Forum Thread

Today's lesson focuses on base stats.
Base stats, more commonly known among fans as effort values, or EVs, are special stats that affect an individual Pokémon. There are base stats for HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed.
Base stats can range from 0 to 252 per stat and can only go up to 510 total. Training to get specific base stats is considered a necessity for anyone hoping to win competitively. At level 100 (the highest level in the official games, for those of you who may have thought that Pokémon levels have no limit because of PokéHeroes), every four points in a given base stat add one point to the actual stat value that is used in battle and shown on the summary. Any further points are unnecessary. Since stats are scaled based on level, this means that at level 50, eight points are needed in a base stat.
There are many ways to hone a Pokémon’s base stats in specific categories:
• When a Pokémon owned by an NPC trainer or found in the wild is defeated, the one who defeated it will earn base stat points that correspond to the defeated Pokémon’s species. Sunkern, for example, gives 1 Special Attack point; Darkrai gives 2 Special Attack and 1 Speed. If a Pokémon is holding an item with Power in its name (Power Anklet, for example), it will also gain 4 points per defeated Pokémon in another stat, depending on the item. The fastest method of base stat training is to use Sweet Scent (not Honey, as that is limited in stock) to force horde encounters, use a move that hits all five enemies, and defeat all five at once, giving you 20 points in the stat of the held item in addition to all of the points the Pokémon would usually give. Even so, make sure that you flee from all hordes that will give undesired base stat points. Training a Pokémon for specific base stats requires great precision, so even just a few points in the wrong stat can potentially decide a match! PokéRus is also recommended for this method, but that will be explained later in the lesson.
• One of the options for the touch screen in X and Y is the Super Training menu. Using Super Training, you can play mini games to train your Pokémon in exact base stats. You can also see a meter that shows approximately how many base stat points your Pokémon has in each base stat. Unfortunately, Super Training is EXTREMELY complicated by itself, so further detail will be saved for a future lesson.
• Various items will also increase your Pokémon’s base stats: Calcium raises Special Attack, Iron raises Defense, Protein raises Attack, Zinc raises Special Defense, Carbos raises Speed, and HP Up raises HP. Each will increase the associated stat by 10 points, but cannot be used if the Pokémon has a total of 100 or more points in that stat, or has reached the maximum number of total points. Wings (Health for HP, Muscle for Attack, Resist for Defense, Genius for Special Attack, Clever for Special Defense, and Swift for Speed) also add points to base stats; unlike the Vitamins, however, each one will add only one point. On the plus side, there is no limit to how many Wings can be used (until, of course, the Pokémon has completely maxed base stats), unlike Vitamins, which can only be used until the Pokémon has 100 points in a stat.
Base stats can be reset completely using Reset Bags, found rarely when Super Training (more on this in the upcoming Super Training article), or Perilous Soup, received at the Lumiose Juice Shoppe when using a Maranga Berry and a Kee Berry. They can also be lowered by 10 points using Pomeg (HP), Kelpsy (Attack), Qualot (Defense), Hondew (Special Attack), Grepa (Special Defense), and Tamato (Speed) Berries. When a Pokémon is already fully trained and cannot gain any further base stat points, resetting or reducing its base stats can be helpful to remove the unneeded points while making room to add needed points.
The next thing that I will explain is PokéRus, a beneficial virus that affects base stats. In the wild, finding a Pokémon with PokéRus is even rarer than finding a Shiny Pokémon. However, PokéRus is contagious (as you battle with a PokéRus-infected Pokémon, the virus may spread to the other Pokémon in your party), so many trainers infect their Pokémon with it before trading them to assist their trade partners. PokéRus’ effect is extremely helpful to trainers – it doubles the base stat increases earned from battling (see the first bullet point). The virus itself is entirely beneficial, but trainers with it must be careful – every night, at midnight, the virus may be cured. The Pokémon that had the virus does retain its effects after being cured, but PokéRus is no longer possible to spread. Fortunately, a Pokémon in the PC will not be cured, so trainers need only keep at least one infected Pokémon in the PC in order to infect their other Pokémon as needed. When using the horde encounter method of base stat training, PokéRus is highly recommended – since, as stated, most trainers infect traded Pokémon, it should be relatively easy to acquire a Pokémon to spread it with.
Though base stats aren’t the simplest of things, it can still be said that they are relatively easy to understand, and once you get the hang of it, you should be able to train a Pokémon in no time!

