Pokemon can be a surprisingly deep experience, especially once players get into its post-game content. The latest entries in the series, Pokemon Sword and Shield, are no different. Since releasing about three weeks ago, the competitive battling scene is already evolving, and some interesting Pokemon are looking very strong.
Regrettably, getting into competitive battling has never been an easy task, and has been a major talking point for hardcore fans of the series for years. However, Pokemon Sword and Shield did take a some steps to make the competitive aspect of the games easier to dive into this generation. The main focus for getting a team of Pokemon ready for competitive battling are IVs and EVs, in particular; but, for this article lets focus on EVs.
About EVs and Where to Begin
EVs, otherwise known as Effort Values, are hidden values that give boosts to an individual Pokemon’s stats. In prior games, this values were completely hidden, however, more recent games have gifted players with the ability to at least view them in some form. In Sword and Shield, players can even reset a Pokemon’s EVs so they can get a fresh start to gear it for competitive play.
First and foremost, the simplest and most straightforward way to raise the EVs of certain Pokemon are through in-game consumable items called vitamins. However, it’s going to be a long road to access these worthwhile items, as they are only readily available to players after entering into Sword and Shield’s post-game. That being said, it really is the method that is most easy to grasp and understand, so it may be best to start here.
Different Ways to Raise EVs - Consumables
Vitamins in Sword and Shield can be bought in the game’s final city, Wyndon, for a whopping 10,000 dollars a pop. This is because vitamins are the most straightforward method of maxing out a certain EV, as each vitamin gives 10 points to a given stat. Unfortunately, since the maximum number of EVs a Pokemon can have is 510, that’s going to cost a lot of time and money.
Regardless of the method chosen, maxing out a Pokemon’s EVs is going to be a long process, but vitamins are very straightforward to use. Simply select the vitamin that corresponds with the stat you want to raise, like Defense, Special Attack, or HP, and give that vitamin to the Pokemon until that stat has max EVs. The max for a single stat is 252 EVs. The vitamins available are as follows:
- HP Up - HP +10
- Protein - Attack +10
- Calcium - Special Atack +10
- Iron - Defense +10
- Zinc - Special Defense +10
- Carbos - Speed +10
Alongside vitamins, players can also find wing items that look like feathers in the player’s inventory. These items add a single EV to a given stat, depending on the type of wing. For example, Clever Wings raise Special Defense by one point, while Swift Wings raise the Speed stat by one point. The different wings are as follows:
- Health Wing - HP +1
- Muscle Wing - Attack +1
- Genius Wing - Special Attack +1
- Resist Wing - Defense +1
- Clever Wing - Special Defense +1
- Swift Wing - Speed +1
If you want to decrease certain EVs certain berries like the Pomeg, Qualot or Hondew berries will decrease certain EVs by 10 points. The different berries are as follows:
- Pomeg Berry - HP -10
- Kelpsy Berry - Attack -10
- Hondew Berry - Special Attack -10
- Qualot Berry - Defense -10
- Grepa Berry- Special Defense -10
- Tamato Berry - Speed -10
Different Ways to Raise EVs – Battling
The next method players can use to raise EVs is through battling wild Pokemon. Each Pokemon has a different EV yield assigned to them, ranging between one point to three points in certain stats. There are a variety of different held items that can Pokemon can hold while battling to increase the amount of EVs gained through battling. Those items are as follows:
- Macho Brace – EV gained x2, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Weight - HP gained+8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Bracer - Attack gained +8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Lens - Special Attack gained +8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Belt – Defense gained +8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Band - Special Defense gained +8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
- Power Anklet - Speed gained +8, Speed stat halved, Applicable w/ Pokerus
As readers will notice, the effects of these items are enhanced with something called ‘Pokerus.’ Pokerus is a fictional illness that Pokemon can contract in-game. It has a special status icon when a Pokemon is afflicted with it, though many players will often never notice or encounter Pokerus. Though it can spread to an entire party of Pokemon, Pokerus actually only serves to double EVs gained through battle, and has no negative effects whatsoever.
Different Ways to Raise EVs – PokeJobs
Lastly, the newly added PokeJob feature can actually be used to acquire EVs. PokeJobs require sending Pokemon out to certain jobs tailored to them, but one particular job can raise EVs pretty significantly. Sending Pokemon to study a given statistic at Hammerlocke University for an entire day can yield an incredible 96 EVs to a given stat. If a Pokemon is holding the corresponding held item mentioned above, the effects of that item will still apply.
Though the Pokemon will be gone from the player’s party for an entire day, getting a 96 effort values for zero effort is an incredible thing. With this brand new addition, sending Pokemon out on PokeJobs to gain EVs is probably the easiest way to increase EVs. Though they will be gone for an entire day, players won’t have to sit around or grind for their EVs.
As most veteran competitive Pokemon players can attest to, getting involved with competitive play is a daunting experience to say the least. Though this guide covered some ways to boost EVs, there are still the sister stat to think about, called IVs. Thankfully, Sword and Shield also allows players to check IVs, though that is an entirely different task for players to tackle.
Pokemon Sword and Shield are out now exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.