How to unlock the IV checker in Pokemon Sword and Shield
If you’re playing either Pokemon Sword or Pokemon Shield for the narrative above all else, then you don’t really need to worry about minutia like Individual Values; getting your head around them for viable competitive play is a must, however. A Pokemon’s six base statistics are freely viewable to players right from the start of the game, though each of these — for example, Attack and Defense — then features an underlying IV ranging from 0 to 31. This means that two Pokemon of the same species at the same level can output different results depending on their underlying IVs.
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This can be a cause of confusion, so unlocking the IV judge function in Pokemon Sword and Shield is definitely a must. In order to be able to perform IV checks, players will need to make their way to the Battle Tower, which is unlocked after completing the game. The Battle Tower allows players to engage in a series of challenging bouts in order to work their way up the ranks, and after reaching Poke Ball Tier players will be able to start using the Judge Function.
After unlocking it, use the PC at any Pokemon Center and view your captured Pokemon that are stored in Boxes. You’ll now be able to check each Pokemon’s Individual Values, with the phrase “Best” indicating that the IV for that base stat is at its maximum and any other adjective indicating it’s lower.
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