6th Gen Why 6 IV's?

[Juxapose]

I bred a killer Scyther with 6 IV's. This was unintentional because I was looking for a scyther with 5IV's(HP/Att/Def/SpD/Speed). My scyther only needs 5, but ended up with 6. I am not complaining, but I did notice something odd. Lots of people are trying to breed 6 IV Pokemon. I need to ask, why?

#1- Most Pokemon don't use the 6th IV.
#2- Natures reduce the IV that you are not using anyway, so why breed for max IV in a stat you are lowering?
#3- Breeding 5 IV's is hard enough, but trying to beed a Pokemon with 6 IV is self torture.
#4- If anyone wants to use the idea that Pokemon with 6 IV makes them popular or fulfilled, let me tell you one thing: it doesn't. My 6 IV Mega Scizor doesn't impress anyone.
#5- Even if you want to use the argument that Pokemon with 6 IV makes the best breeding parent, it's technically true. But there are some drawbacks to this idea. Only males can transfer IV's and breed different Pokemon than itself (Females only breed more copies of itself). With the exception of a 6 IV Ditto (and I cannot see how anyone can legitly get one), You'll need a ton of 6 IV pokemon to breed any type of other Pokemon. Is it really worth it? I have a ton of 5 IV Pokemon from breeding other 5 IV Pokemon together easily.

 

[pippitha]

#1- Most Pokemon don't use the 6th IV.
ok

#2- Natures reduce the IV that you are not using anyway, so why breed for max IV in a stat you are lowering?
neutral natures don't reduce IV's. and maxing an IV that you're lowering would make it not so low, so I guess that's nice?

#3- Breeding 5 IV's is hard enough, but trying to beed a Pokemon with 6 IV is self torture.
5 IV's aren't that hard to get. 6 IV's are luck, but not impossible.

#4- If anyone wants to use the idea that Pokemon with 6 IV makes them popular or fulfilled, let me tell you one thing: it doesn't. My 6 IV Mega Scizor doesn't impress anyone.
Depends on the pokemon and the person. My 6 IV spheal impressed me and my friend. Didn't impress another friend. You can't please everyone.

#5- Even if you want to use the argument that Pokemon with 6 IV makes the best breeding parent, it's technically true. But there are some drawbacks to this idea. Only males can transfer IV's and breed different Pokemon than itself (Females only breed more copies of itself). With the exception of a 6 IV Ditto (and I cannot see how anyone can legitly get one), You'll need a ton of 6 IV pokemon to breed any type of other Pokemon. Is it really worth it? I have a ton of 5 IV Pokemon from breeding other 5 IV Pokemon together easily.

6 IV pokemon are good trade bait. You can breed good pokemon to trade. Every pokemon has someone who wants it. And that's assuming that you have a female. If you have a male, then yay. 6 IV dittos can be found, it's just very very hard. It's worth it to people who enjoy doing it.

 

[Cyclone]

#1- Most Pokemon don't use the 6th IV.

It's not about using the 6th IV. It's about having good breeding stock. I'm not a competitive battler, but I've just started with breeding and am experimenting with things.

#2- Natures reduce the IV that you are not using anyway, so why breed for max IV in a stat you are lowering?

I don't even look at nature. Yesterday I chose a few 5IVs and 4IVs to trade based on nature, and I'm trading them today via WT, but generally I don't look at it. I don't have a 6IV yet, but will go for it.

#3- Breeding 5 IV's is hard enough, but trying to beed [sic] a Pokemon with 6 IV is self torture.

Breeding 5IVs is actually easy if you have good breeding stock. Got two 5IV Vullaby in one batch of Eggs. Of course, the same batch could turn out no more than 2IVs, and that's happened too.

#4- If anyone wants to use the idea that Pokemon with 6 IV makes them popular or fulfilled, let me tell you one thing: it doesn't. My 6 IV Mega Scizor doesn't impress anyone.

GO 6IV Magikarp! Use Splash!

#5- Even if you want to use the argument that Pokemon with 6 IV makes the best breeding parent, it's technically true. But there are some drawbacks to this idea. Only males can transfer IV's and breed different Pokemon than itself. (Females only breed more copies of itself).

Not true on the IVs part. Give one parent the Destiny Knot and five IVs are chosen from the two parents. Each breeder knows what they want and will have a male or female as appropriate. Of course, some that can only be male will only be able to breed with Ditto to get its own offspring (see Rufflet/Braviary) and can't have Egg Moves, making them the easiest breeding projects.

With the exception of a 6 IV Ditto (and I cannot see how anyone can legitly get one)

That's crazy talk. :P

...well, maybe not. But let's be honest; it's not as hard from the Friend Safari. The rare ones that have surfaced seem to be cloned regularly, and any breeder might be willing to accept it hacked more than anything else even if that were the case. The goal is the offspring; that Ditto is not leaving the daycare area or the PC often. Though it could be useful against a Dragon type.

