eric the espeon
maybe I just misunderstood
I was asked by mingot if I would like to write a EVing guide for Little Cup, happily I actually had one already written on LCF, less happily it was lacking in substance even though it had the basics you needed, so I basically rewrote and massively expanded it. There are still a few sections at the end that I plan to add/finish, and this was partly written while half asleep so please forgive and point out any mistakes.
dr00 did write a "how to apply this" add on to this guide that I was planing to go over and add, but looking again large parts of it are covered in other guides (Pt EVing manual, distributing EVs in LC), so I will incorporate the other parts and the "applying it" element into the main guide, and some specific demonstrations at the end.
Places marked with a # for ctrl F need coming back to/thinking about for various reasons. its mostly "note to self" stuff.
---------------
EV Training for Little Cup
As the Little Cup metagame is played at level 5 rather than the usual level 100, there are some unique difficulties in fully EV training a Pokemon without bringing it over the level 5 limit. This guide will help you to overcome these difficulties and allow you to give your Pokemon any EV spread you want, while staying at or below level 5. This guide will assume that you have a basic knowledge of how EVs and EV training works, and if you do not have such knowledge already, please refer to the EV Training Manual. This guide will not attempt to teach you how to construct and choose EV spreads for Little Cup. For that, please refer to the EV Distribution section of the Little Cup Guide.
In short, to fully EV train a Pokemon without letting it grow too many levels, adhere to two simple principles:
1. Gain as few Experience Points per battle as possible
2. Gain as many EVs per battle as possible
In practice it's quite hard to stick to those extremely closely, and though the math will be kept to a minimum in this article some understanding is required, and everything else in this guide is about applying those principles effectively.
Before you start: Always, always remember to keep an untouched clone in case you mess up. EVs can be undone with the right Berries, but there is no way to level down a Pokemon that is at too high a level. Breeding the perfect Pokemon and then having it ruined permanently by poor EV training is not something you want to happen.
"Spare" EXP before you hit Lv. 6:
Each Pokemon has a Base EXP rate which determines how quickly it levels up. Depending on which category your Pokemon falls into, you will have a different amount of EXP to use before level 6. If you deposit a Pokemon in the Box, its stats will be recalculated and EVs taken into account (normally you would have to wait for a level up for stat recalculation). This is called the "Box Trick" and it means you can finish training while at level 5 not 4. Despite what some rumors may say, the Box Trick does work in DPPt so long as you are not at level 100, so don't worry about not being able to train your Emerald hatched Pokemon. The Box Trick lets you safely train until you are one EXP from hitting level 6.
Below is a list of all Pokemon eligible for Little Cup ordered by their Base EXP groups, with the maximum amount of EXP they can gain without reaching level 6 from Lv. 1 (DPPt hatching) and Lv. 5 (ADV hatching). Beware that if you use your full quota as listed here, you will be a single point from levelling up and becoming ineligible for Little Cup.
(# maybe links to each Pokemon's page from its name, nicer format with HTML table or something, for whoever HTMLises it. Columns for each speed of training?)
Fluctuating
From Lv. 1: 111
From Lv. 5: 46
Corphish
Drifloon
Gulpin
Makuhita
Shroomish
Wailmer
Fast
From Lv. 1: 171
From Lv. 5: 71
Aipom
Azurill
Chingling
Cleffa
Duskull
Glameow
Happiny
Igglybuff
Ledyba
Misdreavus
Purugly
Shuppet
Skitty
Snubbull
Spinarak
Spoink
Togepi
Medium Slow
From Lv. 1: 178
From Lv. 5: 43
Abra
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur
Charmander
Chikorita
Cyndaquil
Gastly
Geodude
Machop
Nidoran
Nidoran
Oddish
Pidgey
Poliwag
Squirtle
Medium Fast
From Lv. 1: 215
From Lv. 5: 90
Caterpie
Diglett
Doduo
Ekans
Grimer
Magnemite
Mankey
Meowth
Onix
Paras
Ponyta
Psyduck
Rattata
Sandshrew
Scyther
Seel
Slowpoke
Spearow
Venonat
Vulpix
Weedle
Zubat
Slow
From Lv. 1: 269
From Lv. 5: 113
Chinchou
Dratini
Exeggcute
Houndour
Larvitar
Magikarp
Ralts
Rhyhorn
Shellder
Staryu
Swinub
Tentacool
Erratic
From Lv. 1: 405
From Lv. 5: 168
Anorith
Clamperl
Feebas
Lileep
Nincada
Swablu
Battles Needed To Fully Train
To know how many battles you will need, and therefore how many EXP you can afford to gain per battle (and whether you need Pokerus) it is advised that you perform a calculation to check how many EVs you will need to gain in battle.
