Welcome to my short guide on Individual Values. I hope to cover all of the basics and main points in a simplistic and understandable manner. If you have any questions just post them and either myself or another of your guild mates will answer it for you.
What are IV's?
Individual values, IVs for short, sometimes also known as determinant values, DVs for short, are the Pokémon equivalent of genes. They are instrumental in determining the stats of a Pokémon, being responsible for the large variation in stats among untrained Pokémon of the same species.
Each of the six battle stats has an IV associated with it that are determined when a Pokemon is generated by the game (examples are when it is obtained as an egg from the Day Care, encountered in the wild, or given to the player by an NPC).
IVs are ranked on a Scale of 0 to 31.
0 being the lowest possible IV for a Pokemon of that species.
31 being the highest.
As an example, my Charizard is battling Jerzziboi's Charizard. They both have been max EV trained in speed. One would expect them to be the same in speed. This is where IV's come in. My Charizard is faster because it had higher IV's in speed. To put it simply, my Charmander was born faster than his. Keep in mind that 31 speed IV's for a Slowpoke is not the same as 31 Speed IV's for a Jolteon. It's more of a measure of potential for that particular species, and as such cannot be directly compared with the IV's of another species.
How does it affect stats?
When stats are calculated there are 4 things taken into account. IV's, EV's, Natures, and Base Stats.
(Don't really know the formulas for calculation, it's not really needed for this explaination anyway.)
You can't manipulate base stats at all, that is decided by a Pokemon's species.
EV's can be directly manipulated through training and Items (Such as certain berrys and vitamins)
Natures and IV's can only partially be controlled at the point of birth.
It is also worth mentioning that the attack "Hidden Power" is directly connected to a Pokemon's IV's. There is a formula that uses a Pokemon's IV's in order to determine Hidden Power's Type, and Power. This can be found using the calculator linked at the end of this guide. The type of your Pokemon's Hidden Power can be determined in game, but the power cannot. If you are playing HeartGold or SoulSilver this can be determined by speaking to a man in the Celadon City game corner's prize room. In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, this can be determined by speaking to a man in Veilstone City's game corner prize exchange room.
The only way to check IV's in game is either the man in battle tower (He only gives you the average of your Pokemon's "potential" and tells you there best IV), or by checking the characteristics of your Pokemon's personality listed on the stat screen. Click here for a short list of characteristics and their meanings.
How do I breed for IV's?
Getting good IV's at birth is much like getting a desired nature. However, unlike natures, IV's cannot be checked accurately at birth. They can only be checked accurately at higher levels. If you have a Pokemon that you know has good IV's in a particular stat, then you can have it hold the power training item (Power Band, Power Anklet, ect.) that corresponds to that stat in order to pass on those IV's to their offspring. In this way you can pass on the IV's of two separate stats through the two parents.
Click here to go to the IV/Stat calculator I frequently use.
Well, I think I covered everything; hope that helps you out. If you don't understand anything just ask, I'll be happy to help.
