10 Genius Hidden Mechanics In Video Games
8. IVs & EVs Are Secret Pokémon Stat Values - Pokémon
Even long-time Pokémon fans might be dismayed by IVs and EVs, the secret values which determine the strength of your Pokémon.
IVs are Individual Values, hidden attributes applied to each Pokémon when they're caught, which determines how high or low their base stats can go, typically between 0 and 31.
IVs can't ever be seen in-game and must be manually calculated using the Pokémon's known stats, or you'll more likely use an online calculator to do the job for you.
By breeding two Pokémon with high IVs for a given trait, you can effectively engineer the creation of immensely powerful Pokémon. Basically, IVs are the Pokémon version of genes.
EVs are meanwhile Effort Values, hidden stats which can be obtained by defeating certain Pokémon in battle.
Winning a battle will earn you an EV point, and four EV points will grant you one extra stat point, while you can also feed your Pokémon Vitamins to further boost their EVs. In total, you can obtain 510 EV points for a Pokémon.
It might sound like a bit of a headache, but for anyone sufficiently invested in the Pokémon meta or keen to get into the competitive scene, IVs and EVs are an absolutely vital part of the process.