EVs and Super Training in Pokémon X and Y

While playing through the base Pokémon game is an obvious way to level your Pokémon up to beat the base game, taking these Pokémon into the competitive battling scene will usually end in your defeat. Why is this? Your Pokémon and the opponent's are set to the same level in some fights and in some fights your Pokemon's level may even be higher, but why do you lose? Most likely it came down to the fact that their Pokémon have been EV trained while your Pokémon gained random EVs because they fought all kinds of Pokémon while venturing through the game.

EVs stands for Effort Values. Effort Values are the points your Pokémon gains when it defeats another Pokémon in battle. These points go towards each of the six stats: Health Points, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. While the points gained are not a direct point for point increase to their respective stats, they do cause the stats to be much higher in the end when obtained properly.

EVs have always been in the Pokémon games. The method for gaining EVs isn't all that different from grinding for levels. The major difference is to not just defeat any Pokémon that comes along. Each Pokémon in the game rewards a value of EVs when it is defeated. Some Pokémon give a single EV to a stat. These are usually the Pokémon found early on in the game. Pokémon found later in the game will reward larger bonuses to a single stat or may even have bonuses to multiple stats.

While the old method of EV training is alive and well in Pokémon X and Y, there are a few added bonuses. Pokémon X and Pokémon Y added a new type of wild Pokémon battles called Horde Battles. These Horde Battles are usually five of the same Pokémon attacking together in one battle against your one Pokémon. Defeating each of the Pokémon will gain the EVs that they offer, but clearing all five of them at once will reward a larger bonus. The other bonus that works well with this is to have your battling Pokémon hold an Exp Share. The Exp Share rewards the experience gained to all of your Pokémon. It also does a similar thing with the EV points rewarded. The bonus for clearing five Pokémon at once is good, but it becomes amazing when it is spread to all of the Pokémon in your party.

Super Training is the new addition in Pokémon X and Y that allows simple and focused training of EVs for each of your Pokémon. Super Training is a mini game in which your Pokémon fires balls at a target to gain points. The mini game is won when the target points have been reached. The mini game is lost when the time limit expires. Based on how quickly you reach the target score, a prize will be rewarded. These prizes range from training bags to evolutionary stones.

To gain access to Super Training simply look to the lower screen on your 3DS system. The default screen is usually the friend, acquaintance, and passerby lists page. From this screen, click the arrow in the top left corner that is pointing to the left side of the screen. This will immediately switch you over to the Super Training page. This page will have quite a lot on it.

• A green button in the bottom left that accesses Super Training
• A green button in the bottom right that allows the use of Training Bags
• A chart showing all of your Pokemon's stats
• A bar that fills as your Pokémon gains EVs
• An area in the top left that will light up to show when your Pokémon has reached maximum EVs
• An area in the top right that shows how your Pokemon's shots will be in Super Training

Clicking the green button in the bottom left of the page will take you into the actual Super Training mini games. To start training, simply pick a stat of your choice and the game will start.

The main goal is to fire attacks at the targets, but each mini game will be slightly different based on which stat was chosen. The differences range from balloons that float around to block your shots, a large wall that requires you to hit the moving target to destroy it, and the targets simply moving around making it harder to hit them.

Your Pokémon can have differences from each other in Super Training as well. Based on the picture on the Super Training page, your Pokemon's shots will fire differently.

• The ball being black will fire just a basic shot,
• The ball being blue will fire a small and low damage shot, but it will be fast
• The ball being green will fire a large and high damage shot, but it will be slow
• The ball being orange will fire the largest shot, but it is also the slowest
• The ball being yellow will fire multiple rapid shots when held down and releasing at the correct time will fire a single high power shot.

Clicking the green button in the bottom right of the page will allow you to use the training bags that I mentioned earlier. Using a training bag just means pressing the green button, selecting the bag, and then tapping it on the touch screen of the 3DS. After enough attacks, the bag will be used up and it's reward given.

These bags will either reward EVs to the stat that is in the name of the bag or give a different bonus. These different bonuses include double points scored in the next match of Super Training, half damage taken in the next match of Super Training, and even double EVs earned from a round of Super Training!

Training bags are gained as prizes from Super Training, but can also be gained from simply leaving the Super Training screen open as you play through the game. As you play, your Pokémon will hit the default bag. After so many hits, a different bag will be found by your Pokémon.

Besides gaining amazing stats for your Pokémon, Super Training can be used to earn really good items for use outside of Super Training. Some of these items are evolutionary stones. In the past, evolutionary stones have been rare, but Super Training allows for them to be farmed efficiently if you can reach the maximum score quickly enough.

Unfortunately you can't just start up Super Training and get evolutionary stones. Through training for EVs, you should have already unlocked the three different levels for EV training, but there are more Super Training levels and they're a secret. No really. They're called Secret Super Training and it is where you can earn the evolutionary stones.

First, you need to get a Pokémon to maximum EVs. Once all three training levels have been unlocked, the Pokémon that has maximum EVs will be able to access the Secret Super Training. Completing each Secret Super Training will unlock the next and each will have different rewards.

The way I like to go about EV training is to first breed a Pokémon that has the nature, moves, and maybe even IVs that I desire. I may write an article on how to do that, but I'm a bit clueless or at least unlucky as of yet.

I breed a Pokémon so it starts at level 1. I then immediately go into Super Training with that Pokémon. It's harder to do Super Training because the points you score are based on your stats and at level 1 they're at their lowest, but I do this for one reason. That reason is because once I have maximum EVs, I can go to a high level area and with the use of an Exp Share, power level that Pokémon up in levels. If I had not EV trained prior, whatever Pokémon I defeated would've potentially ruined the EVs of my Pokémon.

When you capture Pokémon they start with no EVs. If you are lucky enough to catch a Pokémon with a beneficial nature, immediately EV training will be easier because of it having higher stats because of its higher level. This is much easier than starting at level 1.

Choosing to call it Super Training was a great decision on Nintendo's part. Being a perfect way to fine tune a Pokemon's EVs and also a way to infinitely gain great items is as super of an addition that I can think to have come to the Pokémon games. While clearing hordes can be faster, the items from Secret Super Training should not be ignored. Many games add mini games in that offer no great benefit, but Pokémon did it right. It can still be a bit of a grind, but it's worth it if you want to competitive battle and I can't speak highly enough of the item rewards.