It’s much harder to find good spots to train against wild Pokémon to raise EVs in FireRed & LeafGreen, so you’ll need to rely on the Vs. Seeker for the most part for EV Training. Keep in mind that some Trainers will “level up” at certain points in the game — this guide assumes you’ve beaten the game and have unlocked the final rematches against Trainers.
It’s a good idea to use a scout Pokémon to locate the Trainer on the route you’re looking for so you don’t accidentally give the Pokémon you’re EV Training the wrong EVs by mistakenly fighting the wrong Trainer. Once you’ve located the Trainer you’re looking for, ride your bike back and forth to reset the Vs. Seeker, register it to your Select button, and then press that after every 15–20 seconds of bike riding.
Also, keep in mind that the Power Items are not available in FireRed & LeafGreen, and, on top of that, you cannot contract the Pokérus in FireRed & LeafGreen — you’d have to trade with Ruby, Sapphire, or Emerald in order to get an infected Pokémon. Because of this, the only way you may have to speed up EV Training may be the Macho Brace.
EV Training Spots
Below is a list of some recommended training spots for EV Training each of the six stats. You’ll find a few different options to suit your training needs.
HP
- On Route 8, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Lass Julia, who uses two Clefairy at level 22, each giving 2 HP EVs for a total of 4 HP EVs per battle.
- Slowpoke (Fuchsia City, Viridian City, Routes 6, 22, 23, and 25 — 100% while Surfing in LeafGreen only) gives 1 HP EV.
Attack
- On Route 11, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Youngster Dave, who uses a Nidoran♂ at level 18 (1 Attack EV) and a Nidorino at level 18 (2 Attack EVs), for a total of 3 Attack EVs per battle.
- On Route 21, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Fisherman Ronald, who uses three Seaking at level 28 (2 Attack EVs each) and a Goldeen at level 28 (1 Attack EV), for a total of 7 Attack EVs per battle.
Defense
- On Route 16, you can use the Vs. Seeker to repeatedly fight Biker Ruben, who uses three Weezing at level 48 (2 Defense EVs each) in the final rematch, for a total of 6 Defense EVs per battle and a good amount of EXP.
- On Route 17, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Biker Virgil, who uses two Weezing at level 28 (2 Defense EVs each) and a Koffing at level 28 (1 Defense EV), for a total of 5 Defense EVs per battle.
- Also on Route 17, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Biker William, who uses three Koffing at level 25 (1 Defense EV each) and two Weezing at level 25 (2 Defense EVs each), for a total of 7 Defense EVs per battle.
Special Attack
- On Route 11, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Engineer Bernie, who uses three Magneton at level 28 (2 Special Attack EVs each) in the final rematch, for a total of 6 Special Attack EVs per battle.
- On Route 15, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Picnicker Kindra, who uses a Gloom at level 28 (2 Special Attack EVs) and two Oddish at level 28 (1 Special Attack EV each), for a total of 4 Special Attack EVs per battle.
- The Pokémon Tower is a great place to train against wild Gastly (1 Special Attack EV) and Haunter (2 Special Attack EVs). The only other Pokémon in the area is Cubone, which is very rare, plus there is a free healing spot there.
- Psyduck (Fuchsia City, Viridian City, Routes 6, 22, 23, and 25 — 100% while Surfing in FireRed only) gives 1 Special Attack EV.
Special Defense
- At the Canyon Entrance on Seven Island, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Aroma Lady Miah, who uses two Bellossom at level 50 (3 Special Defense EVs each), for a total of 6 Special Defense EVs per battle.
- Tentacool (most routes/cities while Surfing) gives 1 Special Defense EV. Depending on the route or city, you might also run into Tentacruel, which gives 2 Special Defense EVs instead.
Speed
- On Route 13, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Picnicker Susie, who uses a Pidgeot (3 Speed EVs), Raichu (3 Speed EVs), Raticate (2 Speed EVs), and two Persian (2 Speed EVs each) in her final rematch, all at level 52, for a total of 12 Speed EVs.
- This is a great source of Speed EVs, but the high levels may make it too challenging of a place to EV Train.
- Also on Route 13, if you’re looking for something a little more manageable, you can use the Vs. Seeker to fight Picnicker Gwen, who uses two Pidgey (1 Speed EV), a Pidgeotto (2 Speed EVs), and a Meowth (1 Speed EV), all at level 27, for a total of 5 Speed EVs per battle.
- Both Pidgey and Rattata on Route 1 give 1 Speed EV each and have a combined 100% encounter rate.
How Many EVs You’ll Actually Gain
It’s important to keep in mind that all of the numbers listed above for how many EVs each Pokémon give are their base yield, so that’s before any multipliers or bonuses. The actual number you’ll get should be much higher than that.
Here’s a little cheatsheet for how much EVs you’ll gain (the base EV yield is the number you see listed in the encounters):
- If you have no Macho Brace or Pokérus…
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 1, you’ll get 1 EV each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 2, you’ll get 2 EVs each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 3, you’ll get 3 EVs each.
- If you have the Macho Brace but no Pokérus or the Pokérus but no Macho Brace…
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 1, you’ll get 2 EVs each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 2, you’ll get 4 EVs each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 3, you’ll get 6 EVs each.
- If you have the Macho Brace and the Pokérus…
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 1, you’ll get 4 EVs each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 2, you’ll get 8 EVs each.
- If the Pokémon’s base EV yield is 3, you’ll get 12 EVs each.