Stats, IVs, EVs and Natures
The six stats, the real formulas that build them, and how IVs, EVs, Natures and level fit together.
A Pokémon's battle stats are not just its base stats. They come from a formula that mixes base stats, levels, hidden numbers called IVs and EVs, and a Nature. Two Pikachu of the same level can end up with noticeably different numbers, and this is why.
The six stats
Every Pokémon has HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed. Base stats are fixed for each species and form (the numbers on the Pokédex page). Everything else on this page changes the final value of a stat at a given level.
IVs: the hidden genes
IVs (individual values) are a hidden number from 0 to 31 for each stat. They are set when a Pokémon is created, so two wild Pokémon of the same species can differ. A 31 in a stat is called "perfect". Over a full level 100 stat, the difference between a 0 and a 31 IV is 31 stat points.
Breeding passes some IVs on: normally three from the parents, or five if one parent holds a Destiny Knot. In recent games Hyper Training can lift a high-level Pokémon's IVs to 31 using Bottle Caps.
EVs: effort from training
EVs (effort values) are earned by battling. Each defeated Pokémon gives 1, 2 or 3 EVs in a particular stat (a Pidgey might give a point of Speed, for instance). A Pokémon can hold at most 252 EVs in one stat and 510 across all stats, and every full 4 EVs adds one point to that stat at level 100.
This means a classic spread puts 252 in two stats, and the leftover 6 in a third. Vitamins, Power items (which add 8 EVs after each battle in recent games), Pokérus and the Macho Brace (which doubles EV gains) all speed training up. Berries like Pomeg lower EVs again so you can retrain.
Natures: a 10% push
A Nature raises one stat by 10% and lowers another by 10%. HP is never changed. There are 25 Natures: 20 that change something, and 5 neutral ones (Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful and Quirky) that raise and lower the same stat, which cancels out.
A Nature also sets the flavour a Pokémon likes (the one linked to the stat it boosts) and dislikes (the one linked to the stat it lowers). Neutral Natures have no flavour preference. Since Sword and Shield, Mints can change which stats the Nature affects without changing the Nature itself.
The real formulas
From Generation III onwards, with B as the base stat, L the level, IV and EV as above, and floor meaning "round down":
HP = floor((2 x B + IV + floor(EV / 4)) x L / 100) + L + 10
Other stat = floor((floor((2 x B + IV + floor(EV / 4)) x L / 100) + 5) x Nature)
Nature is 1.1 for a boosted stat, 0.9 for a lowered one, and 1 otherwise. Shedinja's HP is always 1, whatever the formula says.
Example: a Pokémon with a base stat of 100, a 31 IV, 252 EVs and a neutral Nature has a stat of 299 at level 100 (294 plus 5), or 328 with a boosting Nature. At level 50, the same Pokémon has 152, because the level scales the first part. Its HP would be 404 at level 100 and 207 at level 50.
In-battle changes
During a battle, moves, Abilities and items can raise or lower stats by "stages", from -6 to +6. Each stage is a fixed multiplier, and a +1 is 1.5x, +2 is 2x, and so on up to 4x at +6. Stages go back to normal when a Pokémon switches out.
A different system in Champions
Pokémon Champions, a battle game released in 2026, does not use IVs or EVs. It uses "stat points", capped at 32 in one stat and 66 in total. Its formulas are simpler: HP is base plus stat points plus 75, and another stat is (base plus stat points plus 20) times the Nature multiplier, rounded down.