This section assumes you will be using Magikarp or Starly to train; if you use something else check what EVs it gives, if it gives 1 Speed the following steps are the same and you have nothing to worry about. If the Pokemon gives one EV for any other stat, apply the steps (shown below), but replace the differences for Speed with whatever the Pokemon you are training against gives and EV in. You should not be training against something that gives more than one EV as they all give too many EXP to be practical.
Choose your EV spread, then take 100 points away from each stat you are investing more than 100 EVs in, and for stats you are investing less than 100 EVs in take away the largest multiple of 10 that you can without dropping into negative numbers. This represents using Vitamins on these stats; yes, it will be expensive.
The next part is complicated by Magikarp/Starly giving one Speed EV as well as the four EVs per battle you get from the correct Power Item, so it may be slightly tricky to follow:
1. Divide needed EVs for each non-Speed stat by eight (four without Pokerus)
2. Round each up
3. Add up the total then multiply by two (unless you lack Pokerus, in which case don't multiply) and take it away from the needed Speed (if the number drops below 0 you must add multiples of 10 until the result is greater than 0, these are Tamato Berries to compensate for gaining too many Speed EVs while training for other stats).
4. Divide the remaining needed Speed by ten (five without Pokerus)
5. Round Speed up
5. Add the Speed number to each of the other stats. This is the number of battles you will need.
As an example let's use an Abra which wants a spread of 76 HP / 236 SpA / 196 Spe. Using the correct amount of Vitamins on each leaves 6 HP / 136 SpA / 96 Spe to be earned in battle.
For our Abra (which does not have Pokerus) this means the following:
1. Divide each non-Speed stat by 4: 1.5 HP / 34 SpA / 96 Spe
2. Round up: 2 HP / 34 SpA / 96 Spe
3. Take the non-Speed total away from the Speed: 96 - 36 = 60 so: 2 HP / 3. SpA / 60 Spe
4. Divide the Speed by 5: 2 HP / 34 SpA / 12 Spe
5. Round up Speed (not needed in this case)
6. Add up total: 2 + 34 + 12 = 48
So Abra will need 48 battles to be fully EV trained. If you look back to step 4 you can see which Power Items it will need to hold, and for how many battles each. Two Battles with a + HP Item, 34 with a + SpA Item and 12 with a + Spe Item.
For an example of a Pokemon that does not need Speed EVs see Demonstration B (#link to that part of the guide)
It is worth noting that whenever you round down a number, you will gain 2 more EVs than you need. For our Abra it will have a final spread of 78 HP / 136 SpA / 96 Spe, which is still inside the 510 limit. A vast majority of the time this does not matter, but when repeatedly rounding down on EV Spreads with a total very close to 510 EVs you may run into problems. Careful use of EV reducing Berries and planing out/keeping exact track of EVs given, and in some cases reducing vitamin use, will always be able to get you out of this. For an example see Demonstration C (#link to that part of the guide)
Now, check the spare EXP from the previous section against the number of battles you need to win to fully EV train your Pokemon. This gives you an indication of how many EXP you can afford to gain per battle. If the number of battles is greater than the spare EXP then you will need to catch Pokerus (if your Pokemon is or was infected with Pokerus then it will gain double EVs) and go through the steps again in order to get the desired spread. If not then you are in the clear! It is well worth catching Pokerus if it is available as it speeds up the actual training process massively.
Minimizing EXP Gain Per Battle
How to get only one EXP point per battle.
The main difference between EV Training for Little Cup and for any other metagame is that you must be extraordinarily careful not to gain too much EXP. This section will teach you how to have your Pokemon gain only a single experience point per battle.
Since you will be gaining most of your EVs via Power Items, it's best to just look for Pokemon that give few EXP per battle, unlike the EVing hotspots used for normal EV training. Wild Magikarp give lowest EXP of any Pokemon that can be found, and are easy to find, even if fishing is slightly slow. Simply fish anywhere with the Old Rod. In Diamond or Pearl they range in level from three to 10, and in Platinum from three to 15. In HeartGold and SoulSilver they come from level 2 to 20 when Surfing in a varity of places, Blackthorn City being an easy to access example. Depending on how you received the Pokemon you intend to train (via Trade, Pal Park or Home Grown) and how many spare EXP you have, you will have to run from Magikarp above a certain level, because by beating all Magikarp you encounter will often lead to gaining too many EXP and missing the Lv. 5 limit.
