Do you regret learning about EVs/IVs?

Harms

EV's and IV's add a whole new dimension to the game. The lifespan of the game is expanded dramatically. Different EV spreads/IV breeding all add a bit of complexity for the mature Pokegamer.

Maybe it's just nostalgia here, but don't you wish sometimes that it's back to the R/B/Y days? When you actually felt a little proud of your first team. When I got my Charmander in RBY, I was estatic, determined to raise it to be a badass Charizard. When I got my Chimchar in DP, I couldn't help but wonder just how gimped its nature was, or how shitty its IVs were.

When I beat my way through Viridian Forest I felt pretty good about myself and my team. When I got through Eterna Forest in DP I couldn't help but wonder just how badly I fucked up my Pokemon's EVs.

When I beat the E4 in RBY I was pretty proud about my team. When I beat the E4 in DP I was happy because I could finally start breeding for my real team. My first team was quickly released to make room for the throngs of Ditto I was going to catch.

I know you don't need perfect IV's/EV's to win, but it will always hang on the back of your mind. After all, no one wants to play with second-hand Pokemon.
 
EV training shouldn't be frustrating in D/P, because all mistakes can be undone, and its pretty straightforward. And most people use the Shoddy simulator, so it isn't a problem to most of us. Certainly IV breeding sucks, but thats why I use shoddy. Also, this isn't exactly a sympathetic site. Every one here is out to win, and perfect IVs are a part of the way there.
 
No no no, not asking for sympathy. I don't mind about EV training/IV breeding, I do for all my competitive Poke's.

I dunno, guess what I'm trying to say is that it takes the spirit out of Pokemon. Didn't the Prof give us some bullshit line of our starter being our lifelong pal? Well guess what your lifelong pal has some shitty IVs and it's EV's will be royally fucked by the time you beat the E4.

I don't know, maybe if they enabled us a way to effectively EV train right at the beginning I will enjoy playthrough's more.
 
Why would you regret it? It's not like you have to play pokemon competively. You can always embrace your random natures and ivs.

Your Chimchars Modest nature just means that even after all the tough battles he's been through he never lets it go to his head. He's always willing to help your other pokemon learn more about being strong and you guys will grow to be great friends.

If you ever get bored of that you can use your knowledge to play the with the rest of us. You know, the fun way.
 
I know exactly what your saying and felt how you did at one time. Sometimes I just wanted to play through the game and not have ev's and natures in the back of my mind but I couldn't and wound up just screwing the game. Now I only play competitively, I am done with the games which I find immensely boring now.
 
I am glad to learn, I would rather be knowledgeable and miserable than happy and ignorant. Then again I'm happy I learned all this stuff.

Knowledge takes things to a new level, requiring people to think and those who do have a lot of knowledge are coveted after.

Simplicity would be like playing tic-tac-toe which everyone knows the end outcome (an easy "cats game"), yet when hundreds upon hundreds of variables are thrown into the mix it makes things more interesting and thought provoking.

Knowledge to undermine one's opponent is power, my friend.
 
I regret nothing about learning about the existence of EV's and IV's. It has made Pokémon more fun for me. If I didn't know about competitive battling, I wouldn't be here would I?
 
EVs and IVs are really the thing that kept me interested in the game because the cartridges really aren't that good or exciting tbqh =\

So...I guess it was lucky I learned about EVs or else I would have needed to find something else to waste so much time on :(
 
What I miss is the simplicity of the games, thus the reason I only play competitively through simulators. I like natures/IVs/EVs since they add a lot of variety to the game, but in-game it just takes too much time to train a Pokemon (breeding, etc...).
 
Yeah, the quests aren't really meaty enough to satisfy any older players. Besides, I just trade in a bunch of lvl 1 IV bred pokemon when I start over. I've done that twice now. It lets you go through the game with your dream team, and they level up faster.

Re-EVing them is a pain though.
 
From a parental perspective (not that I am one, but if I were one*), I'd question the use of the IV/Personality system in a children's game. After all, I don't like the idea of kids being taught a mentality that "You are what you are the moment you're born. The strong are strong, the weak are weak, and that won't change" that the IV system entails. While people are born with talent, the idea of unchanging ability is definitely out of touch with reality and with human decency.

Granted, most casual players don't even know about this, but I don't see why this type of thing even had to be built into a children's RPG. It could have been built with as much variety based on training alone.

On that note, I'm all for the EV system. You can't just work hard, you have to work smart. It's a good lesson for any one. With the berries to fall back on, people can learn from their mistakes as well.


. . . of course none of this has anything to do with competitive battling, so I really fail to see how this topic belongs at smogon.


edit:*Ok, change that "If I were one" to "when I become one" because pokemon will definitely still be around even for my kids' and grandkids' childhoods. lol
 
Who cares about EVs and IVs when beating the game, really? They won't hinder you much if at all during your adventure.

