Anjoola's Website Pokémon Guides IVs and Breeding
 

What exactly are IVs? Well, for starters, they stand for Individual Values. They may seem similar to EVs (Effort Values), but these are two different animals. While EVs are something that can be changed (click here for more information), IVs are numbers that are set once a Pokémon is made. In other words, you can never change these values while training your Pokémon! Furthermore, IVs are essential to a Pokémon's stats, and they determine how strong Pokémon are.

Introduction Back to Top
 
Have you ever caught two of the same Pokémon at the same level? Chances are, if you checked their stats, they would be different, even if the Pokémon themselves were identical in their level, gender, and experience. Why is this so? Well, it's all because of IVs (Individual Values). Basically, IVs are a way of comparing your Pokémon with other Pokémon, and they are essential numbers that any expert Pokémon trainer should know about. So without further ado, let's learn about IVs!
 

 
There is only a 1 in 32 chance of getting one perfect IV, so really, you only have a 1 in 1,073,741,824 chance of getting a perfect Pokémon. Not only do IVs determine strength, but also affect the power and type a Pokémon's Hidden Power is. To learn more about Hidden Power, please click here!

 
You may be thinking, how can you get an untrained Pokémon at a high level? Well, all you need to do is have a ton of Rare Candies to level the Pokémon up. Since the Pokémon didn't fight in any battles, it will not gain any EVs, only levels. So stock up on those Rare Candies, because they are great tools to use when determining IVs!

When you breed a Pokémon, it inherits three IVs from its parents, and the rest are randomly generated. This is mainly why good Pokémon are usually hatched from eggs, as its IVs can be made to be really high. How these IVs are chosen is as follows:

1. An IV in any stat from either parent is chosen.

2. An IV in any stat except HP from either parent is chosen.

3. An IV in any stat except HP and Defense is chosen.

4. The remaining stats are chosen at random.

As can be seen, having good parents will enable a Pokémon egg to have good IVs. The problem is, it's hard to find parents with good IVs that can be bred with each other. The solution? Use Dittos!
 
The first step is to catch as many Dittos as you can, because the more you catch, the better chance you have at getting a good one! Of course, you need to check the IVs of the Dittos before you can breed them with other Pokémon. To check them, use the same methods as mentioned in the Checking IVs section.
 

Find the Dittos with good IVs and release the ones you don't need. Remember, the Dittos don't have to be perfect in every stat; a perfect in one stat is enough to breed with.
 
If you are really picky, then you should also find a Ditto with the right nature. This may take a while to have both the correct nature and stats, but at the end, it will pay off, as you can use that Ditto for a long time.

 
Now, put the good Ditto and the Pokémon you want in a Daycare Center, and breed away! If you don't know how to breed, click here for a guide. Make many eggs and hatch them until you get the right Pokémon (and remember to check their IVs before releasing them). If you are lucky, the good IV of the Ditto you breed with will be passed down to one of the eggs. This will take many tries, so be patient.

Advanced IV Breeding Back to Top
 
If you really are the hardcore Pokémon trainer, this is something that you should know. Knowing that you have slim chance of passing a good IV down from a Ditto, it is possible to pass down multiple IVs. For example, if you breed a Pokémon with Ditto and an egg comes out with a perfect IV, you can use this egg to breed even more. You need to capture multiple Dittos, preferably of the nature you want, and each Ditto should have perfect IVs in different stats.
  

  
Continue this process so that you have a female Bulbasaur with three perfect stats, and a male Bulbasaur with three other perfect stats (ones that the female Bulbasaur does not have). Now, you are set to breed to perfection! Simply breed the male and female Bulbasaur together, and with luck, a perfect Bulbasaur will come out with 31 IVs in every stat!
 
Note: The female Bulbasaur (the sample Pokémon) must have the nature you want. This can be made easier by having the female hold an Everstone.

Characteristics are small messages found on the status pages of Pokémon in the Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, Platinum, HeartGold, and SoulSilver games.
 
Each characteristic describes a Pokémon's IV in a particular stat, but there are many different IVs associated with a characteristic. The only way to determine the Pokémon's IVs is by calculator. However, the characteristics do tell you your Pokémon's strengths.