By making one of your Pokemon (other than the one you are EV training) hold an EXP Share, you will halve the EXP that your Pokemon in training receives. To split the EXP still further you will need to switch in multiple Pokemon; the total number of Pokemon needed in the battle to hit the magic one EXP Gain for your baby depends on how you obtained the Pokemon and the level of the Magikarp:
(# this section can get a nice table)
Home Grown
1 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 2 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 9 and above N/A
2 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 2 Magikarp need 1 in total
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 6 in total
3 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 5 in total
5 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 4 in total
Pal Parked
1 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-6 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp and above N/A
2 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3-4 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
3 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 6 in total
5 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Traded
1 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-6 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 6 and above N/A
2 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
3 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP Traded:
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 6 in total
5 EXP Traded:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Another option is to chain low level Pokemon (for information on how to chain please consult the Chaining Guide (#link to chaining guide)); this has the advantage of keeping the level consistent and being relatively quick once the chain starts for those experienced at it. However, the lowest EXP per battle it is possible to get per battle from a chained Pokemon in Diamond and Pearl for Pal Parked or Traded Pokemon is two, so some spreads may require Magikarp training or Platinum. PokeRadar is also unavailable in HG/SS, so will not be an option for everyone.
The best option for chaining is generally Starly which can be found at level 2 on Route 201 (both DP and Pt), and is found 50% of the time for easy chain starting. Starly gives two EXP to Home Grown Pokemon if all six Pokemon participate in the battle, but will give a minimum of four to both Pal Parked and Traded Pokemon. Another option is Kricketot, which is rarer (10% on Route 201) and can only be found at level 2 on Platinum at night. It gives slightly lower EXP than Starly, it two minimum.
(# this can get a table, number of exp gained down the side, where it came from along the top)
Lv. 2 Starly
Home Grown
1 EXP: 5
2 EXP: 3
4 EXP: 2
Pal Parked:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
Traded:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
Lv. 2 Kricketot
Home Grown
1 EXP: 4
2 EXP: 3
3 EXP: 2
Pal Parked:
1 EXP: 6
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 3
4 EXP: 3
5 EXP: 2
Traded:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
If your Pokemon does not want Speed EVs, or you have got as many as you want, use Tamato Berries every 10 battles (5 with Pokerus), or less when nearing the EV limit, to get rid of the Speed EVs that Magikarp give and make room for more useful EVs. Always keep a careful count of EVs and make sure you have the correct Power Item.
The larger a difference between your Pokemon's spare EXP and the number of battles needed to fully train it, the more EXP you can get away with gaining per battle. However, you must be very careful to keep count of how much EXP you have received and how much more you can gain before level 6, as well as how many more battles you need to fully train.
This may seem arduous, but once you get in practice both methods are not particularly difficult, though still harder than standard EV training. The extra time spent EV training a Little Cup Pokemon is more than compensated by the time you save breeding one due to lower IVs being required for a "perfect" Pokemon, as seen in the Little Cup Breeding Guide (#link when its up, I've asked Swinub to post it).
Demonstration B
To demonstrate of how to follow the steps with a spread for a Pokemon which does not want Speed, here is Munchlax who wants a spread of 236 HP / 36 Def / 236 SpD.
First, take 100 points away from each stat you are investing more than 100 EVs in, and for stats you are investing less than 100 EVs in take away the largest multiple of 10 that you can without dropping into negative numbers. This gives: 136 HP / 6 Def / 136 SpD
For our Munchlax (which has Pokerus)
1. Since there is no Speed, divide each stat by 4: 34 HP / 1.5 Def / 34 SpD
2. Round up: 34 HP / 2 Def / 34 SpD
Steps 3, 4 and 5 can be skipped as they only relate directly to Speed.
6. Add up total: 34 + 2 + 34 = 70
So Munchlax will need 70 battles to be fully EV trained. If you look at step 2 you can see which Power Items it will need to hold, and for how many battles each. Two Battles with a + Def Item, 34 with a + Def Item and another 34 with a + SpD Item.
The important thing to remember with no or very low speed spreads is to remember to use plenty of Tamato Berries (which reduce your Speed EVs by 10), with no Speed spreads just use one every 5 battles (10 without Pokerus) and right near the end if your spread can't afford to have a few useless EVs in Speed use them every battle. For low speed spreads (where you would naturally gain more Speed EVs from just Magikarp/Starly than you need), simply wait until there are enough battles remaining to give you the correct amount of Speed EVs, and use Tamatoes to cut your Speed to zero. Then continue battling, and let Magikarp/Starly give you all the Speed you need.
