This page covers where to EV Train Special Attack (Sp. Atk) in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. It is recommended that you read through the basics in main Scarlet & Violet EV Training Guide first. You’ll find all of the worthwhile EV training options for training Sp. Atk further down on this page, and you can use the Sp. Atk EV Counter tool immediately below to keep track of your Sp. Atk after you’ve decided what to train against!
Keep Track of Your Sp. Atk EVs
Recommended Sp. Atk EV Training Spots
The following spots are the recommended spots to EV Train your Pokémon’s Special Attack (Sp. Atk) stat, because they are consistent, always available, and require no or little Sandwich-making in order to train against. It is broken down by low-level, mid-level, and high-level spots, with low-level spots being ideal for early-game or situations where you don’t want to gain much Exp. Points.
2 base Sp. Atk Pokémon are the easiest to train against if you are going for a specific EV amount, such as 160 Sp. Atk or 224 Sp. Atk, because you get 10 Sp. Atk EVs per fight, so in those two examples, you’d need 16 fights and 22 fights with the Power Lens equipped respectively (160 Sp. Atk and 220 Sp. Atk), and then for the 224 Sp. Atk example, you can just unequip the Power Lens and fight twice (2 Sp. Atk EV each) to get to 224 Sp. Atk EVs.
Also, any time this guide says “knock out” in regards to gaining EVs, that does not include Auto-Battle and it also does include catching the Pokémon. It’s just easiest to say “knock out” because most of the time that’s what you’ll be doing.
Lastly, if you have a mass outbreak for a Pokémon that gives Sp. Atk EVs, that’s a better option, but it’s not consistent—scroll further down to see a lot of all Pokémon that give just Sp. Atk EVs and consider any of them if they are in an outbreak.
Girafarig (mid- or high-level, 2 base EV)
Girafarig is a fantastic choice for a Pokémon to fight for Sp. Atk EVs, as it gives 2 base Sp. Atk EVs when defeated, or 10 Sp. Atk EVs total while holding the Power Lens. This means it takes 26 Girafarig to go from 0 EVs to 252 EVs, and thankfully Girafarig is available in quite a few locations with low overlap with other Pokémon if you use the proper sandwich. There are two locations in particular that are good to fight it in—one mid-level and one high-level—so continue reading to decide where you want to fight it at (makes no difference for EVs, just Exp. Points).
Which Food to Eat for Girafarig
Although Girafarig is a Normal/Psychic-type, you’ll want to focus on its Psychic type for meal purposes. Encounter Boost: Psychic is what you’re looking for here, so you can either make a sandwich that gives that effect, or you can just stop by Smoochurros near Mesagosa (East)‘s gate and buy a Chocolate Churro, which gives Encounter Boost: Psychic Lv. 1. That’s more than enough to cause plenty of Girafarig to appear in either recommended location.
Where to Find Girafarig
Although Girafarig is available in a variety of locations across Paldea, there are two locations in particular that are recommended: outside of Porto Marinada in western Paldea and in Area Zero. The ones outside of Porto Marinada are at level 25–29, while the ones in Area Zero can be level 55+.
If you go for the mid-level ones, just fly to the Pokémon Center outside of Porto Marinada and you’ll find plenty of them in the field there. There aren’t really any competing Psychic types, so that’s good news for Girafarig.
As for the high-level ones in Area Zero, as long as you’re in the upper areas outside of any caves or away from watery areas, you should find plenty of them as well. You can just go to Research Station No. 1, exit, and should find a few around. However, one very important note about the Area Zero Girafarig: do NOT fight any Farigiraf! Farigiraf will sometimes appear in a pack of Girafarig, but it gives 3 HP instead of 2 Sp. Atk, so you should not fight it and should run away if you happen to get into a battle with it.
Psyduck (very low-level, 1 base EV)
Although it’s not necessarily the most effecient, due to other Water-type Pokémon being in the area, Psyduck is still a worthwhile super-early-game option that’s worth mentioning. It’s available at a very low level near the start of the game. It gives 1 base Sp. Atk EV, meaning you’ll get 9 Sp. Atk EVs per Psyduck if you’re holding the Power Lens and it will take 28 Psyduck to go from 0 EVs to 252 EVs while holding the item.
Which Food to Eat for Psyduck
Eating food that provides Encounter Power: Water is recommended to make sure Psyduck appear often enough, although even if that is unavailable, you should still be able to find Psyduck by rivers easily enough. You can either make your own sandwich for it, or you can buy a Chocolate Banana Crepe from Kanto Crepes in one of the stands near the center of Mesagoza, among other places. That gives Encounter Power: Water Lv. 1, which is good enough.
Unfortunately there are a lot of other Water-type Pokémon that like to appear near rivers, so you’ll have to accept that, but it still ensures there are plenty of Psyduck around as long as you are in a good area for them.
Where to Find Psyduck
As mentioned, Psyduck can be found all over the place. Realistically, you’re better off with Girafarig after you’re out of the early-game, so this recommendation is geared towards the very beginning of the game, so you can access it immediately (well, after dropping money on the Power Lens).
Where should you go? There’s a small bridge just to the north of Poco Path Lighthouse, right near the entrance to South Province (Area One). You probably went across it on your way to Los Platos. Well, that river there has plenty of Psyduck in it, especially with the Encounter Power: Water effect active, so you’ll find other Pokémon like Buizel and sometimes Chewtle around as well, but they’re easy enough to avoid.
Mareep / Flaaffy (very low- or mid-level, 1 or 2 base EV)
Both Mareep and Flaaffy are other options to consider if you’re looking for a change of pace. Sorry Ampharos, but you’re just not common enough to be worthwhile, and usually appear with a few Mareep anyway. Mareep and Flaaffy are best fought in separate locations, depending on your level and your needs.