Added note: This is one of the lessons that will be a part of this month’s battle tournament exam, for those of you who have X or Y.

Held Items

In a competitive battle no matter how hard you train, fight, strategize, or cheat, it will come down to Held items to decide the victor. Held items can be incorporated into battle in a number of ways such as: Healing HP, Boosting Stats, Stopping Moves, Causing Status effects, or Boosting Accuracy. This list shows some of the major held items used in competitive battle:
Healing Items:

Leftovers: Gradually Heals Pokemon after taking damage. Heals Slow but lasts forever.
Black Sludge: Works Similar to Leftovers however only works if held by Poison Type. Any other type will get damaged by it every turn.
Shell Bell: The Shell Bell is interesting, it heals by one eighth of the damage dealt every time you attack.

Negative Effect Items:

Flame Orb: This Item will burn the Pokemon holding it after the first turn of battle.
Toxic Orb: This item will poison the Pokemon holding it after the first turn of battle.
Sticky Barb: This Item will damage the Pokemon holding it, every turn. However if the opponent is holding no item, and uses a Physical Move against the Pokemon holding this item, the opponent will take damage.
Iron Ball: This "wonderful" item halves your speed, and makes the Flying Type Pokemon able to be hit by ground type moves.
Ring Target: Makes Pokemon holding it able to be hit by moves that couldn't hit it before due to typing.

Power Up Items:

Assault Vest: Boosts Special Defense by 50%however if a Pokemon wears it, they can't use Status Moves.
Expert Belt: Boosts Super Effective moves by 20%.
Life Orb: The Life Orb boosts all attacks by 30% However, it makes you takes damage for using it.
Muscle Band: Boosts Physical Moves Power by 10%.
Scope Lens: Boosts Critical Hit Ratio.
Wide Lens: Boosts a moves accuracy by 10%.
Wise Glasses: Boosts Special Moves by 10%.
Zoom Lens: Boosts Accuracy by 20% Only if Holder is slower then target.

Most Used Items:

Leftovers: Gradually Heals Pokemon after taking damage. Heals Slow but lasts forever.
Life Orb: The Life Orb boosts all attacks by 30% However, it makes you takes damage for using it.
Focus Sash: If Holder is hit by a move that will 1 hit KO it, the Holder will be left with 1HP. Fissure, Guillotine, Sheer Cold, and Horn Drill will not effect Pokemon holding this item.

*These Items are the Most effective and used in battle not all items are listed, also all items descriptions have been simplified, to view all items use this link.

Using Items in a strategy:
Healing Items: Healing Items are mainly used for strong Pokemon with high HP, Defense, or Special Defense. They will heal your Pokemon keeping them in the battle for longer causing more damage

Power Up Items: These Items are used for Pokemon who don't have a Item in general, give your Pokemon these items to boost it's best stats

Negative Effect Items: These Items are tricky, they damage whoever is holding them. These items are used for Pokemon who know the move, Trick or Switcheroo. These moves switch items between the opponent and user, giving the opponent your Item. However sometimes these items can be foiled by an ability and moves like: Guts, Marvel Scale, Quick Feet, and Facade.

Well that's basically it, class is over

1) What is one item in which a Key Stone is known to be held? (For example, Mega Ring. Mega Ring cannot be answered because it was already said here.)
2) Which Mega Stone is used to Mega Evolve Ampharos? Answered! It is Ampharosite.
3) What is the name of one Key Stone holder? (The player has one, but please only give an NPC.)