Demonstration C
In the previous demonstrations I have tried to use competitively reasonable spreads, however since the following problem is so rare I have had to resort to using specific non max IVs to find an example that works. The issues brought up below should not worry EV trainers, it will virtually never happen and is only included for completeness. The times when you may need to understand the below are when you are aiming for an EV spread that uses almost every one of the 510 allowed (508 and some unusual 504 spreads), and invests a number less than 100 ending in 2, 4, or 6 in several stats.
To demonstrate the possible problems rounding up can cause, a Gulpin who wants a spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 104 Spe (hits 11 Spe with a IV of 14), total 508 and has Pokerus.
Now, following through the steps gives us:
Remove up to 10 multiples of 10 to reduce each stat: 16 HP / 152 Atk / 2 Def / 2 SpA / 2 SpD / 4 Spe
1. Divide needed EVs for each non-Speed stat by eight: 2 HP / 19 Atk / 0.25 Def / 0.25 SpA / 0.25 SpD
2. Round each up: 2 HP / 19 Atk / 1 Def / 1 SpA / 1 SpD
3. Add up the total then multiply by two, and take it away from the needed Speed (if the number drops below 0 you must add multiples of 10 until the result is greater than 0, these are Tamato Berries to compensate for gaining too many Speed EVs while training for other stats): 4-48=-44 may not go below 0, so -44+(5*10)=6
4. Divide the remaining needed Speed by ten: 0.6
5. Round Speed up: 1
5. Add the Speed number to each of the other stats. This is the number of battles you will need: 25
However, there is a problem. If you try to do this in game, you will end up with 116 HP (100 from Vitamins, 2 battles at 8 EVs each) / 252 Atk (100 from Vitamins, 19 battles at 8 EVs each) / 18 Def (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 18 SpA (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 18 SpD (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 108 Spe (100 from Vitamins, 48 from Magikarp while training for other stats, 50 removed by Tamato. Or to avoid inefficiency 50 from Vitamins, 48 from Magikarp while training for other stats, one battle for 10 EVs)
The total is 530, which as we all know is well above the 510 limit for all EVs. Why is this you ask? None of the stats gained more points! Because too many of the stats use more EVs than they need for the stats that they want. This is because with Pokerus you gain 8 EVs per battle, quite a lump, forcing you off the minimum needed EVs on numbers that end with 2, 4, and 6 which you want less than 104 EVs in and use Vitamins on. Stats you are investing more than 104 in should have no problems, (unless they have an even IV you are correcting as this causes you to add a number of EVs that does not divide by 8) because they will always need an exact multiple of 8 EVs from battles. In a vast majority of cases the two "buffer" points between the 508 that are useful and the 510 that is possible will remove any problems you encounter, but occasionally something like this example will happen.
Even in the worst case scenario it should be possible to work around, but it can be very messy and will take a few extra battles. In this case you will need to not use any Vitamins on Def, SpA, and SpD, do four battles for each (32 EVs) then use two Tamatoes which will bring them to 12 EVs each. This will reduce the EVs for each of those stats by 6 and the total by 18, which is not enough as the spread total would still be 512. Speed is the stat causing this problem, and unfortunately it is much harder to solve as each battle will give the same Speed EVs that you can remove with Tamato, so you can't use them together to adjust the number the EVs end with. One way to get around this is to do your first few battles without Pokerus, keeping track of how this will effect then other stats, and bring your speed down like that. A generally better and easier to understand way is to use the Macho Brace instead of the Speed Power Item. One battle against Magikarp with the Macho Brace will give 4 Speed EVs, to add to the 98 it has from other battles and Vitamins, so it needs two to reach or pass 104. With two battles holding the Macho Brace you hit 106 Spe, still more than you need but low enough to put you at the 510 limit. This will leave you with a spread of: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 106 Spe, which has a total of 510. Perfect.
Together these actions will cause you to do four more battles than you would otherwise have to do, but the minimum EXP you can gain is still well within what is possible without levelling over 5. You will still need to be extraordinarily careful in this kind of situation, use EV reducing berries at exactly the right times, and occasionally on a very tight spread wait until the end before applying the last Vitamin (allowing room for Speed to accumulate 10 extra EVs before you erase them), but in theory every spread is attainable.
----------
So, any suggestions about the more finished sections? What questions would non-LC players be asking that I have not answered? What title would be less bland?
dr00 did write a "how to apply this" add on to this guide that I was planing to go over and add, but looking again large parts of it are covered in other guides (Pt EVing manual, distributing EVs in LC), so I will incorporate the other parts and the "applying it" element into the main guide, and some specific demonstrations at the end.