One thing to beware, though: they both have Static for their Ability, so avoid hitting them with contact moves (most Physical-based moves), else you’ll wind up paralyzed. You can give the Pokémon you’re fighting them with the Punching Glove to avoid this, so long as it isn’t the Pokémon you’re also EV training, which should be holding the Power Lens instead, of course.
Mareep gives 1 base Sp. Atk EV while Flaaffy gives 2 base Sp. Atk EVs. This means Mareep gives 9 Sp. Atk EVs and Flaaffy gives 10 Sp. Atk EVs per knock out. If you absolutely must fight Ampharos, you can (you’ll find it in the northeast part of Paldea), and you’ll get 3 base Sp. Atk EVs or 11 Sp. Atk EVs total per knock out, but you’ll probably be mix-and-matching with Mareep, so you really should only be attempting this if you are planning on the max of 252 EVs.
Speaking of which, it takes 28 Mareep to reach 252 EVs from 0 EV, or 26 Flaaffy to reach that same number, assuming you’re holding the Power Lens.
Which Food to Eat for Mareep / Flaaffy
Anything that gives you the Encounter Power: Electric boost is what you’ll want for these Electric-types. Keep in mind that, as a result, you’ll also find Pawmi and Pawmo around pretty much any area with Mareep or Flaaffy, but they’re easy enough to avoid. You can make a sandwich, or you can eat the Klawf al Ajillo in Go-For-Broke Grill in the southwest part of Mesagoza or a storebought Avocado Sandwich in Every Wich Way in Mesagoza to give you Encounter Power: Electric.
Where to Find Mareep
What’s nice about Mareep and why it might be desirable early-game over Psyduck is that it spawns in packs, meaning you will find a lot of Mareep when you’re looking for them, and the whole area of darker soil east of Mesagoza has plenty of Mareep to go around. They’re all around level 9 as well, so shouldn’t be too difficult to take down.
Where to Find Flaaffy
Although they don’t appear in flocks like Mareep do, the stretch of land directly east of Porto Marinada will provide you plenty of Flaaffy so long as you have Encounter Power: Electric active. It’s right next to the Pokémon Center, so you don’t have to go far, plus you can even check what’s up for auction while you’re in the neighborhood!
One plus side of going this route: you can feel free to knock out any Girafarig you run across, as they give the same amount of EVs as Flaaffy does, just minus the boost. If you’re training against Girafarig, the same logic applies, where you a Flaaffy is the same as a Girafarig EV-wise, but it wasn’t recommended there because you have to prepare for Static that Flaaffy has, whereas Girafarig is pretty straightforward.
Pokémon That Give Sp. Atk EVs
Unsure of whether the Pokémon you just fought gives you Sp. Atk EVs? Want to know if a Pokémon in a mass outbreak gives Sp. Atk EVs? Or maybe you’re fighting something that isn’t on the recommended list? Well, this list down below shows all of the Pokémon that give exclusively Sp. Atk EVs as well as how many they give, so you can use that as a reference, although where they are located will not be listed here.
| Image | Pokémon | Base EV | Power EV |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Ampharos | 3 | 11 |
 | Arboliva | 3 | 11 |
 | Armarouge | 2 | 10 |
 | Cacnea | 1 | 9 |
 | Charcadet | 1 | 9 |
 | Clauncher | 1 | 9 |
 | Clawitzer | 2 | 10 |
 | Dolliv | 2 | 10 |
 | Espeon | 2 | 10 |
| Flaaffy | 2 | 10 |
 | Frosmoth | 2 | 10 |
 | Gardevoir | 3 | 11 |
 | Gastly | 1 | 9 |
 | Gengar | 3 | 11 |
 | Gholdengo | 2 | 10 |
 | Gimmighoul | 1 | 9 |
| Girafarig | 2 | 10 |
 | Glaceon | 2 | 10 |
 | Glimmet | 1 | 9 |
 | Glimmora | 2 | 10 |
 | Golduck | 2 | 10 |
 | Hatenna | 1 | 9 |
 | Hatterene | 3 | 11 |
 | Hattrem | 2 | 10 |
 | Haunter | 2 | 10 |
 | Houndoom | 2 | 10 |
 | Houndour | 1 | 9 |
 | Hydreigon | 3 | 11 |
 | Impidimp | 1 | 9 |
 | Indeedee | 2 | 10 |
 | Iron Jugulis | 3 | 11 |
 | Iron Moth | 3 | 11 |
 | Kirlia | 2 | 10 |
 | Lilligant | 2 | 10 |
 | Litleo | 1 | 9 |
 | Magnemite | 1 | 9 |
 | Magneton | 2 | 10 |
 | Magnezone | 3 | 11 |
| Mareep | 1 | 9 |
 | Morgrem | 2 | 10 |
 | Numel | 1 | 9 |
 | Oricorio | 2 | 10 |
 | Petilil | 1 | 9 |
 | Polteageist | 2 | 10 |
| Psyduck | 1 | 9 |
 | Pyroar | 2 | 10 |
 | Rabsca | 2 | 10 |
 | Ralts | 1 | 9 |
 | Sandy Shocks | 3 | 11 |
 | Sinistea | 1 | 9 |
 | Smoliv | 1 | 9 |
 | Snom | 1 | 9 |
 | Sunflora | 2 | 10 |
 | Sunkern | 1 | 9 |
 | Tatsugiri | 2 | 10 |
 | Toxel | 1 | 9 |
 | Toxtricity | 2 | 10 |
 | Volcarona | 3 | 11 |
 | Zoroark | 2 | 10 |
 | Zorua | 1 | 9 |
