3rd Gen Emerald's Pokemon Rater

[Controller Freak]

Did anyone else get thrashed by that mean old man in the Battle Frontier who told me almost all of my pokemon were "average?" Oh, I felt so bad! I only had two "slightly above average" pokemon. Still, I like my team, and I haven't lost a battle yet! I even have a bunch of rare pokemon that I raised from the egg up! I caught a Feebas and evolved it into a Milotic at level 6. Then I got a Bagon and raised it into a Salamence. It seems strange that the old man thinks all my pokemon are bad. I thought I trained them and their stats well to their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[shanecdavis]

Actually, that old man isn't telling you how much he likes your Poke, he is telling you what your IVs are for your Pokemon. Even though you raised what you term yourself as a "good" Poke, its IVs could very well suck. That is where the benefit of breeding comes in. You can breed two Pokes with a good IV rating in a stat (i.e. HP, ATT, etc.) and then breed them together and hopefully hatch a new Poke that has even better stats.

For example, I have a Blissey with a Modest trait (-ATT, +SA), and maxed IV (31) in Defense and Special Attack. I also did EV training in Defense and Special Attack. With the Serene Grace Ability, I gave my Blissey Water Pulse, Thunderbolt, and Ice Beam to go along with Softboiled. The end result is a Poke that not only is a Special sponge, but can take a few physical hits AND can dish out special attacks. Plus, with Serene Grace the effect percentages of the special moves are doubled.