IVs and EVs

Polished Crystal has hybrid IV and EV mechanics mixed from the vanilla and Gen. III+.

IVs

IVs in Polished Crystal range from 0 to 15 and are stored for each of the six stats.

• IVs determine the type of Hidden Power.
• The game has an IVs vary color option that can be picked during new game preferences.
  • Note that these variations are different from Shiny Pokémon. Shiny Pokémon have an animation and a star-shaped icon as in FR/LG and later.
  • With this option turned on, IVs give subtle color variations for both Shiny and non-Shiny Pokémon. Perfect-IV Pokémon have no changes. The color variations are a complicated calculation so players can't predict IVs from the tints and shades. The option makes Pokémon feel more unique.
• IVs are independent from Shininess as in later Generations.

Hyper Training

Hyper Training is available at Celadon Hotel, a Gen. VII+ function that puts an IV modifier for a stat to be treated as if it had the highest. Give a Bottle Cap to Mr. Hyper staying there to have him Hyper Train a stat of your Pokémon. Polished Mr. Hyper no longer requires Lv. 100 and now trains the IVs of a stat of maxed (252) EVs.

EVs

EVs in Polished Crystal max out at 252 for each stat. Unlike the modern games, however, there are no limits to the total EVs; every Pokémon can max out all its EVs.

EV Grinding

Polished Crystal has the Power items and, as a QoL update, lets the EV boost apply to the Exp. Share holders as well. A Power item and five Exp. Shares is the fastest way to raise EVs. Each species has an EV yield as expected (ev_yield). EV grinding isn't necessary in a regular playthrough but should be used for Polished Battle Tower challenges.

EV Training Spots

Wild Encounters (Pre-E4)

• HP: Surf in the water behind the counter in Cliff Edge Gate to encounter only Wooper and Quagsire.
• Attack: Unown in the Ruins of Alph give both Atk and Sp. Atk EVs.
• Defense: Walk in the grass at Route 45, with a 100% chance of gaining Defense EVs at night and 90% during the day. Most caves have a high chance as well, e.g. Victory Road with 80–90% (along with good EXP). Use multi-hit moves or Mold Breaker to handle the Sturdy Ability.
• Special Attack: Unown in the Ruins of Alph.
• Special Defense: Surf at either New Bark Town, Cherrygrove City or Olivine Port to encounter only Tentacool and Tentacruel.
• Speed: Surf at Blackthorn City to encounter only Magikarp. Alternatively, spam Old Rod or Good Rod at most towns to encounter only Magikarp and Poliwag.

Special Rematches (Post-game)

The special Trainers who give you a copy of the Power items will go to Battle Tower 2F for post-game rematches. They all feature the corresponding stat, though with some exceptions:

• Cheryl: HP +17
• Riley: Atk +18
• Buck: Def +14
• Mira: SpAtk +18
• Anabel: HP +2, SpDef +14
• Marley: Atk +2, Spe +13

Note: Their parties are commented as TODO and subject to change.

Power Item List

Item	Stat	Guest	Location
Power Weight	HP	Cheryl	Murky Swamp
Power Bracer	Atk	Riley	Dim Cave
Power Belt	Def	Buck	Cinnabar Volcano
Power Lens	SpAtk	Mira	Scary Cave
Power Band	SpDef	Anabel	Noisy Forest
Power Anklet	Spe	Marley	Quiet Cave

Trivia

• IVs in Gen. I and II have a different mechanics with more roles than in later Generations and are more commonly referred to as "determinant values" (DVs). The term "DV(s)" often appears in the code of Polished Crystal as the mechanics is hybrid.
  • e.g. DVs determined Shininess, and a Shiny Ditto in breeding gave a 1/64 chance of Shiny offspring (Gen. II Shiny breeding).
• The Power items + Exp. Share combo used to be an oversight but has become a feature of the game.