Intro:
- RNGing doesn't exist in gen VI
- Soft Resetting (SRing) is super viable now compared to past gens due to how legends have three guaranteed perfect stats
- Sure you can just fling Masterballs at them and check everything you catch, but doing stat checks in-battle allows for using cooler Pokeballs (it's also faster even if you do want to just use a Masterball
- It's important to have the right nature and good IVs in the stats you want to use (at least) for competitive battling.
- Some of the best Pokemon used in Battle Spot are legendaries including Suicune, Thundurus, Landorus, Cresselia and Heatran.
- Even something like x/31/x/x/31/31 with an Adamant nature is better for a physical attacker than that random IVed Hardy nature that you caught first try.
- link to the IV guide?
- every legendary comes with three random stats guaranteed to be perfect, with a 1:32 chance of getting a fourth, and a 1:1024 chance of getting 5.
- with a Synchronise Pokemon in the lead slot you have a 54% chance of getting the nature you want (50% sync chance + 4% random)
- Capture O-power makes using Pokeballs with a low catch rate feasible, or good Pokeballs even better!
- Soft Resetting (SRing) is the process of saving your game right before encountering a Pokemon, catching it and resetting the game if the Pokemon's nature and/or IV's are not to your liking so that you can try again.
- You can speed up the process by checking the HP and Speed stats during the battle instead of checking after catching, this saves time by making sure you don't bother catching anything with imperfect HP or Speed, the other stats are not able to be checked.
- HP testing is done with either a Pokemon with Final Gambit and a HP stat which is one point less than your target Pokemon's HP stat when it has a 31 IV, or a Pokemon with Seismic Toss / Night Shade which is at a level equal to one point less than the target Pokemon's HP.
- If the target Pokemon survives the Final Gambit / Seismic Toss / Night Shade then it is confirmed to have a 30/31 HP IV.
- Speed testing is done by any Pokemon with a Speed stat exactly one point less than the target Pokemon's Speed when perfect (and the Nature that you want), or with a Speed stat exactly one point higher in the case of negative-speed natures and 0 Speed IVs.
- If your Speed Checker goes before the target Pokemon then the target's Speed IV cannot be perfect and therefore you reset. If the target moves first then it is confirmed to have a 30/31 Speed IV. On the contrary, if aiming for a negative-speed Nature with a 0 Speed IV, you want your Speed Checker to move first, if the target moves first then it's speed cannot be 0.
- Staraptor and Smeargle are arguably the best HP and Speed checkers respectively, and they will be used for examples later in the article.
- You can easily create your own checkers, the best way to do this is to play around with the Pokemon Showdown! damage calculator and seeing if you can hit HP / Speed stats with various combinations of levels and EVs.
- HP testing is done with either a Pokemon with Final Gambit and a HP stat which is one point less than your target Pokemon's HP stat when it has a 31 IV, or a Pokemon with Seismic Toss / Night Shade which is at a level equal to one point less than the target Pokemon's HP.
- If your target Pokemon is either KO'd by Final Gambit or outsped by your Speed checker than it isn't flawless and you try again.
- This only works for Pokemon that you catch yourself. Event Pokemon that you receive through Mystery Gift can be Soft Reset, but you can't Synchronise their Natures.
- A Pokemon with both the Ability Synchronise and the Nature that you want your Pokemon to be.
- 50+ of the Pokeball that you want to catch your Pokemon in.
- Capture O-power (level 3 is ideal but any is better than none).
- HP Checker Pokemon
- Speed Checker Pokemon
- Utility Pokemon (knowing False Swipe / Spore / other useful moves that will help you catch the Pokemon). This can be combined with the Speed Checker role to save space in your party.
- 1 spare slot in your Party so that you don't have to Fly back to the Pokemon Center to check the Nature + IVs of the Pokemon.
- MetalKid's IV calculator. Use this to determine your target Pokemon's exact IVs once captured. This is especially important for Xerneas, Yveltal and Rayquaza as you will not have access to the in-game IV checker NPC.
