Some very important items essential to EV training in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (Image via Game Freak)

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: How to EV train each stat in-game

Timeless

Trainers seeking to EV train in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet should know that the whole process is very accessible in these two games. For those who don't know, EV is an abbreviation of Effort Value. You primarily get Effort Values by defeating other Pokemon, with the exact amount varying from one species to another.

How many EVs influence your Pokemon's stats varies from one level to another. For example, a Pokemon at Level 100 will get one stat per four Effort Values allocated to it, meaning that you could potentially add 63 points to any given stat since the cap is 255 EVs. 4 EVs equals one stat point, so it's only useful to get 252 EVs if you want to max out a stat.

The overall cap is 510 EVs, which is why some builds often have 252/252/4 since that's easy to do.

How to EV Train each stat in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

You can buy all the Power items at Delibird Presents (Image via Game Freak)

Here are some important notes on EV training in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet:

Pokérus doesn't exist like it used to, so it's irrelevant to this guide.
The Let's Go feature doesn't give you any Effort Values, so avoid using it if you wish to EV train.
All Power items are available at the start of the game, and you can purchase them at Delibird Presents for ₽10,000.

All Power items give you +8 Effort Values. Since all Pokemon drop somewhere between 1 to 3 Effort Values in a stat, that +8 bonus is extremely important. It is strongly recommended to get at least one Power item for each stat. The following items boost these Effort Values:

Power Weight: HP
Power Bracer: Attack
Power Belt: Defense
Power Lens: Sp. Atk
Power Band: Sp. Def
Power Anklet: Speed

Alternatively, you can purchase vitamins that give you +10 Effort Values in a single stat. You need at least three Gym Badges to buy them for ₽10,000 each at Chansey Supply:

HP Up: HP
Protein: Attack
Iron: Defense
Calcium: Sp. Atk
Zinc: Sp. Def
Carbos: Speed

You can use vitamins to reach the 252 limit, but that would cost you ₽260,000. The rest of this Scarlet and Violet guide will focus on who you should fight to save money.

HP (farming Azurill, Lechonk, and Paldean Wooper)

The red circle here shows an easy-to-farm area featuring several weak foes that give you HP Effort Values (Image via Game Freak)

The easiest option for EV training HP is by defeating Azurill, Lechonk, and Paldean Wooper. Each of them gives you one Effort Value in HP. If you have the Power Weight on, defeating any one of them provides you +9 HP. You only have to defeat 28 Azurills, Lechonks, or Paldean Woopers if you use a Power Weight as the held item.

The reason why these three are recommended is because the area featuring all three foes is available at the beginning of the game. That means they're incredibly low-leveled, so defeating 28 of them will be a breeze.

Attack (farming Flamigo)

You will find weak Flamigos here (Image via Game Freak)

Another easy area to EV train in is the area that is close to the previous location. This time, you're looking for Flamigo, who is near Level 10 in the area marked by the circle. They drop two Attack Effort Values, so having a Power Bracer boosts that to +10 Attack.

That means you are required to defeat 26 Flamigos to max out Attack if you use Power Bracer as a held item.

Defense (farming Tarountula)

The low-leveled Tarountulas are located within the red circle here (Image via Game Freak)

Tarountula drops 1 Defense Effort Value when it is defeated in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Using a Power Belt increases that up to +9, meaning that you only have to defeat 28 Tarountulas to fully EV train Defense.

They're very easy to spot at the beginning of the game, so you should have no issue knocking them out.

Sp. Atk (farming Psyduck)

The Psyducks here are super easy to beat (Image via Game Freak)

Psyduck drops one Sp. Attack Effort Value when it's defeated. You only have to beat 28 of them with a Power Lens on your Pokemon to fully EV train its Sp. Attack in Scarlet and Violet.

The river at the beginning of the game has plenty of them, so you can start there if you are unable to find them in their other common spots.

Sp. Def (farming Spoink)

Spoink is what you're looking for here (Image via Game Freak)

Spoink drops one Sp. Def Effort Value upon being defeated in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Give your Pokemon a Power Band, and it will only have to defeat 28 of them to max out its Sp. Def. Spoink is a little higher-leveled than the previous EV training locations, but it's still very low-leveled in this region.

Speed (farming Rookiedee and Fletchling)

The red circle shows an overlap between Fletchling and Rookidee (Image via Game Freak)

A location with two weak Flying-types can be found to the east of Mesagoza. Both Rookidee and Fletchling drop one Speed Effort Value upon being defeated. Hence, you can make a Pokemon hold a Power Anklet and defeat 28 of them to fully EV train their Speed.

How to reduce EVs in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

It's possible to make mistakes while EV training. Perhaps a Pokemon you used on your casual run through either game has Effort Values all over the place, making them less efficient than a more specialized build. However, that's not a problem since you can give them certain berries that reduce their Effort Values.

Here is a list of those berries and the stats they reduce:

Pomeg Berry: HP
Kelpsy Berry: Attack
Qualot Berry: Defense
Hondew Berry: Sp. Atk
Grepa Berry: Sp. Def
Tamato Berry: Speed

These berries are useful for EV training since they reduce the user's Effort Values by ten in their respective stat. For example, Pomeg Berry gives you -10 HP, Kelpsy Berry gives you -10 Attack, etc.

Edited by
Siddharth Satish