“The best offense is a good defense” isn’t really true in most things, but a high defense stat can still be vitally important for certain Pokemon in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet. Many players will need to farm up a healthy defense stat on certain Pokemon to let them out-last common opponents.
There are many different areas of Pokemon Scarlet & Violet that serve as an optimal spot for farming EVs on a specific stat. The Defense stat varies a bit because of the version exclusivity of Eiscue and Stonjourner. While it’s a bit easier to farm Defense stats in one game than the other, it’s not too difficult for either.
As ever, players will need to be very particular about which Pokemon they have in their party and which ones they choose to fight. Here is how to farm Defense EVs in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet.
How to Farm Defense EVs in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
Players can efficiently farm Defense EVs by equipping Pokemon with a Power Belt and fighting certain Pokemon. Having a Pokemon hold a Power Belt adds eight Defense EVs to any yields they receive from battle. This applies to any fight they are in the party for; they do not even need to actually participate in the battle.
Though Power Belt lets players get guaranteed Defense EVs, players can guarantee larger pure yields by only fighting Pokemon that offer Defense EVs. Pokemon from these evolutionary lines offer pure Defense EVs:
- Shellder
- Sudowoodo
- Pineco
- Torkoal
- Hippopotas
- Klefki
- Bergmite
- Mareanie
- Sandygast
- Rolycoly
- Stonjourner
- Eiscue
- Tarountula
- Nacli
- Klawf
- Orthworm
- Iron Treads
There are other Pokemon that offer Defense EVs, but the yields might be split with other stats that may not be useful. These Pokemon and their evolutions offer pure Defense EV yields to make sure that players don’t have to use any extra EV-reducing berries.
Best Place to Farm Defense EVs in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet
The best place to farm Defense EVs in Pokemon Scarlet & Violet is the Asado Desert. The area where players fight the Quaking Earth Titan is home to a variety of Pokemon that offer pure Defense EV yields, guaranteeing players raise up their Pokemon’s Defense stat as quickly as possible.
The Asado Desert is home to Hippopotas, Hippowdon, Nacli, and Orthworm. Pokemon Scarlet players can also defeat the version-exclusive Stonjourner. Each of these Pokemon offer either one or two Defense EVs per knockout, which is upped to nine or 10 with a Power Belt. Players can max out a Pokemon’s Defense stat by winning around 26 battles against Pokemon.
If players want to get more precise EV totals on their Pokemon they can focus on defeating Orthworm, Hippowdon, and Stonjourner. Each of these Pokemon offer two Defense EVs or 10 while holding a Power Belt. Players can easily track their EV totals by looking at the amount of PP of their moves.
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet are available now on Nintendo Switch.