Places marked with a # for ctrl F need coming back to/thinking about for various reasons. its mostly "note to self" stuff.
---------------
EV Training for Little Cup
As the Little Cup metagame is played at level 5 rather than the usual level 100, there are some unique difficulties in fully EV training a Pokemon without bringing it over the level 5 limit. This guide will help you to overcome these difficulties and allow you to give your Pokemon any EV spread you want, while staying at or below level 5. This guide will assume that you have a basic knowledge of how EVs and EV training works, and if you do not have such knowledge already, please refer to the EV Training Manual. This guide will not attempt to teach you how to construct and choose EV spreads for Little Cup. For that, please refer to the EV Distribution section of the Little Cup Guide.
In short, to fully EV train a Pokemon without letting it grow too many levels, adhere to two simple principles:
1. Gain as few Experience Points per battle as possible
2. Gain as many EVs per battle as possible
In practice it's quite hard to stick to those extremely closely, and though the math will be kept to a minimum in this article some understanding is required, and everything else in this guide is about applying those principles effectively.
Before you start: Always, always remember to keep an untouched clone in case you mess up. EVs can be undone with the right Berries, but there is no way to level down a Pokemon that is at too high a level. Breeding the perfect Pokemon and then having it ruined permanently by poor EV training is not something you want to happen.
"Spare" EXP before you hit Lv. 6:
Each Pokemon has a Base EXP rate which determines how quickly it levels up. Depending on which category your Pokemon falls into, you will have a different amount of EXP to use before level 6. If you deposit a Pokemon in the Box, its stats will be recalculated and EVs taken into account (normally you would have to wait for a level up for stat recalculation). This is called the "Box Trick" and it means you can finish training while at level 5 not 4. Despite what some rumors may say, the Box Trick does work in DPPt so long as you are not at level 100, so don't worry about not being able to train your Emerald hatched Pokemon. The Box Trick lets you safely train until you are one EXP from hitting level 6.
Below is a list of all Pokemon eligible for Little Cup ordered by their Base EXP groups, with the maximum amount of EXP they can gain without reaching level 6 from Lv. 1 (DPPt hatching) and Lv. 5 (ADV hatching). Beware that if you use your full quota as listed here, you will be a single point from levelling up and becoming ineligible for Little Cup.
(# maybe links to each Pokemon's page from its name, nicer format with HTML table or something, for whoever HTMLises it. Columns for each speed of training?)
Fluctuating
From Lv. 1: 111
From Lv. 5: 46
Corphish
Drifloon
Gulpin
Makuhita
Shroomish
Wailmer
Fast
From Lv. 1: 171
From Lv. 5: 71
Aipom
Azurill
Chingling
Cleffa
Duskull
Glameow
Happiny
Igglybuff
Ledyba
Misdreavus
Purugly
Shuppet
Skitty
Snubbull
Spinarak
Spoink
Togepi
Medium Slow
From Lv. 1: 178
From Lv. 5: 43
Abra
Bellsprout
Bulbasaur
Charmander
Chikorita
Cyndaquil
Gastly
Geodude
Machop
Nidoran
Nidoran
Oddish
Pidgey
Poliwag
Squirtle
Medium Fast
From Lv. 1: 215
From Lv. 5: 90
Caterpie
Diglett
Doduo
Ekans
Grimer
Magnemite
Mankey
Meowth
Onix
Paras
Ponyta
Psyduck
Rattata
Sandshrew
Scyther
Seel
Slowpoke
Spearow
Venonat
Vulpix
Weedle
Zubat
Slow
From Lv. 1: 269
From Lv. 5: 113
Chinchou
Dratini
Exeggcute
Houndour
Larvitar
Magikarp
Ralts
Rhyhorn
Shellder
Staryu
Swinub
Tentacool
Erratic
From Lv. 1: 405
From Lv. 5: 168
Anorith
Clamperl
Feebas
Lileep
Nincada
Swablu
Battles Needed To Fully Train
To know how many battles you will need, and therefore how many EXP you can afford to gain per battle (and whether you need Pokerus) it is advised that you perform a calculation to check how many EVs you will need to gain in battle.
This section assumes you will be using Magikarp or Starly to train; if you use something else check what EVs it gives, if it gives 1 Speed the following steps are the same and you have nothing to worry about. If the Pokemon gives one EV for any other stat, apply the steps (shown below), but replace the differences for Speed with whatever the Pokemon you are training against gives and EV in. You should not be training against something that gives more than one EV as they all give too many EXP to be practical.
