About 2 weeks, but yea close enough. :p

About EV training...is there much of a good/bad time to start doing that with a pokemon (aside from the obvious, like near level 100)? I've looked in guides and none really seem to specifically state when is an ideal time. From what I have read on the subject, it does sound like you could pretty much start whenever as long as you pace yourself in such a way that you'll have the spread you want by the time level 100 starts to get fairly close. (Close as in within 5-10 levels of it.) Correct or no?

To my guess, as soon as possible. Since EV points contribute to your stats, you would want to get your stats at the highest point possible.

Crash could probably give you a better time frame though.

Yeah, I dunno. The other impression I got was that even if you started a bit late, it would kinda catch up for you a little if you then started working at it. For example, one of my pokemon, I gave it a little try at around level 50 or so and upon leveling he gained a whopping 12 attack. I don't remember what the other stat gains were, but I read that the boost could be even bigger than that, depending on how long you wait.

I guess what I'm basically trying to say is it seems that the stats will eventually even out to match the desired EV spread, provided you don't wait too long. I could be wrong, but the guides I've looked at aren't all that clear on it.

No matter what time you start, so long as you're done with EV training by the final level up (to 100), the stats will always be the same for that one Pokemon. There is absolutely no difference in stats gains regardless of when you start, so do it whenever you feel like doing it.

The reason your Lv. 50 pokemon gained 12 attack is because you were able to stack a lot of attack EVs onto it before it reached Lv. 51. That only seems like more than usual because it takes longer to level a Lv. 50 pokemon than it does a Lv. 1 pokemon. However, there is no difference in the end.

I hope that clarifies things.

If you wanted, you could rare candy it up to 100, go out and get the EVs you want, then shove it in a box. Stats would be just the same as if you had EV trained as soon as possible.

It does, thanks. At least I know now that I can level quickly for a while and then start considering where to EV grind at a higher level.

The only other question I have on the matter is this: is there a way to calculate what the EVs are at a specific moment, given the pokemon's level, stats, nature, etc. ? I know I could keep track of gains with the counter app, use berries to lower EV in stats where I don't want them, talk to so-and-so to see if I've gained all the EVs I can for that pokemon, etc. but it'd be nice to see where I'm at and go about EV grinding from there. The calculators I've found assume you know the EVs exactly already, or where you want them to be, anyway.

From what I recall, that only works if you do it 4 EVs at a time. I don't remember exactly, but I do know that it's supposed to be extremely impractical and time-consuming to EV train a Lv. 100 pokemon.

I tend to level while I EV train. Pokemon gain full EVs as well as partial experience from an Exp. Share, so I go to a good training spot and get to work straight away.

Bust out the pen and paper, because that's the only reliable way to keep track. You could get a rough estimate of where you're at if you knew the IVs before you started giving it EVs, but you couldn't get an exact number.

Say you have a level 20 Furret. You know it's Adamant and has an Attack IV of 25. At level 20 without EVs, it should have 60 attack (this is an arbitrary number, just so you know). You've been EV training though, and it has 74 Attack. That means that you've given it at least 56 Attack EVs. However, because you don't gain another point in Attack until you reach 60 EVs, it could mean you have given it 56, 57, 58, or 59.

Hell, the number could be even greater depending on whether or not it's been given more EVs during Lv. 20 that it didn't have when it was Lv. 19 (stat boosts from EVs do not happen until a level up). So, really, it's extremely difficult to determine what your EVs are at if you don't keep track from the beginning. You have berries to lower EVs if you really need them, though.

That rare candy business doesn't work in D/P anymore. It'll reset the stats yeah, but to default values.

After some trials, I've found it's better to EV train from the start, but for a different reason. It's simply easier to keep track of them that way, since (if I'm not mistaken) you start fresh from a level 1 whereas with a level 64 (just an example), who knows where they are. And unless there's some easier way I don't know about to clean them up, you're going to need a LOT of berries if you want to get the EVs distributed exactly how you want, or at least close to where you want them.

FYI, wild Pokemon have no EVs. A level 50 Sandshrew caught in the wild has the same amount of EVs as a freshly hatched level 1 Sandshrew: zero.