But EVs and IVs make competitive play more feasible. I mean, if all you have to decide on a Pokémon, like in RBY, is what 4 moves to use on a Pokémon, it's a lot less complex. Every Starmie will always take this much damage from Thunderbolt in RBY, while in DP it depends on how you want to allocate EVs offensively or defensively.

They offer a way to change your Pokémon for a specific task. They're the greatest and single most important addition to Pokémon (the 510 EV limit, specifically).
 
I definitely understand what you (the OP) mean, although I agree you won't get the same reception for that idea here than at, say, serebii.com. (I suppose the less-sympathetic people in this thread are more interested in the competitive aspect than in the fantasy world altogether. I for one can say, with absolute certainty, that if Pokémon all looked like rocks or piles of dirt, I would not be here regardless of how competitive or strategic it was. Of course, there's no doubt that the ability to customize your Pokemon [to a certain extent] through EVs adds a whole new layer of creativity to the game.)

As for your statement, it's not so much a literal interpretation of "regret" as MythTrainerInfinity seems to emphasize; I find that it's more like you can never view the game in the same way again. Once you've been "enlightened" as to the nature of these hidden variables (the easily-accessible "genes" behind your Pokémon, if you will), you will always tend to view them in an insecure as well as eugenic sort of way! That's how I see it, and I sympathize.
 
I agree with Chou pretty much 100%, except I feel you should be allowed to change your personality.

As for the "regret" bit mentioned in the OP...well we are on a competitive site lol.

However, that aside...yes. I certainly do feel regret. Other players may not have felt it (evidently), but I sure as shit did not enjoy my in game ADV or DP adventures nearly as much as RBY, due in large part to "fuck this thing is going to give me Speed I NEED HP!!" and "is it even worth raising this?" and "well lol I just need whatever to beat the elite 4 so I can really start breeding" etc. etc.

Also, on a side note, while I did say I agree with Chou and I do like the concept of working hard and smart, I really liked the competitive game without EVs.

Here is Aldaron's controversial statement of the day: our metagame would be much "healthier" if all pokemon had max stats (all 31 IVs and "252 EVs in each stat").

I have no intention of explaining myself, btw lol.
 
Funnily enough, I was initially appauled by the idea of EVs when I first found out about them in RSE and vowed never to play Pokemon again o.O
 
If it wasn't for EV's and IV's I'd probably had a very successful career right now or at least be in Uni, alas, IV breeding really sank it's hooks into me, and I spent the majority of the time doing that instead of work :P
 
EVs and nature add so much more depth and complexity to the game. They offer more decision making choices in both team building and battling, which can only make the game deeper. Choices about speed vs power (adamant vs jolly) and whether to run a bulky EV spreadd or an all out attacking spread add so many possiblities to the game which definitely makes it more fun for me.
As for the OP, I would not really know how it feels yet until I play Platinum. D/P is the time I started to learn about IVs and nature as well as how to EV train. I do not know exactly how it will be, but I can understand that the main adventure will not be as fun as the first time I popped in Pokemon Blue.
However with that said, the main adventure only lasts so long, maybe 20 hours? (I don't really have a concrete number as it is late and I'm guessing) Where as breeding, and training, and competitive battling lasts people way past the 500 hour mark.
I agree with Chris Is Me in the sense that the 510 EV limit did so much to enhance the metagame, as well as the addition of natures.
So to finally answer the quesiton, I think that it is a bit dissapointing that I will never look at my Brave Infernape that I started with the same way that I used to, the amount of fun that amusment that competitive battling/training/theorymoning is more than worth it.
 
EV's and IV's are the only reason I still play the game. I don't play it for the little pixelated monsters, I play it for the strategy. It's one of the most strategic games out there, and one of the most popular. I still get a twinge when I watch the anime, it is sooooo babyish. >_>
 
I don't see the fun in completing a game like D/P if you are a little kid you might enjoy those story's who are always the same as the former games

It still surprises me how they managed to create such an in debt Competitive game, probably they did it on accident i mean why would they even try if only 1% of all buyers ever becomes competitive
 
Sort of..I don't mind EVs as they make sense (and if course all for competitive battling), are fairly easy but IVs it kinda sucks to breed x amount of time for one Pokemon. I'd be happier if they just eliminated the IVs, as for hidden power they can find another way to get different types/power.
 
No, I like breeding for IV's. For starters, it makes creating that perfect team that much harder, and then not everyone would have the exact same pokemon. Besides, different IV's make pokemon different from the next...
 
I completely agree and sympathise with the OP, as much as I enjoy the competitive side of pokemon. It's a shame that I can't really casually play through the games anymore without thinking "these pokemon I train for days will all go to waste". You just have to accept that you'll waste a few pokes in exchange for enjoying the nostalgia of playing through again. Of course, if it really bothers you, you could just breed for a desirable nature on another version [and IVs] and trade them over to use, and then re-EV them after you're done.

edit - I'm definitely glad I learned about the competitive side, though, since I wouldn't still be playing if I hadn't.
 
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