Joey’s Wisdom: Natures, IVs and EVs for Newcomers
“Remember my super cool Rattata? My Rattata is different from regular Rattata. It’s like my Rattata is in the top percentage of all Rattata.”
~Youngster Joey
While walking in the tall grass, you’ve caught two Rattata. Obviously, neither of them are even half as good as Joey’s, but you can see that their statistics differ. Why is that happening? If you’re a competitive battling beginner, this article will help you understand the very basics of Pokemon stats – starting with natures, through Individual Values and ending with Effort Values. Experienced players might find some parts of the article false or lacking in problem coverage, but that’s been done on purpose. I wanted this article to be newcomer friendly and not to overload them with tons of information.
![[Obrazek: JJzxT5m.png]](http://i.imgur.com/JJzxT5m.png)
Editor’s Note: Ratatta isn’t available in X & Y yet so these are older screenshots!
Natures
Let’s go back to our Poke-mice. The first thing that differentiates Pokemon that is easily noticable are Natures. Natures increase one Stat by 10% of it’s value and decrease another Stat by 10% as well. There are a total of 25 Natures, five of them being neutral (Stat is neither increased or decreased). However, HP value is independent from Nature. This table shows how Natures affect Stats:
| Nature | Increased Stat | Decreased Stat |
| Hardy | – | – |
| Lonely | Attack | Defense |
| Brave | Attack | Speed |
| Adamant | Attack | Sp. Attack |
| Naughty | Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Bold | Defense | Attack |
| Docile | – | – |
| Relaxed | Defense | Speed |
| Impish | Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Lax | Defense | Sp. Defense |
| Modest | Sp. Attack | Attack |
| Mild | Sp. Attack | Defense |
| Quiet | Sp. Attack | Speed |
| Bashful | – | – |
| Rash | Sp. Attack | Sp. Defense |
| Calm | Sp. Defense | Attack |
| Gentle | Sp. Defense | Defense |
| Sassy | Sp. Defense | Speed |
| Careful | Sp. Defense | Sp. Attack |
| Quirky | – | – |
| Timid | Speed | Attack |
| Hasty | Speed | Defense |
| Serious | – | – |
| Jolly | Speed | Sp. Attack |
| Naive | Speed | Sp. Defense |
HeartGold and SoulSilver introduced a fast way of learning which Stat is boosted and which one is lowered. In the Pokemon’s summary, the increased Stat’s name is red while decreased Stat’s name is blue:
![[Obrazek: Ai1NH0D.png]](http://i.imgur.com/Ai1NH0D.png)
(5th Gen summary | 4th Gen summary)
Individual Values (IVs)
You’ve found two Rattata with the same level and Nature, but their Stats are still different. That’s because of Individual Values. IVs are generated when you encounter a Pokemon and they can have any value between 0 and 31. The higher the value, the higher the stat. At level 50, there is a difference of 16 points in a statistic between a Pokemon with 0 IVs and another Pokemon of the same species with 31 IVs and that is a huge difference! Outside of stat differences, IVs determine Hidden Power’s type, but I won’t cover that – I don’t want to make you dizzy! If you’re looking to get the best IVs on your Pokémon, check out Huy’s Breeding Guide.
Characteristics
Each Pokemon has a characteristic and it hints at the value of one Stat’s IV. That’s about it, really. If you’re curious, you can read more here.
Effort Values (EVs)
Ok, so we’ve found conjoined Rattata twins with the same level, IVs and Nature. HM 01 helped us separate them and we decided to train them. One was used against Stunfisk only and the other was used against Litwick. after a few levels, when you’ve compared them, you noticed that the Rattata fighting Stunfisk has higher HP than the one fighting Litwicks, while the latter has higher Special Attack than the first one. This happens because of Effort Values. Whenever you defeat a Pokemon, your Pokemon’s efforts are rewarded with points. These points increase corresponding Stat’s value. For more information, read Firestorm’s EV Training Guide. If you need a real life example, here’s one: take twins and sign one up for ballet classes and the other one for gym. Then, after a year or two compare their body build. You get the picture?
That’s pretty much everything you need to know at the very beginning. Joey laid all his wisdom on you! Now, pursue his dreams and find your own top percentage Pokemon!
Artwork created by IzzyRedDragon for Gonzo and used with permission. Check out more of her work on DeviantArt.
About the Author
Gonzo gave VGC a shot during Autumn Friendly in '11, fell in love with it and never looked back. World's #1 Stunfisk fan.
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9 Responses to Joey’s Wisdom: Natures, IVs and EVs for Newcomers
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Really cool intro article. Good Job Gonzo
Definitely one of those articles I wondered why we didn’t have on here sooner. Great article and awesome art.
It’s good to know Joey still knows what he’s talking about after all these years. I’ve nothing but respect for the lad.
Nice job Gonzo! It filled my gaps of knowledge. 😉
My 12 year old nephew is just starting to get involved with Pokemon because all of his friends at school are into it. Instead of teaching him myself, I am going to try and teach him through various beginner articles that our contributors have posted here on Nugget Bridge. To get a feel of how easily a newcomer can grasp the information. I had him read this article and he definitely came away from it with a better understanding of what to look for when building his very first team. He says that you are awesome for writing this in a way that he can understand and if he could hug you through the computer screen he would. lol
D’awwww! This made my day
Artwork in a nutshell:
HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
SAVANYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH
LOOK AT MAH RATATTA!
Great Job with the Explanation!
Yep, pokemon is still to overly fucking complicated to play
Nice, a bit slim but its for beginners so that is fine. ;>
I do have one small issue. Maybe you should change the comparison at the end. I know a lot of ballet dancers and several gymnists, and their physical builds tend to be quite similar. As they both require extremely similar strengthening and core muscle development.
I believe a better comparison would be between a dancer and a boxer, as they both require similar core building, but additional focus into other muscle groups. However this is just a small nitpick on my part.
Post more!