Pokemon Scarlet and Violet: How to Check IVs

Combat in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is a relatively simple premise on its own. Every creature has one or two types, which have strengths and weaknesses. Pokemon are also good at attacking using either Special or Normal attacks, and they have other defensive and Speed stats to back them up. There is, however, a second set of hidden stats called individual values or IVs, that determine how a Pokemon’s stats will grow on top of its nature doing the same.

IVs have long been instrumental for Pokemon battling at the higher levels, with the best Trainers spending countless hours breeding teams with optimal IVs. A squad of Pokemon with the best possible IVs will outshine an identical one without them. It wasn’t easy to check IVs for many generations, though the community developed methods. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have a handy mechanic for doing just that. Find out how to unlock it here.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Individual Values Explained

For most of your playthrough, you’ll be unable to check IVs beyond making educated guesses as you raise your team. If you’re leveling two of the same Pokemon with the exact nature and one is seeing better gains than the other, the Pokemon with superior stats has better overall IVs.

After you finish the Victory Road quest, defeat the Elite Four and the Champion, and have another fight with Nemona, you earn an item called the Hall of Fame Badge. With this badge, you earn the ability to Judge your Pokemon, a mechanic explained if you visit any Pokemon Center nurse in Paldea.

Activating it is simple. Go into your Boxes and hover over the Pokemon whose IVs you want to check. Then press the + button on your Switch twice. Doing that will change the Pokemon’s stat screen, adding descriptors next to each statistic. These vary from Best to Decent, etc., dictating which stats have the best Individual Values.

IVs are entirely separate from a Pokemon’s nature, so you might have a Pokemon that specializes in the Attack stat and has an Attack nature, but its Attack IV is trash. The opposite is also true. Ideally, you want as many of the members of your team as possible to have stats in the Best category, though you should prioritize a Pokemon’s strengths before boosting its weaknesses.

There’s much more granularity to the IV system in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, but you can now start the essentially endless grind for a team with a perfect set of Individual Values with the power to check them on command. While you do, check out our other Pokemon guides, including how to get Tera Shards, the best Gym order, and more in our guides hub.