So am I a total noob for not caring how my EVs end up? I mean if I like say entered a tournament or something, would they make or break the chances of winning?

Yeah, it could. If you somehow wound up with a lot of Special Attack EVs on a Pokemon that didn't use any Special Attack moves, it'd be a waste. That's points that could've gone toward Attack EVs or Speed, or whatever else was more useful. Your opponent might've gotten the extra points into useful areas, and those few points of Speed, Defense, etc., could make a big difference in surviving.

I don't know of any way to get a status breakdown of your current EV spread. You either keep track as you level and just know or you don't and wind up guessing.

Hmmmm good point. I should probably look into this more before I level my Gengar and Alakhazam further so they don't end up with a bunch of attack EVs.

Good luck catching a wild one with the nature you want (if you care for that), but in any case this is good to know.

Some words were said recently about possibly doing a tourney, does anyone want to give that a try? I'm up for it, I would just need a little more time to get my team together. If this was tried before, how did that go?

It went reasonably well. I think a couple people dropped out due to other obligations but that's about it. We saw it through to the end and nobody went undefeated.

We had a system in which teams were posted beforehand, including movesets. This was so that nothing illegal was used. But you were allowed to list up to nine; nobody quite knew which ones you'd be taking into battle; forming counterstrategies against particular players was more difficult.

We did this last summer or so, and I've had plenty of time to bulk my roster. Depending upon when the tournament is held, I could participate. (The end of May/beginning of June is out, as I'll be on vacation then.)

So this generation's third game/special edition is confirmed as being called Pokémon Platinum Version. Cover = Giratina. Other apparent details: several Pokémon have new forms (Regigigas, Shaymin, Giratina), there's a new area similar to the Battle Frontier in Emerald, slight costume change for playable character, new interface for battles, new storyline details. Release is apparently September for Japan.

How do you feel about this?

I suppose the only question I have is how it will be able to interact with D/P or vice versa. I had stopped playing Blue by the time Yellow came out, so I don't really know.

Aww, teams with movesets posted? Oh darn...though the reason for it does make sense. I just feel like there's more of a "Surprise!" element to it if you bust out some more obscure move that ends up being real bad for your opponent, but oh well, that's what having 9 pokemon posted is for. Now who else to train if more than six were to be posted...

Were legendaries allowed in this previous tourney, or were there any other restrictions in terms of what pokemon one could have in their group (besides the obvious like no hacked pokemon)? None of the six I'm getting ready are legendary, since I know some tournaments say they're a no-no.

Well, these new forms don't appear to be in the game code for Diamond and Pearl, so it seems likely that they'll be stuck in Platinum and not tradeable to the first two. Everything else should work fine. Serebii has a scan up, and that screenshot of Giratina looks freaky as hell.

Serebii also reported on some rumors yesterday, which claim that Giratina's Origin form and Regigigas' Sky form both grant Levitate, while Shaymin's Another form appears to be part Ice. Also, Wi-fi Underground <3<3<3

I don't recall any specific bans (other than Wobuffet, for obvious reasons). I think most participants considered it a general courtesy to not fill their rosters with Ubers. There's not much skill or dignity in beating people down with the Mewtwo/Giratina/Rayquaza death squad anyhow.

I think we used the Sleep Clause, and that was about it. No item clause even.

I'm popping in here kinda late, but Corocoro mentioned last month that Nintendo would reveal the third 4th generation pokemon game come May. Lo and behold, scans are already out on it and apparently Nintendo will deliver the goods come May 16th.

Edit: Whoops, forgot to mention that the name of the game is Pokemon Platinum.

Yeah, I'm kinda hyped for it.

Just 'cause Giratina doesn't look like that kinda.

What do you mean? That's his Origin form.

Yes, I know this (now). What I'm saying is, I'm going to pick it up due to the fact that Giratina looked different. IE had no legs. I did not know of this form, so I was interested.

tl;dr

Giratina looks different, so I'm interested as to why. And now that I do more research, I want to see shaymin and regigigas' other forms too.

Oh, I see now. The game will probably give some explanation on why he looks different, since the info on him was barebones in D/P. Maybe some extra dialogue with Cynthia's grandmother in Celestic Town, more books in the library, and the apparent change in plot that leads to the screen in the scan.