Pokemon EV Optimising Calculator

[Terresquall]

Hi folks,

I'm a competitive Pokemon player who freelances as a web developer, and I've designed a web application to help Pokemon players allocate their defense EVs in the most optimal way. What does this mean? Long story short: let's say you have a Smeargle (you know, they are a competitive menace because there are so many moves they can use) who you put 252 Speed EVs into to maximise your opportunities for getting Fake Out or Spore off, and now you want to pump the remaining 256 EVs into defenses. Do you know that putting 252 HP EVs isn't the most optimal way to invest your defenses because of diminishing returns?

My app helps to find out how you should optimise your EV investments in such cases, so you don't have to do the (very complex) Math yourself. I do detail the Math on my site too, so you can also check it out if it piques your curiosity.

The URL is here: http://www.terresquall.com/apps/pkm-ev-optimiser/

I'm looking for feedback on how the interface, usability and functionality (i.e as a competitive battler, what other features do you think it should have?) can be improved, so do share your opinions and suggestions (either here or through the email link on my site).

 

[Matt_192]

Not a part of competitive anymore, but if there was anything to add I'd definitely say add in a damage calculator feature that basically says "try and live these attacks and find the optimal spread for it"

 

[Terresquall]

Not a part of competitive anymore, but if there was anything to add I'd definitely say add in a damage calculator feature that basically says "try and live these attacks and find the optimal spread for it"

That's a great idea. A lot of people suggested a similar idea to me.

 

[Martin]

I like this a lot; it's nice to see some replacement software for that old altervista PHP defense effort values calculator which is still only up to date for gen 4 hahahaha. In addition to what Matt suggested above, I think I have a few ideas for potential ways of improving this.

You could probably simplify the nature selection thing; realistically speaking, you don't need it to list all of those because there are only a handful which will ever come into effect: a +Def nature, a +SpD nature, a neutral nature, a -Def nature, and a -SpD nature. In addition, I think it would be good if it defaulted to a setting which automatically determines nature, because something a lot of players (especially newer ones) do is that they will use a suboptimal nature on a mixed defensive spread.

If there is any way to integrate offenses and speed in the context of determining defensive investment into this that'd be brilliant I think; it kind of ties into the thing about optimal natures that I mentioned above, but sometimes a Pokemon can get more points into a defensive stat whilst hitting the same Speed benchmark by running a +Spe nature as opposed to a +Def or +SpD nature (e.g. last gen a variant of Zapdos that I ran ran smth like 108-ish Spe timid (can't remember the exact number now) because it let me net a few more points in Def whilst outrunning SpD Talonflame). I think maybe if you did something where the user can optionally input Atk, SpA, and Spe benchmarks which they want the EV spread to hit (so things like offensive damage calcs and speed benchmark calculations are done prior to plugging the Pokemon in on this; the ranges would vary based on the listed Atk/SpA/Spe stats so that users can only input up to the maximum value) which the calculator then takes into account when determining the optimal EV spread. This is kinda hard to explain like this, so I'll just put a setup process example below so you can picture what I mean a bit better.

Spoiler: Example setup

For this demonstration, I want to ensure that my Zapdos is faster than adamant Landorus-T (Zapdos needs to hit 282 Spe) whilst maximising bulk in a Def:SpD ratio of 66.6:33.4

1. Set the calculator up for Zapdos
2. Set the calculator to provide an EV spread which hits 282 Spe
3. Set the calculator to have a 66.7:33.3 Def:SpD ratio
   
4. Set the calculator to find the best nature
5. Hit calculate
6. The calculator would then spit out an EV spread of 252 HP / 172 Def / 84 Spe with a +Spe nature.

I think that "find best" with other stats taken into account should be the only time that natures affecting non-defensive stats should be taken into account btw.

Another idea is the ability to adjust the bar with text; atm you can get a rough thing, but it is impossible to get a number if decimal values; not really that big a deal, but it'd be nice to have a little more control over it for pedantic people like me.

Add functionality to account for abilities and other stuff which can't use a stat-levels scale (e.g. Intimidate, Fur Coat etc.) so that you can get spreads whilst taking them into account.

I'm sure I've missed a load of things, so if you haven't already it is definitely a good idea to post a thread here because of the much wider competitive player base on Smogon, which not only improves the number of people who know about this, but also means you have more people who can give you feedback.