For the purposes of these examples, we will be using Staraptor for HP checking and Smeargle for Speed checking. However, you can use any Pokemon that learns Final Gambit to test a Pokemon's HP, and any Pokemon with a Speed stat one point lower than your target's (or one point higher for negative speed and 0 IVs). You can use the Pokemon Showdown! damage calculator to see what level and how many EVs your Pokemon need to reach specific HP and Speed stats.
XY Pokemon:
Xerneas
Recommended Natures: Modest, Timid, Mild, Rash, Bold.
Recommended Pokeballs:
Location: Team Flare HQ, Pokémon X (Must be caught)
Capture Rate: 70
Level: 50
Shiny Lock: Yes
Moves (PP): Gravity (5) | Geomancy (10) | Moonblast (15) | Megahorn (10) [Total: 40]
HP | Att | Def | SpA | SpD | Spe
Base Stats: 126 | 131 | 95 | 131 | 98 | 99
Boosting: 201 | 166 | 126 | 166 | 129 | 130
Neutral: 201 | 151 | 115 | 151 | 118 | 119
Hindering: 201 | 135 | 103 | 135 | 106 | 107
HP Checker:
Staraptor:
Level: 53
Nature: any
IV: 31 HP
EV: 232 HP
HP stat at level 53: 200 Hp
Move: Final Gambit
Speed Checker (+Speed nature):
Smeargle:
Level: 90
Nature: Sassy
IVs: 31 | x | 31 | x | 31 | 00
EVs: 252 HP | 236 SpD | 20 Spe
Stats at 90: 283 HP | 95 Def | 183 SpD | 129 Spe
Moves: Spore | Rock Polish | Recover | Taunt
Speed Checker (Neutral Speed Nature):
Smeargle:
Level: 85
Nature: Sassy
IVs: 31 | x | 31 | x | 31 | 00
EVs: 252 HP | 4 Def | SpD
Stats at 90: 268 HP | 91 Def | 177 SpD | 119 Spe
Moves: Spore | Rock Polish | Recover | Taunt
How to capture Xerneas:
With your Synchronise Pokemon fainted in the lead slot of your Party, you should have Staraptor in the second slot. Use Final Gambit first, if Xerneas faints then reset your game. If it survives then you have confirmed it to have a 30/31 IV in HP. Now bring in your Smeargle and use Spore to put Xerneas to sleep. If Smeargle moves first then reset, if Xerneas moves first then you have confirmed it to have a 30/31 Speed IV and a great chance of having the Nature that you want. If Xerneas passes both of these tests then you can start throwing your desired Pokeball, use Spore whenever it wakes up.
Staraptor:
Level: 53
Nature: any
IV: 31 HP
EV: 232 HP
HP stat at level 53: 200 Hp
Move: Final Gambit
Speed Checker (+Speed nature):
Smeargle:
Level: 90
Nature: Sassy
IVs: 31 | x | 31 | x | 31 | 00
EVs: 252 HP | 236 SpD | 20 Spe
Stats at 90: 283 HP | 95 Def | 183 SpD | 129 Spe
Moves: Spore | Rock Polish | Recover | Taunt
Speed Checker (Neutral Speed Nature):
Smeargle:
Level: 85
Nature: Sassy
IVs: 31 | x | 31 | x | 31 | 00
EVs: 252 HP | 4 Def | SpD
Stats at 90: 268 HP | 91 Def | 177 SpD | 119 Spe
Moves: Spore | Rock Polish | Recover | Taunt
How to capture Xerneas:
With your Synchronise Pokemon fainted in the lead slot of your Party, you should have Staraptor in the second slot. Use Final Gambit first, if Xerneas faints then reset your game. If it survives then you have confirmed it to have a 30/31 IV in HP. Now bring in your Smeargle and use Spore to put Xerneas to sleep. If Smeargle moves first then reset, if Xerneas moves first then you have confirmed it to have a 30/31 Speed IV and a great chance of having the Nature that you want. If Xerneas passes both of these tests then you can start throwing your desired Pokeball, use Spore whenever it wakes up.
- I'll repeat this for the other Kalos legends