LESSON I
Today's lesson focuses on Mega Evolution!
Mega Evolution is a special kind of form change, previously thought to occur only in the Kalos region (indeed, the first Mega Evolution ever, that of a Mega Lucario, did take place in Kalos). As it turns out, some trainers in the Hoenn have also begun using Mega Evolution as well. The reason for their ability to Mega Evolve is currently unknown.
Mega Evolution can only occur in battle, and a Mega Pokémon will return to its original state after a battle. Additionally, it requires that the Pokémon holds a special Mega Stone, depending on its species (for example, Lucario needs a Lucarionite, while an Ampharos needs an Ampharosite), and that the trainer holds a Key Stone, which is usually contained in something else (such as a Mega Ring, Mega Glove, Mega Charm, Mega Bracelet, or Mega Stickpin). Curiously, only one Mega Evolution can occur in a battle. It is possible that the Key Stone only has enough energy to cause one Mega Evolution per battle.
Mega Evolution was researched by Professor Sycamore of the Kalos region, by his pupils Serena, Calem, Tierno, and Trevor, and by Steven Stone of the Hoenn Region. Known Key Stone bearers are Serena, Calem, Korrina, Korrina’s grandfather, Lysandre, and Diantha of the Kalos region, and Brendan, May, and Steven of the Hoenn region.
Competitively, Mega Evolution can be very helpful, as it amplifies a Pokémon’s stats greatly, but a few quirks are particularly interesting to note:
• If a Mega Pokémon’s Speed changes as a result of the transformation, the Speed alteration will not occur until the turn after it Mega Evolves. For example, the usually-fast Garchomp is much slower as a Mega Pokémon, but it retains its Speed upon Mega Evolving. Similarly, Mega Banette has the Ability Prankster, which increases the priority of its status moves by one stage, but only the turn after it Mega Evolves. A Banette’s status moves do not have increased priority on the turn that it Mega Evolves.
• While some Mega Pokémon, such as Mega Ampharos, retain their usual fighting style and stat spread, others, such as Mega Scizor and Mega Diancie, rely on completely different strategies (for example, Mega Diancie’s Attack, Special Attack, and Speed become so high that its Defense and Special Defense are lowered to make up for it – a huge contrast to normal Diancie, which is primarily slow and defensive!). In these cases, the total stat boosts can be said to simply make up for the lack of the ability to hold an item other than the Mega Stone.
• Some Mega Pokémon have two Mega forms – specifically, Charizard and Mewtwo have both X forms and Y forms. In these cases, interestingly, both X forms change type and switch focus from Special to Physical, while both Y forms stay the same type and keep their focus on Special.
• Since Mega Evolution requires that a Mega Stone is held, it is not possible to hold another item, such as the popular Life Orb or Choice items. As a result, some Mega Evolutions are looked down upon, as a Pokémon of the same species with a Life Orb or Choice item will effectively have much higher stats, with the downside of having whatever negative effect the item has but the upside of giving another Pokémon in the team the ability to Mega Evolve.
• From what is known of Primal Reversion, it seems that Primal Reversion and Mega Evolution are quite similar. Both are form changes that occur only in battle, and both have the potential to change a Pokémon’s type, stats, size, and (possibly) Ability.
In conclusion, it can be said that Mega Evolution is a very interesting strategic element to competitive battling, with both upsides and downsides. I highly recommend trying out a Mega Evolution and deciding for yourself what to do!

Edit for clarification: Today's questions are to gauge how much you already know, as it is the first day. Future questions will be possible to answer based on lessons.
1) How many base stat increases may a Pokémon have in total? (Base stat is the official term for effort value, not to be confused with the unofficial term base stat that refers to the stat spread of a given species.) The only answer has been given. The answer was 510.
2) How many base stat increases may a Pokémon have in a specific stat, as of Pokémon X and Y Versions? The only answer has been given. The answer was 252.
3) What is one Pokémon that is part Fairy-type?

