To what extent do perfect IVs are significant?

First of all, I'm not sure if it's the right place to post that question. Let me know, and I'll post somewhere else.

With that being said, let's get to my question. So, 31 IV is obviously better than 0. This is not where I want to aim the conversation. I'd like to talk about perfect IV vs almost-perfect IV (25-30). Of course, having an IV at 31 is better than having it at 25-30. However, I'd like to know if that little difference will be significant in the end.

I'm asking that because I now have 2 Dittos for breeding and they both have 4 perfect IVs and a 5th almost-perfect, and I'd like to know if it's worth using them, or if I should aim for 5 perfect IVs.

My physical breeding Ditto:
HP:31 Atk:31 Def:31 SpAtk:irrelevent SpDef:26 Speed:31

My special breeding Ditto:
HP:31 Atk:Irrelevent Def:31 SpAtk:25 SpDef:31 Speed:31

So, does having IVs at 25-26 will make a significant difference in the end?
 

Nix_Hex

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The Speed IV is non-negotiable. Either 31 or 0, unless you're using some "underspeed <x>" special niche strategy. As for other stats, make dillegent use of damage calculators to see if you can survive / kill the things that you need to with the IVs you have.

Or you could just do Hyper Training.
 
Yeah, 31 speed (or 0) is definitely important. I wanted to mention that one, but I forgot to write it.

I've been playing with the damage calculator. I threw there random pokemons. The slight difference provided never made a guaranteed 3hKO or 2hKO into a 2hKO or 1hKO respectively. From what I saw, it only increased the chances of scoring a 1hKO or 2hKO, etc.

It seems 25 vs 31 only makes a difference on the luck factor. Did I miss something? Hence why FighterVGC said that I trully need 31 in Sp.Atk?
 

Nix_Hex

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If you are guaranteed to KO / survive a certain situation ONLY if you have 30 or 31, you better go for it. If you're not guaranteed, maxing the IV is still better than not doing so, just to better your odds. Are you going to buy 25 Wonka Bars, or 31? If you want to get inside the factory, you have better odds with 31. And trust me, you want to get inside the factory.
 
Outside of Speed (as it's the only stat that works in a straightforward way), a lower IV on other stats has its significance depend on the situation.

If the EV spread is tweaked for a very borderline case of survival, then an IV of 31 is mandatory.

Say, as an example, Araquanid has a low chance to OHKO standard Gigalith with Liquidation, and it's outright impossible to OHKO with an Attack IV that is below 25 (and you will get OHKOed in return), so you'll want to have an Attack IV of 31 just in case.

Same with stat spreads meant to survive a certain attack.

Going with that Ditto with a Special Defense IV of 26... do any of your Pokemon have to survive a certain threatening attack? If so, check if it doesn't jeopardize things.
 
Of course, an IV of 31 is always prefered over something around 25-26 (except in some rare cases).

Hmm, I can't think of any threatening attacks right on the spot, but I do get your point.

Yeah, I can see the significance of that small IV gap. Looks like I'll need to farm some more Ditto hahaha!
 

Lego

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Of course, an IV of 31 is always prefered over something around 25-26 (except in some rare cases).

Hmm, I can't think of any threatening attacks right on the spot, but I do get your point.

Yeah, I can see the significance of that small IV gap. Looks like I'll need to farm some more Ditto hahaha!
You can just hit up the wifi section, there's a guy who likes to give away perfect Dittos to people just like you. You can find his thread >>here<<, just make sure to follow his rules :)
 
Hmm, I don't know. It feels weird using that. I wanted to get my breeding Ditto myself even if I knew it's almost statistically impossible. I might try a few more times, then I'll ask that guy, maybe. Thanks for the link Legofigure11!
 
First of all, I'm not sure if it's the right place to post that question. Let me know, and I'll post somewhere else.

With that being said, let's get to my question. So, 31 IV is obviously better than 0. This is not where I want to aim the conversation. I'd like to talk about perfect IV vs almost-perfect IV (25-30). Of course, having an IV at 31 is better than having it at 25-30. However, I'd like to know if that little difference will be significant in the end.

I'm asking that because I now have 2 Dittos for breeding and they both have 4 perfect IVs and a 5th almost-perfect, and I'd like to know if it's worth using them, or if I should aim for 5 perfect IVs.

My physical breeding Ditto:
HP:31 Atk:31 Def:31 SpAtk:irrelevent SpDef:26 Speed:31

My special breeding Ditto:
HP:31 Atk:Irrelevent Def:31 SpAtk:25 SpDef:31 Speed:31

So, does having IVs at 25-26 will make a significant difference in the end?
To some extent. But EVs help shape IVs structure.
 
Yeah, one could tweak the EV spread. However, if one starts doing that to compensate for IVs, the pokemon won't be as strong as it could get.

Also, my question is mostly related towards my 2 breeding Dittos. Taking my special attacker Ditto (26 IV in Sp.Atk), I would still max out the EV in Sp.Atk for the pokemon.
 
Yeah, one could tweak the EV spread. However, if one starts doing that to compensate for IVs, the pokemon won't be as strong as it could get.
It depends on whether it is absolutely necessary to compensate those lower Special Defense IVs.
 
So, does having IVs at 25-26 will make a significant difference in the end?
Yes it does. On the "significant" part, it depends on how much you think you will play with said pokemon.

As you said, most damage rolls are based on "luck factor". But the "luck factor" is statistics. And having that +X% on rolls helps you in the long run, and you will notice this the more games you play with that pokemon.

For example (def calc):
Your pokemon with 25 IV in defense has a 96% chance of surviving opposing Earthquake.
The same pokemon with 30-31 IV in defense has a 100% chance of surviving the same Earthquake.

Now that extra 4% chance of surviving a specific move will help you (statistically) in 4 games out of 100 you do against that same EQ (given that the opposing EQ is used by the same pokemon, etc etc).
So why give you the remote chance of dying to an EQ (sometimes it will matter, sometimes it won't), when you can have that 100% of surviving it? Why give your opponent an out?

Same applies to offensive calcs: if you get a +% to outright kill the opposing pokemon with more IVs than your current ones, why not aim directly for that?

So I think you should always go for 31 IVs on pokemons you breed, unless you aim to level them to 100 and then Hyper Train (which is an option too, but takes more time than breeding with a 5-6 IV Ditto, which I suggest you to catch in some way).

The only relevant <31 IVs you should aim for are the ones in Speed (as others have already mentioned, for Trick Room usage etc), Attack (0 IV on special attackers so they get less damage from Foul Play, for example), and eventually Defense/SpD (on Focus Sash users, but even there are some exceptions).
 
Yeah, you're definitely right. The thing is that I'm new to breeding and I thought the destiny knot guaranteed the 5 IVs to come from the holding parents. Since it can be time consuming to catch a 5 IV pokémon, I thought it would be crazy to hunt for a 5 IV of every pokémon species that I wanted to breed. In that bad thought, it was obviously beter to catch two 5 IV Ditto for breeding. Even with all the Dittos I caught, I never got a 5 IVs one (bad luck maybe?). The 2 Dittos I listed are the 2 closest ones I got to 5 IVs. Since I was losing patience on a 5 IVs Ditto, I started that thread.

Then, I realized the destiny knot doesn't force the 5 IVs to be passed from the holding parent, but from both parents. And now that I know that, I already bred some 5 IVs pokémons by chaining with my Dittos.

So, it was mostly all about a beginner's mistake :P
 

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