The hidden secrets of Pokemon Heart Gold/Soul Silver.
Written by Raymond Padilla
Many people are under the impression that Pokemon is nothing more than a
series of role-playing games geared toward youngsters. This is partially
true. The Pokemon games are superbly-crafted titles that appeal to
children of all ages. They're fun games that are easy for players of all
skill levels to enjoy. Underneath it all is an amazingly complex system
that most players don't even know about. It's called EV training.
EV training can make an enormous difference in how strong your Pokemon
becomes. If you take two Pokemon of the same species with the same
nature and same attacks, they can be drastically different depending
on how they're EV trained. A properly EV trained Pokemon will trounce
one that's poorly trained or not trained at all (e.g. leveled up through
Rare Candies). To become the best trainer you can be and to make your
Pokemon as strong as possible, EV training is essential. This week's
Pokemusings will give you the basics on this wonderfully intricate
aspect of Pokemon.
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What are EVs?
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EV stands for effort values. These are points (that you'll never see
accounted for in the game) that determine how your Pokemon's statistics
will grow as you level it up. Four EV points equal one stat point at
level 100. For example, if you've earned 16 EV points in Speed then your
Pokemon will have four more Speed points in addition to its base when it
hits level 100.
Each Pokemon can earn 510 EV points in total. Each individual stat
(Defense, Special Attack, Speed, etc.) can have up to 255 EV points
allocated to it. Though in practical terms, you should go for 252 EV
points if you want to max out a stat, since 255 is not divisible by four.
This means that you can earn up to 63 additional points in a single stat
through careful training.
You absorb all that complex math yet? Good! Next we'll tell you how
to snag EV points for your favorite Pokemon.
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How are EV points earned?
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Every time your Pokemon earns experience points from battling, it earns
EV points as well. Every opposing Pokemon has a certain number of EV
points assigned to it. For example, defeating a Starly will net you a
Speed EV point, while beating a Geodude will earn you an EV point in
Defense. More powerful Pokemon will give you even more points and
sometimes a combination of points! Taking down a powerful Togekiss
(yes, we still love this Pokemon) will earn you two EV points in
Special Attack and one EV point in Special Defense.
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How can I use EV training to my advantage?
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A-ha! This is where the whole crazy system gets even more interesting
and complicated. Simply maxing out stats through EV training is not
enough. You need to consider your Pokemon's base stats and attacks for
it to really matter. Here are two different Pokemon that present two
very different types of EV training situations.
First, let's take our Weavile from last week's issue. Weavile is all
about Speed and Attack. Therefore you'll want to max out those stats
to take full advantage of it. Its other stats are pretty poor, so it
doesn't make sense to EV train for Weavile's Special Attack and Defense,
just to change them from poor to mediocre. To make Weavile the best it
can be, you'll want to pick on lots of Gyarados (two Attack EVs) and
Pikachus (two Speed EVs).
A Pokemon like Charizard is a little tougher to EV train since its
stats are more balanced. Its base stats for Special Attack and Attack
are only 23 points apart. For situations like these, you'll want to
think about the kinds of moves you want to give your Pokemon and use
EV training to maximize their effectiveness. For a Charizard that uses
moves based on Attack (Dragon Claw, Fire Fang, Earthquake, etc.), you
should have it trounce some Weepinbells (two Attack EVs). A Charizard
with moves based on Special Attack (Flamethrower, Hyper Beam, etc.)
should conquer some Magnetons for two Special Attack EVs.
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Prime EV Training Locations
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While it might be tough to grasp initially, EV training is well worth
the effort. You'll be making your pokemon the best that they can be if
you're mindful about the types of pokemon they defeat. Now that you know
the basics of EV training it's important to know what areas are the most
useful for your goals. Finding an area with predictable wild Pokemon is
essential for EV training as it allows you to focus on a single stat and
maximize it.
* Hit Points- Slowpoke Well. This is extermely useful since when you swim
here you will only encounter Slowpoke, allowing you to focus on HP EVS.
* Attack- Surf Near Cerulean city. There are plenty of Goldeen and Seaking
here.
* Defense- Victory road. Focus on the Rhyhorn, Onix, Graveler and Geodudes
here for maximum Defense Evs.
* Special Attack- Route 35, if you Surf, the only thing you will encounter
is Psyduck and Golduck. They all give Special attack EV.
* Special Defense- Use Surf on Route 40. Tentacool and Tentacruel are the
only thing you will encounter.
* Speed- Powerplant/route 10- All the pokemon in Route 10 grass give speed
EV. Another is route 30 since you can find Pidgeys and Weedle Everywhere.
Ilex forest is also good for Weedle. The second option is for if you are
low in level but the best place is route 10.
Now you know about four excellent locations for optimum EV training! Now go
out and help your pokemon reach their full potential. Not only will they be
stronger forces in HeartGold/SoulSilver, a properly EV trained pokemon will
give you an edge when you play against other trainers over wi-fi.</p>
Need help facing the Gym bosses of HeartGold and SoulSilver? Take a look at our Pokemon HeartGold/SoulSilver boss battle guide.
