Individual values

IV redirects here. For fourth generation of Pokémon releases, see Generation IV.

Individual values, also known as determinant values (both often shortened, respectively, to IVs and DVs), are the Pokémon analogue to genes. They are instrumental in determining the differing stats of Pokémon, most specifically of the same species.

Overview

There are six IVs, one for each of the basic stats: HP, Attack, Defense, Speed, Special Attack and Special Defense. In Generations I and II, only four IVs were stored: Special Attack and Special Defence shared an IV, and the HP IV was calculated from the Attack, Defense, Speed and Special IVs.

Differences between generations

Generation I

During Generation I games, IVs can be any number from 0 to 15 (binary: 0000-1111) inclusive in each stat, determined randomly when a wild Pokémon is first encountered. Four IVs are stored: Attack, Defense, Speed and Special. The HP IV is calculated by taking the last bit from each of the other IVs. Or, to look at it another way:

• If a Pokémon has an odd number for its Attack IV, 8 is added to the HP IV.
• If a Pokémon has an odd number for its Defense IV, 4 is added to the HP IV.
• If a Pokémon has an odd number for its Speed IV, 2 is added to the HP IV.
• If a Pokémon has an odd number for its Special IV, 1 is added to the HP IV.

IVs for all stats except HP can be determined by a player first by determining the maximum and minimum possible stats, then finding how far off the stat on a specific Pokémon happens to be (at level 100). For every two points off from the maximum the stat is, the IV is one lower, meaning one Pokémon with an IV of 0 and another Pokémon of the same species with an IV of 15 in the same stat will have a difference in that stat of 30 points. For example, Dragonite has a maximum Attack stat of 366 at level 100, and a player has a level 100 Dragonite with 360 Attack. Since the stat is 6 off, the Dragonite's Attack IV is 12.

Generation II

In Generation II, IVs worked the same as Generation I for backwards compatibility purposes. In addition, IVs were used to calculate a Pokémon's gender (if it had one), the type and power of Hidden Power, and whether or not it was a Template:Shiny2 Pokémon. Although Generation II divided the Special stat into Special Attack and Special Defense, both continued to share an IV.

Gender

Gender is determined by the Pokémon's Attack IV, with the higher IVs making for a male Pokémon, and lower ones making for a female. A female Typhlosion, whose species has a gender ratio of 7♂:1♀, can have only 0 or 1 as her Attack IV, while a female Golduck, whose species has a gender ratio of 1♂:1♀, can have an Attack IV of any value from 0-7.

Shiny

A Pokémon will be shiny if the second least significant bit of its Attack IV in binary is 1, and its Defense, Speed and Special IVs are equal to 10 (binary 1010). In other words, a shing Pokémon will have these stats:

• Attack: 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, or 15
• Defense: 10
• Speed: 10
• Special: 10
• HP: 0 (if Attack even) or 8 (if Attack odd)

Because the HP IV is calculated from whether the other IVs are even or odd, it will always be 0 or 8 on a shiny Pokémon, depending whether the Attack IV is even or odd.

Due to this constricted set of IV values for a shiny Pokémon, any shiny Pokémon that knowns Hidden Power in Generation II will use it as a Template:Type2 or Template:Type2 move.

Generation III

The system was completely overhauled in Generation III, with IVs now ranging from 0-31 (binary: 00000-11111) in each stat. For each Pokémon, they are stored as a packed bitfield and take up a doubleword and are thus harder to change individually by cheating.

HP now has its own value while alternate coloration and gender are now determined by the newly-introduced personality value instead of a calculation made on the other values. All that remains dependent on IVs besides the stats themselves is the type and power of Hidden Power.

In Pokémon Emerald, there is an elderly man in the house north of the Pokémon Center in the Battle Frontier. He will examine a Pokémon in the player's party and give information about the Pokémon's IVs, revealing which of its IVs is the highest.

Generation IV

As Generation II remained similar to Generation I, Generation IV remains much the same as Generation III. Still, two bits in the doublewords switched their positions:

A small blurb about a Pokémon's Personality has been added to the Trainer Memo. These are actually indicative of the Pokémon's IVs; a Pokémon that is "Proud of its Power" has its highest IV in Attack, a Pokémon that "Likes to run" has its highest IV in Speed, and so on.

See also

• EVs
• Pokémon data structure:
  • in GB games
  • in GBC games
  • in GBA games
  • in DS games

External links

• IV calculator at veekun.com