1) All PokéHeroes rules apply!
2) Absolutely no cursing whatsoever!
3) Don't make fun of people for having low grades. This is a club to get better, not to just pop in and know everything - if you're all-knowing, then why are you here to begin with?
4) Remove the "Favorite Pokémon" part of the form. It's only there to see if you read the rules. :p
5) Don't rush me to get new lessons/questions up. I do this in my free time, and sometimes I don't have enough free time to do it.
6) I reserve the right to reject any applicant for any reason. For example, if I know that a given person will be mean or rude to the other members, or if they are someone who I believe is likely to break the rules and unnecessarily troll, I may simply reject their application to save the Trainer's School from that kind of unnecessary drama.
7) I reserve the right to modify these rules at any time.

TEACHERS:
CarpetMonster ~ Nickname: Carpet
TheBeast ~ Nickname: Professor Beats (not Beast)

STUDENTS:
Humza ~ Nickname: Huza ~ EVs, IVs, and Fire-type Pokémon ~ 0 correct answers of 1
Locke ~ No nicknames ~ Evolution and Hatching Eggs ~ 0 correct answers of 3
Lunalonewolf ~ Luna ~ Stats and Breeding
Leptro ~ Nicknames: Lep and Sprite ~ EVs and IVs ~ 3 correct answers of 5
Rini00 ~ Nicknames: Rini and Rin and Mistress Rini ~ EVs and IVs, and Pokémon X and Y ~ 1 correct answer of 3
Dburn40 ~ Nicknames: Dburn and Db ~ Ranking...? ~ 0 correct answers of 1
Lail ~ Nicknames: Rei, Li, and La ~ Competitive Battling ~ 3 correct answers of 5
Blacktiger5 ~ Nicknames: Black and Tiger ~ IVs, Breeding, and Good Movesets for Common Pokémon ~ 1 correct answer of 1
Gothbutter ~ Nicknames: Butter and Gothie ~ EHP, When Pokémon Learn Moves, and Heart Scale-Only Moves ~ 3.5 correct answers of 4
Princess ~ No nicknames ~ IV Breeding ~ 3 correct answers of 3
Potato Kun ~ Nicknames: Potato Marcus ~ EVs and IVs
TheNotorious Z ~ Nicknames: Notorious, Z, Barry, and BarryBlu ~ Evolution and Hatching Eggs ~ 1 correct answer of 1
Cinba ~ No nicknames ~ Evolution, Stats, Breeding, IVs, Ice-types, and Fire-types ~ 1 correct answer of 1
SteelTheSeal ~ Nicknames: StS, SvG, Steel, and Seal ~ Mostly EVs and Stats, but also everything else ~ 1 correct answer of 1
Mojoryan2003 ~ No nicknames ~ Type Effectiveness ~ 1 correct answer of 1
Shiny_Lanturn ~ Nicknames: S_L and Lanturn ~ EVs, IVs, Prediction, and Moveset Building
Jerber3455 ~ Nickname: Jerber ~ EVs, IVs, and Competitive Battling
centaursCatnip ~ Nicknames: CC, Catnip ~ Effective Movesets
Pokemonlover28 ~ Nicknames: Pokemonlover, Pokelover, Aura ~ Pokémon Species, Types, and Type Effectiveness
MrGrowli ~ Nicknames: Mr. and Growli ~ Building a Competitive Team
GhestriHoundoom ~ Nickname: GH ~ General Battle Strategy
Pilufa ~ Nickname: Pi ~ Breeding, Type Effectiveness
Abgrade ~ No nicknames ~ Happiness, Happiness-based Evolution, and EVs
Nabyko ~ Nickname: Nabikko ~ Mega Evolution
~Darkvolt~ ~ Nicknames: Darky, Dark, Volt ~ General Pokémon

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