You’ve bred your perfect Pokémon with the moves, nature, ability and IVs of your careful choosing, but now you have to raise it properly.
That’s where Effort Values (EVs) come into play. By letting your Pokémon fight other species they become stronger in certain stats. How fast a certain stat rises will show as you level up compared to a Pokémon that is not EV trained.
What we have here is a rundown of the basics of EV Training and how Pokémon Sun And Moon changes how it’s done.
BASICS
Let’s start with the basics of EV training. As many veteran trainers know, every Pokémon is allowed 510 Effort Value points that will go into their overall stats. These points are based on what Pokémon you defeat. Each Pokémon in Sun and Moon has a specific amount in a given stat their EV points go toward.
For example: A Wingull gives 1 Speed point.
Each stat is allotted 252 EV points to max out a Pokemon’s potential in that particular stat. So, back to the Wingull, defeating 252 Wingull at 1 Speed point each will max out a particular Pokémon’s Speed stat.
Trainers can put all their EVs to max out two stats (leaving six EV points to put into something else) or they can mix and match to what they want.
To find out which Pokémon has which EV Point, Serebii has their Alola PokeDex filled out.
Trainers can check Pokémon’s EVs by going to your Pokémon’s summary and press Y to see where their EVs went to. This is similar to how Super Training showed it in ORAS.
ALLY CHAINING/SOS CHAINING
Unfortunately, Horde Battles are gone from Sun and Moon . This was the easiest and most efficient way to EV Train outside of Super Training. However, Sun and Moon brings a new mechanic to Pokémon battles. Pokémon in the wild can call on allies to help them. This mechanic not only gives more experience but it was found that the called upon Pokémon gives more EV points than normal.
This is ideal for trying to max out one particular stat, but not so much if you are carefully allocating EV points to different stats. Keep that in mind before beginning to Ally Chain.
Adrenaline Orbs are perfect for getting wild Pokémon to call for reinforcements. Normally, you’ll have to bring their health to under half but this way you can guarantee an Ally appearing for a low cost.
It should be noted that having the EXP Share on will give the EV points to the entire team so the desired Pokémon does not need to be in the front of the party to get the most out of your training.
Here are the prime EV Training spots for each stat:
HP - Maile City Outer Cap (Grimer)
Attack - Route 1 (Yungoose (day), Spinarak (night))
Defense - Route 12 (Geodude)
Special Attack - Hau'oli Cemetary (Gastly)
Special Defense - Route 2 (Drowzee)
Speed - Seaward Cave (Zubat)
ITEMS
Trainers can speed up the EV Training if they let the desired Pokémon hold the Macho Brace. The Macho Brace will double the amount of EV points earned in battle. So defeating the 1 EV point Wingull will give two instead.
The location of the Macho Brace in Sun and Moon is not yet known but we will update as soon as we learn more.
The Power Items mentioned in our Breeding Guide can also help with the EV Training. Attaching the right Power Item will give EV Points for the stat written in the description on top of the EV Points given from the Pokémon you defeated.
Here’s a list of the Power Items and what they do. You can find them in the Battle Royal Dome for 16 battle points.
Power Anklet - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s Speed stat to grow
Power Band - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s Sp. Def to grow
Power Belt - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s Defense to grow
Power Bracer - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s Attack to grow
Power Lens - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s Sp. Attack to grow
Power Weight - Reduces Speed but allows holder’s HP to grow
FESTIVAL PLAZA
In the Festival Plaza, there is a store that will let trainers enter special courses to raise their Pokemon's EVs. There are six courses (one for each stat) and each has seven different levels with the seventh level maxing out a certain EV with one use. However, you can only use this store once per day but you can have more than one of these stores if you desire.
Each course will cost Festival Coins to play, which you can earn by greeting new players in the Festival Plaza. Continue to log in to Festival Plaza to rack up on Festival Coins.
There's also an Effort Shop that lets you purchase food to raise your Pokemon's base stats. There are also food sets that can help you reset EVs if you want to start over.
You can also reset EVs using special berries.
Serebii has a list of the foods so you can check it out there.
POKE PELAGO
The Poke Pelago also has an option to EV train your Pokemon. By creating the Isle Evelup you can have up to six Pokemon train on the island from the PC.
Like all of the Poke Pelago islands, the duration and effectiveness of everything you do depends on the amount of PokeBeans you use. Each play session will take half an hour.
If you don't put PokéBeans out, then you will get four EVs every play session, so four every 30 minutes meaning to get 252 you'd need to have 63 sessions lasting 31 and a half hours.Using Poke Beans will speed up the process. Your Pokemon will get four EVs every 15 minutes, essentially halving the time you need to max a stat.
HYPER TRAINING
A brand new feature in Sun and Moon is Hyper Training. This doesn’t have a lot to do with EV Training but it affects your Pokémon’s IVs. Once a Pokémon reaches Level 100, you can exchange a Bottle Cap to manipulate its IVs to however you like.
Bottle Caps are not easily made available so choose wisely before using them to Hyper Train.
The Hyper Training can be located on Melemele Island in Hau’oli City Shopping Center.
But wait, there’s more! Check out our full list of Pokémon Sun And Moon Guides below:
How To Catch Every Legendary In Alola
Munchlax Distribution: How To Download Special Snorlax With Z-Crystal
Ash-Greninja Transfer: How To Bring Special Pokémon Over From Demo
Z-Crystal Locations: Where To Find What You Need To Unleash Unstoppable Attacks
Ability List: Every New Skill In The Game
Attacks List: Every New Move And Who Can Learn Them
Mega Stone List And Locations: When Can You Get Mega Evolution In Alola?
Breeding Guide: Everything You Need To Customize Your Perfect Pokémon
TM Locations: Every Move And Where To Find Them In Alola
Affection Guide: How To Raise Affection And Boost XP Gain With Pokémon Refresh
Ultra Beasts: Everything You Need To Know
Battle Tree: Rules, Scouting And Everything You Need To Know
Zygarde Cell Locations: How They Work And Where To Find Them