Choose your EV spread, then take 100 points away from each stat you are investing more than 100 EVs in, and for stats you are investing less than 100 EVs in take away the largest multiple of 10 that you can without dropping into negative numbers. This represents using Vitamins on these stats; yes, it will be expensive.
The next part is complicated by Magikarp/Starly giving one Speed EV as well as the four EVs per battle you get from the correct Power Item, so it may be slightly tricky to follow:
1. Divide needed EVs for each non-Speed stat by eight (four without Pokerus)
2. Round each up
3. Add up the total then multiply by two (unless you lack Pokerus, in which case don't multiply) and take it away from the needed Speed (if the number drops below 0 you must add multiples of 10 until the result is greater than 0, these are Tamato Berries to compensate for gaining too many Speed EVs while training for other stats).
4. Divide the remaining needed Speed by ten (five without Pokerus)
5. Round Speed up
5. Add the Speed number to each of the other stats. This is the number of battles you will need.
As an example let's use an Abra which wants a spread of 76 HP / 236 SpA / 196 Spe. Using the correct amount of Vitamins on each leaves 6 HP / 136 SpA / 96 Spe to be earned in battle.
For our Abra (which does not have Pokerus) this means the following:
1. Divide each non-Speed stat by 4: 1.5 HP / 34 SpA / 96 Spe
2. Round up: 2 HP / 34 SpA / 96 Spe
3. Take the non-Speed total away from the Speed: 96 - 36 = 60 so: 2 HP / 3. SpA / 60 Spe
4. Divide the Speed by 5: 2 HP / 34 SpA / 12 Spe
5. Round up Speed (not needed in this case)
6. Add up total: 2 + 34 + 12 = 48
So Abra will need 48 battles to be fully EV trained. If you look back to step 4 you can see which Power Items it will need to hold, and for how many battles each. Two Battles with a + HP Item, 34 with a + SpA Item and 12 with a + Spe Item.
For an example of a Pokemon that does not need Speed EVs see Demonstration B (#link to that part of the guide)
It is worth noting that whenever you round down a number, you will gain 2 more EVs than you need. For our Abra it will have a final spread of 78 HP / 136 SpA / 96 Spe, which is still inside the 510 limit. A vast majority of the time this does not matter, but when repeatedly rounding down on EV Spreads with a total very close to 510 EVs you may run into problems. Careful use of EV reducing Berries and planing out/keeping exact track of EVs given, and in some cases reducing vitamin use, will always be able to get you out of this. For an example see Demonstration C (#link to that part of the guide)
Now, check the spare EXP from the previous section against the number of battles you need to win to fully EV train your Pokemon. This gives you an indication of how many EXP you can afford to gain per battle. If the number of battles is greater than the spare EXP then you will need to catch Pokerus (if your Pokemon is or was infected with Pokerus then it will gain double EVs) and go through the steps again in order to get the desired spread. If not then you are in the clear! It is well worth catching Pokerus if it is available as it speeds up the actual training process massively.
Minimizing EXP Gain Per Battle
How to get only one EXP point per battle.
The main difference between EV Training for Little Cup and for any other metagame is that you must be extraordinarily careful not to gain too much EXP. This section will teach you how to have your Pokemon gain only a single experience point per battle.
Since you will be gaining most of your EVs via Power Items, it's best to just look for Pokemon that give few EXP per battle, unlike the EVing hotspots used for normal EV training. Wild Magikarp give lowest EXP of any Pokemon that can be found, and are easy to find, even if fishing is slightly slow. Simply fish anywhere with the Old Rod. In Diamond or Pearl they range in level from three to 10, and in Platinum from three to 15. In HeartGold and SoulSilver they come from level 2 to 20 when Surfing in a varity of places, Blackthorn City being an easy to access example. Depending on how you received the Pokemon you intend to train (via Trade, Pal Park or Home Grown) and how many spare EXP you have, you will have to run from Magikarp above a certain level, because by beating all Magikarp you encounter will often lead to gaining too many EXP and missing the Lv. 5 limit.
