémon a ribbon if it has all 510 of its EVs.

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Helpful 18 Not Helpful 7
Consider your Pokémon's nature before EV-training. Wasting EVs in a stat that is lowered by the Pokémon's nature is not often a good idea!

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Helpful 26 Not Helpful 16
If a Pokémon is at Lv. 100, it will not receive EVs, even if it hasn't obtained all 510 of them. However, Join Avenue services will still work.

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Helpful 19 Not Helpful 13
If your EV count in a certain stat has gone above 100 and you've lost track, use an EV lowering Berry - Hondew, Grepa, Pomeg, Tamato, Qualot and Kelpsy - which will lower that EV to exactly 100. This only works in Pokémon Emerald.

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