Do wild pokemon EVs start at zero

pokemon-fifth-generation

I am trying to learn about the EVs used in Pokemon to boost stats.

If a pokemon is just caught, does it have no EVs at all? Does this also hold true for pokemon obtained in different ways such as breeding? Do special pokemon [like Mewtwo or Shaymin] and Shiny pokemon start with zero EVs?

Best Answer

Yes, Pokemon's EVs start at 0 when caught and they have since gen 1:

The Pokémon data structure contains two EV bytes for each the five stats (HP, Attack, Defense, Speed and Special), starting at zero when caught

Shinnies are just palette-swapped and don't get an EV boost, bred pokemon inherit IVs from their parents, as noted here but not EVs.

EVs are always manually obtained by a trainer; they're Effort Values so there's no way to gain them other than grinding or Vitamins . In Gen V you can also raise effort values using the Wing items.

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