Questions regarding IVs and tiers

[Tora]

This will probably be really noobish questions, since this is the first time I'm looking into competitive battles, but there are a couple of small things I'd like to get cleared up, before I waste hours trying the impossible. And I hope this is the right place to ask. ^^"

I did read up on how to breed IVs, but I'm still not quite sure whether I actually have to start with pokémon that already have max IVs in one or more stat or whether the offspring gain more IVs over time on their own.
Example: Let's say I'm starting out with two pokémon, one with perfect IVs in HP, the other one in defense. Will the offspring only ever be able to max out HP and defense and I'll have to include another different poké with say max attack IVs, if I want to raise them in more than those two stats? Or can I just keep breeding, waiting for them to eventually gain more IVs in other stats over time?
I'm asking mainly because my currently only option to get new pokémon with perfect IVs would be to randomly catch them in the wild hoping that one of them might be useful. And that sounds a bit tedious.

Second question is actually less of a question, but seeking advice. I understood, that pokémon from lower tiers can battle in higher ones, but higher ones not in lesser ones. So, I guess it'd be a good idea to think of a complete team before actually starting to breed. However, can you actually mix tiers with one team? And since I assume that you can (as long as it's not a Uber in a UU team or similar funny ideas), is that a dumb idea? Is it better to stick to one tier?

 

[Oblox]

Regarding IV's the best answer is start with the best you have and go from there.

As you breed all the IV's are randomly generated, if you have a destiny knot 5 of the IV's are guaranteed to be taken from both parents and the last is random.

If you breed a batch of eggs and 1 has 2 decent IV's then you swap out your current breeder for the 2 perfect IV one, then you breed more and if you breed one with 3 decent IV's then you swap out your current breeder for that and so on until you have 2 5IV breeder pokemon of different sexes or a 5/6IV ditto.

It can take some time to get your breeding pokemon up to a decent level but its worth it, make sure you have hatching O-power and a pokemon with flame body or magma armour, the oval charm (from completing Hoenn dex) and if you want shinies the shiny charm too from completing your pokedex.

 

[Tora]

Alright, I guess I'm not doing too wrong, then. But how do you actually get a Ditto with that many IVs? Sheer luck? Since you can't actually breed them...

Yes, I carry around my flame body Talonflame from my playthrough for hatching and the o-power is now level 2, but I didn't actually know about these charms, yet. Well, I'm getting more eggs than I can hatch, so the oval charm is not too important at the moment. Shiny charm does sound nice, though...

 

[Nah]

You can also have the parents hold the Power items to pass down specific IVs. Like if you have one parent with a max HP IV, and another with a max Speed IV, if you give the first one the Power Weight and the second one the Power Anklet, the offspring from those parents will always have max HP and Speed IVs. DexNav in ORAS and the Friend Safari in X/Y can help you catch stuff that starts with some perfect IVs.

As for your question about the tiers, yes, you can do a mix of Pokemon from various tiers, just as long as none of them are in a tier higher than what you're gonna have the team battle in. Whether or not that's a good idea is a different story. It is in fact possible to succeed in higher tiers with lower tiered Pokemon. Like, stuff like Hippowdon, Chesnaught, Tyrantrum, etc, are viable in OU despite being classed in UU or below, or like how last year's VGC champion won with a Pachirisu on his team. It's just easier said than done to make those Pokemon actually work well for you.

 

[Tora]

Oh, didn't know that either. Thanks!
Unfortunately, I haven't actually started ORAS yet and can't register friend codes at the moment, so those suggestions not an option right now. But I did manage to get some useful 'mons via wonder trade, so I have some things to work with for a start. Not much, but it's something.

Okay, I guess I can judge this better, once I have some idea of what I'm doing. The first attempts will probably be just trial and error anyway.

 

[skyburial]

In addition to what's been mentioned here, the Pokemon that you catch in Friend Safari on X/Y will always have 2-3 perfect IV's.

As you breed, you'll most likely end up with boxes full of "breedjects" - hatched mons that don't quite fit what you're looking for. If you wonder trade these away, you'll often get back other people's breedjects with 4 or 5 perfect IV's. Using egg groups, you can transpose those IV's onto whatever you're breeding and also have an extra Pokemon in your arsenal you may not have thought to use!

As a last thing to note, our Trader's Corner is an invaluable resource for getting your team started. Cakesu and Phanton will breed one Pokemon for you a month for free (as opposed to shiny for shiny, competitive for competitive which a lot of folks require). The Quick Trades section often features Giveaways for things like 6IV Dittos, Battle-ready cloned Pokemon, 5IV breedjects, perfect legends and the like. I've gotten a lot of neat stuff out of that section.