You'll need a ton of 6 IV pokemon to breed any type of other Pokemon. Is it really worth it? I have a ton of 5 IV Pokemon from breeding other 5 IV Pokemon together easily.

Yeah, me too. And I just started.

 

[Howmander]

It's the same reason people NEED 3 Terrabyte Hard Drives (even though they don't use more than 50GB for all the content they own) or why they NEED the fastest possible internet speed even though the lowest internet speed their provider ofers is more than fast enough to stream the Netflix and Youtube sites that are the only sites the user ever goes to, the flawed logic that "Bigger Number = Better" and you're right, that 6th IV generally is never used so there really is no point in people demanding the 6th IV. Having said that though, there are times that it is good to have, such as my Zoroark that uses both Special and Physical attacks (therefore using both Att and SpAtt stats) and in order to boost it's speed I gave it a Naive Nature. since BOTH it's defences are so low I needed to breed to get that SpDef stat as high as possible because it is so low, literally every point matters. So in a case like that, I can see the 6th IV being vital, but again for the most part you're right, most pokemon have no need for the 6th IV, particularly if they are slow (no need for speed) or are strictly a physical or special attacker or something.

 

[Silhouette]

I don't really ever go for 6 ivs, because as you've stated, it's self torture lol. I do use a 6 iv Greninja, simply because it came out of the egg before any 5 iv ones did. I'd only really consider 6 ivs on a mixed attacker. Despite lowering one of its defenses with, say, Naive or Hasty nature, it's still nice to reduce that damage even just that much.

 

[Megan]

Though it could be useful against a Dragon type.

Not really. All it needs is 31 IV in HP and Imposter to be competitive.

There is a simple reason, why people want 6 IV (+ possibly perfect nature and shiny) and it's called perfectionism. While many people only do what is neccessary, a true perfectionist craves for the ultimate Pokemon. At least that's my guess :P

 

[Cyclone]

I just got my second 5IV Skarmory with HP being the missing 31. I think that is acceptable. I'm breeding it with a 5IV Vullaby anyway to get some Steel Wing Vullaby.

 

[Death]

I only breed for 6IV Pokemon when I need a mixed attacker such as my Hydreigon who doesn't actually see the light of day outside my PC but same thing. haha

 

[Miau]

#5- Even if you want to use the argument that Pokemon with 6 IV makes the best breeding parent, it's technically true. But there are some drawbacks to this idea. Only males can transfer IV's and breed different Pokemon than itself (Females only breed more copies of itself). With the exception of a 6 IV Ditto (and I cannot see how anyone can legitly get one), You'll need a ton of 6 IV pokemon to breed any type of other Pokemon. Is it really worth it? I have a ton of 5 IV Pokemon from breeding other 5 IV Pokemon together easily.

That's not how passing IVs work, the babies have always inherited IVs from both parents. In gen 6, you can use the Destiny Knot to guarantee that 5 IVs from both parents will be passed down.

Now, I was lucky enough to breed a 6V male Lotad a while back. No, I wasn't going for perfect, but it was an amazing feeling, since the odds at that moment, with the pair I was using, were ~1/384. So I have Ludicolo now, and he's the star of my rain team. Does he even need the Atk? Not at all, he has Giga Drain (egg move), Surf, Ice Beam and Rain Dance.

However, he definitely comes in handy for my other breeding projects. A 6V male can be the source of other 5V parents. Ludicolo for instance, is in the Water 1 and Grass egg groups. That means that there are lots of Pokemon I can pair him up with. And since he has both perfect Atk and SpA, then I can breed for either a physical spread, or special.

Thing is, with a 6V male and a 5V female, the odds are ~1/5 to breed a copy of the female, no matter the spread of the female. (Copy as far as IVs go, though if you have the female hold an Everstone, that guarantees the nature, and if you want the same ability slot as the female, then it's about 1/6.5)

Say I want to breed Shroomish, and I want a physical spread; Ludicolo is my man. Say I want to breed Clauncher, and I want a special spread; Ludicolo is my man. If I'm successful in both projects, then I'll have a 5V Shroomish to breed other Pokemon in the Fairy egg group, and a 5V Clauncher to breed in the Water 3 group.

tl;dr I realize that this makes it seem like I care a lot about perfect Pokemon, when I really don't. Unless you want a mixed attacker, then the extra perfect IV means absolutely nothing. What I'm trying to say is, if you get lucky enough to stumble upon a perfect Pokemon, then yes, he can be a great help with breeding. Like a mixed breeder {XD}