By making one of your Pokemon (other than the one you are EV training) hold an EXP Share, you will halve the EXP that your Pokemon in training receives. To split the EXP still further you will need to switch in multiple Pokemon; the total number of Pokemon needed in the battle to hit the magic one EXP Gain for your baby depends on how you obtained the Pokemon and the level of the Magikarp:
(# this section can get a nice table)
Home Grown
1 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 2 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 9 and above N/A
2 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 2 Magikarp need 1 in total
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 6 in total
3 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 5 in total
5 EXP for Home Grown:
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 15 Magikarp need 4 in total
Pal Parked
1 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-6 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp and above N/A
2 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3-4 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
3 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 6 in total
5 EXP Pal Parked:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Traded
1 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 4-6 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 6 and above N/A
2 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 4-5 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 6 in total
3 EXP Traded:
Lv. 3 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 5-6 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 6 in total
4 EXP Traded:
Lv. 4 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 6 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 8 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 6 in total
5 EXP Traded:
Lv. 5 Magikarp need 2 in total
Lv. 7 Magikarp need 3 in total
Lv. 9 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 10 Magikarp need 4 in total
Lv. 11 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 12 Magikarp need 5 in total
Lv. 13 Magikarp need 6 in total
Lv. 14 Magikarp need 6 in total
Another option is to chain low level Pokemon (for information on how to chain please consult the Chaining Guide (#link to chaining guide)); this has the advantage of keeping the level consistent and being relatively quick once the chain starts for those experienced at it. However, the lowest EXP per battle it is possible to get per battle from a chained Pokemon in Diamond and Pearl for Pal Parked or Traded Pokemon is two, so some spreads may require Magikarp training or Platinum. PokeRadar is also unavailable in HG/SS, so will not be an option for everyone.
The best option for chaining is generally Starly which can be found at level 2 on Route 201 (both DP and Pt), and is found 50% of the time for easy chain starting. Starly gives two EXP to Home Grown Pokemon if all six Pokemon participate in the battle, but will give a minimum of four to both Pal Parked and Traded Pokemon. Another option is Kricketot, which is rarer (10% on Route 201) and can only be found at level 2 on Platinum at night. It gives slightly lower EXP than Starly, it two minimum.
(# this can get a table, number of exp gained down the side, where it came from along the top)
Lv. 2 Starly
Home Grown
1 EXP: 5
2 EXP: 3
4 EXP: 2
Pal Parked:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
Traded:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
Lv. 2 Kricketot
Home Grown
1 EXP: 4
2 EXP: 3
3 EXP: 2
Pal Parked:
1 EXP: 6
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 3
4 EXP: 3
5 EXP: 2
Traded:
1 EXP: N/A
2 EXP: 5
3 EXP: 4
4 EXP: 3
6 EXP: 2
If your Pokemon does not want Speed EVs, or you have got as many as you want, use Tamato Berries every 10 battles (5 with Pokerus), or less when nearing the EV limit, to get rid of the Speed EVs that Magikarp give and make room for more useful EVs. Always keep a careful count of EVs and make sure you have the correct Power Item.
The larger a difference between your Pokemon's spare EXP and the number of battles needed to fully train it, the more EXP you can get away with gaining per battle. However, you must be very careful to keep count of how much EXP you have received and how much more you can gain before level 6, as well as how many more battles you need to fully train.
This may seem arduous, but once you get in practice both methods are not particularly difficult, though still harder than standard EV training. The extra time spent EV training a Little Cup Pokemon is more than compensated by the time you save breeding one due to lower IVs being required for a "perfect" Pokemon, as seen in the Little Cup Breeding Guide (#link when its up, I've asked Swinub to post it).
Demonstration B
To demonstrate of how to follow the steps with a spread for a Pokemon which does not want Speed, here is Munchlax who wants a spread of 236 HP / 36 Def / 236 SpD.
First, take 100 points away from each stat you are investing more than 100 EVs in, and for stats you are investing less than 100 EVs in take away the largest multiple of 10 that you can without dropping into negative numbers. This gives: 136 HP / 6 Def / 136 SpD
For our Munchlax (which has Pokerus)
1. Since there is no Speed, divide each stat by 4: 34 HP / 1.5 Def / 34 SpD
2. Round up: 34 HP / 2 Def / 34 SpD
Steps 3, 4 and 5 can be skipped as they only relate directly to Speed.
6. Add up total: 34 + 2 + 34 = 70
So Munchlax will need 70 battles to be fully EV trained. If you look at step 2 you can see which Power Items it will need to hold, and for how many battles each. Two Battles with a + Def Item, 34 with a + Def Item and another 34 with a + SpD Item.
The important thing to remember with no or very low speed spreads is to remember to use plenty of Tamato Berries (which reduce your Speed EVs by 10), with no Speed spreads just use one every 5 battles (10 without Pokerus) and right near the end if your spread can't afford to have a few useless EVs in Speed use them every battle. For low speed spreads (where you would naturally gain more Speed EVs from just Magikarp/Starly than you need), simply wait until there are enough battles remaining to give you the correct amount of Speed EVs, and use Tamatoes to cut your Speed to zero. Then continue battling, and let Magikarp/Starly give you all the Speed you need.
