Last time in Part 1 of my Pokémon Training Guide, I explained how a Pokémon’s Individual Values played a key role in its 6 stats, which in turn determined how much damage a certain Pokémon dealt or received. Now, I’m going to expand upon that idea, and introduce a brand new factor which could substantially turn the tide of a battle!
Effort Values:
When Pokémon Ruby and Pokémon Sapphire were released for the Gameboy Advance in 2003, few people knew about a hidden feature included in both games – something which drastically improved one’s chances at winning in a battle. Normally, when your Pokémon levels up, all of its stats will either increase by 1, 2, 3, or not at all. But there is a way to have your level-up summary show, for example, HP +63 instead of HP +3, for a particular level.
This method is known as “Effort Value” training. Nintendo wanted to introduce a feature for the hard-core Pokémon fans that would make training their Pokémon all the more worthwhile. Every Pokémon in the game was given 1 or more pre-set Effort Values corresponding to 1 or more of a Pokémon’s stats. As an example, all Magikarp have 1 Speed Effort Value. And all Darkrai have 1 Speed Effort Value AND 2 Special Attack Effort Values. Every time you defeat a certain Pokémon (except in multiplayer and in the game’s Battle Tower), its Effort Value points get added to whichever of your Pokémon took part in knocking it out.
Maximizing Effort Values:
Any Pokémon that you train can have a maximum of 510 Effort Values in total, with a maximum of 255 Effort Values in each of its 6 stats, but there’s no physical representation of Effort Values, meaning you have to keep track of them yourself. You can do this by keeping tally in programs such as Microsoft Word or by simply using a pen and paper. Using this information, we know that 255 Effort Values x 2 Stats = 510 Effort Values Total.
In other words, since each of your Pokémon’s 6 stats can have a maximum of 255 Effort Values, and no Pokémon can have more than 510 Effort Values in total, you can only maximize 2 of your Pokémon’s stats, so you need to choose wisely.
But which Pokémon have which Effort Values and what do they do as far as raising your stats?
Pokémon Effort Values and Stat Raising:
As far as determining which Pokémon you need to defeat in order to obtain certain Effort Values, http://www.serebii.net/pokedex-dp/ is the place you should visit. Simply use their Pokédex system to search a particular Pokémon, then scroll to the bottom of the page and take a look at the column in the chart that says, “Effort Points from Battling It”, right above the “Egg Groups” chart.
Now, for every 4 Effort Values you gain in 1 stat, that particular stat will increase by 1 point when you level up. For example, if my Pikachu is at Lv.25 and has 60 HP, and would normally have 61 HP at Lv.26, then by gaining 4 HP Effort Values, when I level up my Pikachu, it’s HP would become 62 instead.
Since 255 Effort Values per Stat ÷ 4 Effort Values per +1 Increase in that Stat = 63 (rounded down from 63.75), it is possible, depending on your Individual Value, Nature and Base Value, to obtain a stat increase of +63 for one level (we’ll talk more about these other topics in Part 3).
Effort Value training results in a huge advantage for your Pokémon, since it could mean a difference of as much as 100 points in your stats when compared to the same Pokémon that hasn’t been Effort Value trained. For example, at Lv.100, a Lugia with a Special Attack of 300 would inflict tons more damage than a Lugia with a Special Attack of 200.
Gaining Effort Values:
So, if I want my Pikachu to get maximum speed, I need to gain 255 Speed Effort Values. Since each Magikarp only gives 1 Speed Effort Value, well…you do the math. I would have to battle 255 Magikarps – kind of tedious, isn’t it? Well, on average, battling 255 Pokémon takes approximately 2 and 1/2 hours, even if you knocked each one out with only 1 hit.
Fortunately, there are some ways to speed up the process…
Pokérus:
This is a Pokémon disease which can be obtained by defeating or catching a wild Pokémon who already has it. Although it is extremely rare, if your Pokémon does happen to become infected with this virus, it’ll double the amount of Effort Values you get in training. Following the example above, each Magikarp would give 2 Speed Effort Values instead of just 1, cutting down the number of Magikarp I’d need to defeat from 255 to only 128.
Unfortunately, since the odds of catching/defeating a Pokémon with Pokérus are about as slim as finding a shiny Pokémon, don’t count on getting it any time soon.
