How to reset EVs in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet

Turn any Pokemon into the perfect Pokemon

Back in the Nintendo DS generations, making the perfect Pokemon was arduous. You had to spend hours grinding specific wild battles over and over to min-max its stats, and that’s assuming you got a monster with the ideal nature and IVs. Those days are over now, and Scarlet & Violet give you the tools to make any Pokemon viable for high-end competitive play.

For example, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet provide an easy way to reset a Pokemon’s Effort Values (Or EVs). EVs are bonus stats a Pokemon can accrue by fighting other Pokemon or using items like Calcium. You can only earn up to 510 EVs, so a Pokemon at its EV cap will have to reduce certain EVs to pump up others. If you’re trying to min-max your perfect Pokemon, here’s what you need to do.

Use berries to reset EVs

Throughout your adventure, you will stumble across a vast assortment of berries. While most have basic healing effects or cure status conditions, six berries will lower a Pokemon’s EVs of a certain stat. They are as follows:

HP — Pomeg Berry
Attack — Kelpsy Berry
Defense — Qualot Berry
Special Attack — Hondew Berry
Special Defense — Grepa Berry
Speed — Tamato Berry

Through natural play, you’ll stumble across these in the wild. If you see something sparkling on the ground, it could be one of these six berries. These will also drop from Tera Raid Battles, which will likely consume most of your endgame grind anyway. That said, if you need to reset a lot of EVs, there is a more reliable way to farm them.

How to farm EV berries

Stacks of berries can be found in Porto Marinada. By defeating the Water-Type Gym Leader, you’ll permanently unlock an auction minigame that can be played in the middle of the market. Be on the lookout for a vendor advertising the berry you want and agree to join the auction.

Just like the Water-Type Gym Challenge, you’ll need to compete with others to buy the item. These can be tricky since NPCs won’t clearly indicate when they’re done bidding. If you play too cautiously, you could lose the item altogether! The safest option is to pass on the first round of bidding, then keep placing bids afterward. You can also turn off autosave in the options menu and save before entering an auction. If you fail, close the game and reopen your save file to try to get the best price.

Keep checking the market every day to see what’s for sale! Berries often come in huge stacks, so with enough diligence, you’ll be able to reset as many EVs as you want.

Related: How to check IVs in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet on GameSkinny