Demonstration C
In the previous demonstrations I have tried to use competitively reasonable spreads, however since the following problem is so rare I have had to resort to using specific non max IVs to find an example that works. The issues brought up below should not worry EV trainers, it will virtually never happen and is only included for completeness. The times when you may need to understand the below are when you are aiming for an EV spread that uses almost every one of the 510 allowed (508 and some unusual 504 spreads), and invests a number less than 100 ending in 2, 4, or 6 in several stats.
To demonstrate the possible problems rounding up can cause, a Gulpin who wants a spread of 116 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 104 Spe (hits 11 Spe with a IV of 14), total 508 and has Pokerus.
Now, following through the steps gives us:
Remove up to 10 multiples of 10 to reduce each stat: 16 HP / 152 Atk / 2 Def / 2 SpA / 2 SpD / 4 Spe
1. Divide needed EVs for each non-Speed stat by eight: 2 HP / 19 Atk / 0.25 Def / 0.25 SpA / 0.25 SpD
2. Round each up: 2 HP / 19 Atk / 1 Def / 1 SpA / 1 SpD
3. Add up the total then multiply by two, and take it away from the needed Speed (if the number drops below 0 you must add multiples of 10 until the result is greater than 0, these are Tamato Berries to compensate for gaining too many Speed EVs while training for other stats): 4-48=-44 may not go below 0, so -44+(5*10)=6
4. Divide the remaining needed Speed by ten: 0.6
5. Round Speed up: 1
5. Add the Speed number to each of the other stats. This is the number of battles you will need: 25
However, there is a problem. If you try to do this in game, you will end up with 116 HP (100 from Vitamins, 2 battles at 8 EVs each) / 252 Atk (100 from Vitamins, 19 battles at 8 EVs each) / 18 Def (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 18 SpA (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 18 SpD (10 from Vitamins, 1 battle for 8 EVs) / 108 Spe (100 from Vitamins, 48 from Magikarp while training for other stats, 50 removed by Tamato. Or to avoid inefficiency 50 from Vitamins, 48 from Magikarp while training for other stats, one battle for 10 EVs)
The total is 530, which as we all know is well above the 510 limit for all EVs. Why is this you ask? None of the stats gained more points! Because too many of the stats use more EVs than they need for the stats that they want. This is because with Pokerus you gain 8 EVs per battle, quite a lump, forcing you off the minimum needed EVs on numbers that end with 2, 4, and 6 which you want less than 104 EVs in and use Vitamins on. Stats you are investing more than 104 in should have no problems, (unless they have an even IV you are correcting as this causes you to add a number of EVs that does not divide by 8) because they will always need an exact multiple of 8 EVs from battles. In a vast majority of cases the two "buffer" points between the 508 that are useful and the 510 that is possible will remove any problems you encounter, but occasionally something like this example will happen.
Even in the worst case scenario it should be possible to work around, but it can be very messy and will take a few extra battles. In this case you will need to not use any Vitamins on Def, SpA, and SpD, do four battles for each (32 EVs) then use two Tamatoes which will bring them to 12 EVs each. This will reduce the EVs for each of those stats by 6 and the total by 18, which is not enough as the spread total would still be 512. Speed is the stat causing this problem, and unfortunately it is much harder to solve as each battle will give the same Speed EVs that you can remove with Tamato, so you can't use them together to adjust the number the EVs end with. One way to get around this is to do your first few battles without Pokerus, keeping track of how this will effect then other stats, and bring your speed down like that. A generally better and easier to understand way is to use the Macho Brace instead of the Speed Power Item. One battle against Magikarp with the Macho Brace will give 4 Speed EVs, to add to the 98 it has from other battles and Vitamins, so it needs two to reach or pass 104. With two battles holding the Macho Brace you hit 106 Spe, still more than you need but low enough to put you at the 510 limit. This will leave you with a spread of: 116 HP / 252 Atk / 12 Def / 12 SpA / 12 SpD / 106 Spe, which has a total of 510. Perfect.
Together these actions will cause you to do four more battles than you would otherwise have to do, but the minimum EXP you can gain is still well within what is possible without levelling over 5. You will still need to be extraordinarily careful in this kind of situation, use EV reducing berries at exactly the right times, and occasionally on a very tight spread wait until the end before applying the last Vitamin (allowing room for Speed to accumulate 10 extra EVs before you erase them), but in theory every spread is attainable.
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So, any suggestions about the more finished sections? What questions would non-LC players be asking that I have not answered? What title would be less bland?