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Published on October 19th, 2013 | by Gonzo

EV Training Hotspots in Pokémon X & Y

Hello! My name is Konrad “Gonzo” Janik also known as your favourite EV training aid! This time, I want to share with you a list of good hotspots for Pokémon X and Pokémon Y. The code of the games cannot be decrypted yet, so I am not listing any Pokémon introduced in 6th Generation games because their EV yields remain unknown. The rarity of listed Pokémon is estimated and not 100% precise. Unfortunately, it is all we can get so far. This guide will be updated as soon as we get more information.

I stated Pokémon’s locations, their approximate levels, encounter rate (well, not really) and method of encountering. I also put EV gain from battling each Pokémon and calculations for EV gain modifiers so you’ll know exactly how many EVs you’ll get. A new type of wild Pokémon encounters — horde battles — are also listed. There are many other hordes, but I picked the most common ones, made of a single Pokémon species with the lowest possible levels. The guide is divided into four sections: Introduction, Hordes, Friend Safari and alternative methods.

1. Introduction

Important changes in EV Training compared to older games:

The maximum amount of EVs in a single stat prior to XY was 255. In 6th Gen it was reduced to 252, so now you don’t have to worry when maxing out a single stat.
Horde encounters are the fastest way to EV train your Pokémon.

Ways to Modify EV Gain:

Pokerus – doubles EVs gained, can be combined with Macho Brace and Power Items
Macho Brace – doubles EVs gained, halves holder’s Speed, can be combined with Pokerus
Power Items – give 4 additional EV points to a corresponding stat, halves holder’s Speed, can be combined with Pokerus

In XY, you can find Macho Brace lying on the ground at Route 15, Power Weight (+HP), Power Bracer (+Atk), Power Belt (+Def), Power Lens (+SAtk), Power Band (+SDef) and Power Anklet (+Speed) can be purchased in Battle Maison (Kiloude City) for 16 BP each.

Calculations for EVs per Battle (Don’t forget to multiply by 5 for horde encounters!):

Base 3 points:

Pokérus / Macho Brace: 6 EVs
Pokérus + Macho Brace: 12 EVs
Pokérus + Power Item: 14 EVs

Base 2 points:

Pokérus / Macho Brace: 4 EVs
Pokérus + Macho Brace: 8 EVs
Pokérus + Power Item: 12 EVs

Base 1 point:

Pokérus / Macho Brace: 2 EVs
Pokérus + Macho Brace: 4 EVs
Pokérus + Power Item: 10 EVs

Tips:

Avoid Pokémon introduced in 6th Generation when EV training, as their EV yields are currently unknown.
If you need simple 252/252/4 spreads, use Hordes. Using vitamins is unnecessary – two Horde encounters give you the same amount of EVs as 10 Vitamins.
If you need a more complicated EV spread, use Hordes + Friend Safari or find wild Pokémon that can give you the amount of EVs needed.

2. Hordes

In XY, if you use Sweet Scent or Honey, you have 100% chance to encounter a horde. A horde is a group of 5 Pokémon at a level around one half of the Pokémon you can encounter at the same location in regular one-on-one encounters. Method is not listed as this works in tall grass and caves only. Recommended for fast and easy maxing stats.

HP

gulpin
Location: Route 5
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 5
EVs: 1 HP per each

or:

whismur
Location: Connecting Cave
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 7
EVs: 1 HP per each

Attack

bellsprout
Location: Route 14
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 16
EVs: 1 Atk per each

or:

weepinbell
Location: Route 19
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 24
EVs: 2 Atk per each

In case it’s raining on Route 14 or 19, you can’t use Sweet Scent and Honey to encounter hordes. Alternatively use:

cubchoo
Location: Frost Cavern
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 20
EVs: 1 Atk per each

Defence

nosepass
Location: Route 10
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 11
EVs: 1 Def per each

or:

geodude / durant
Location: Route 18, Terminus Cave
Encounter Rate: common/uncommon
Level: 23/23
EVs: 1 Def per each/2 Def per each

Special Attack

vanillite
Location: Frost Cavern
Encounter Rate: Common
Level: 20
EVs: 1 SpAtk per each

Smoochum horde can be found in Frost Cavern as well. It’s very rare, but the EV yield is the same as Vanillite’s, so you can just use them if you find them.

Special Defence

hoppip
Location: Route 7
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 6
EVs: 1 SpDef per each

Speed

wingull
Location: Route 8
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 9
EVs: 1 Speed per each

Taillow horde can be found on Route 8 as well. It’s very rare, but the EV yield is the same as Wingull’s, so you can just use them if you find them.

In case it’s raining on Route 8, you can’t use Sweet Scent and Honey to encounter hordes. Alternatively, use:
zubat

Location: Connecting Cave
Encounter Rate: common
Level: 8
EVs: 1 Speed per each

3. Friend Safari

After you beat Elite 4, you’ll gain access to Kiloude City where you can find Friend Safari. Each of your 3DS friends generates three Pokémon of one type that can be encountered there. At the beginning, you can find just two species, and a third can be found after your friend beats the Elite 4, so non-Pokémon 3DS players will give you just two Pokémon. The list of Pokémon depends on Friend Codes you have, so after you go and discover your friends’ species, just check their EV yields. The best way to do this is to use Bulbapedia’s, Serebii’s or Veekun’s Pokedex, as all of them list the EVs you can get from beating specific Pokémon. This method is recommended for adding smaller amounts of EVs, impossible to get via Hordes.

4. Alternative Methods

(this section will be expanded when we have accurate encounter rates)

Poke Radar

If you don’t want to use Hordes or Friend Safari, you can try something old-fashioned. Finding random Pokémon in grass quite inconvenient, so you can try using Poke Radar to chain specific Pokémon with desired EVs. When 100% accurate encounter rates are found, I’ll expand this section. For now, I need to leave you with the idea.