lizzledpink

IVs are Individual Values and vary with every individual pokemon. Each stat - HP, Attack, Speed, etc - has a set IV value, ranging from zero to thirty-one. Thirty-one is the best IV you can have. Pokemon can legally/in the game have all IVs set at 31, but normally it's really rare. IVs give your pokemon better stats with higher values.

Every pokemon has IVs, so you'll probably want to know these. At least they're simple.

EVs are Effort Values. These your pokemon earns in battle. Each pokemon you beat gives your pokemon a set EV. For example - whenever your pokemon beats a Geodude it gains one Defense EV, no matter what level the Geodude is. You have a set value for each stat.

But within each stat, you can only earn up to 252 EVs. Also, the total of all six - HP, Atk, Sp. Atk, Sp. Def, Def and Spd - cannot total more than 510. (This means that setting all EVs at 85 makes them equal.) For every 4 EVs a pokemon earns in a stat, it gains one point for that stat. (So, if a pokemon earns 32 Speed EVs, it will have, say, 76 Speed instead of

Complicated? Yes. You don't need to mess with EVs if you don't want to, but if you DO understand them, I highly suggest it.

Okay, enough with the ugly math. On to the instructions.

Python is a programming language for the computer. Don't worry, you won't need to understand Python, just download it so that you can use the Python files, like sendpkm.py! Python Version 2.6.5 can be found at this page: http://www.python.org/download/ Choose the one labeled "Windows binary," Windows users. Linux... You're smart enough to figure that without my help.

This took a while for me to find, but thankfully, I bookmarked this one exactly in place. http://projectpokemon.org/forums/showthread.php?780-GTS-website-research&p=67086&viewfull=1#post67086 When the page loads, it should automatically scroll to the right post, number 44. The post should have an attachment called "sendpkm.zip" for you to download. So, download it, and unzip the file. This is what will send the Pokemon to the GTS server.

This next download is borderline optional. This is a program that will check the legality of a pokemon - whether it's clearly hacked, or apparently normal. I suggest it... Creating blatantly hacked pokemon is fun, but has consequences. So, use it to check that everything is in order - the pokemon's nature is right, the way it was caught makes sense, etc. http://projectpokemon.org/editing/legalitychecker.php

This last download is the program that will allow you to create the pokemon. It's a powerful program that can edit every detail of a Pokemon file, from Trainer name to Items to Ribbons - but most importantly, Pokemon. You should only need the pokemon editing features. http://projectpokemon.org/editing/pokesav/pokesavdownload.php Pick either the Diamond/Pearl English version or the Platinum English version; both will work well. The Pokemon HG/SS version is buggy, for me at least.

Try to do everything in the order below. It's not strictly necessary, but will keep you very organized in the end, which is absolutely necessary when dealing with the Pokesav program.

As I write each step, I will also be providing an example by creating an Abra from scratch at the same time, so you have an idea of what to do.

0. If you ever need to reference something about a pokemon, my favorite pokedexes/resources for Pokemon data are bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net and, less commonly, marriland.pokemon.com! Or, use your own favorite site.

1. Start with selecting pokemon species. Pick anything from the drop-box labeled Pokemon in the top left. Smile. That was easy, right? For the sake of example, I'm choosing an Abra.

2. Optional: you can give your Pokemon a held item, if you want. Though Key Items are listed, if you want to keep your game uncorrupted, don't pick them. Also, don't pick things like Cherish Balls, which you can't actually obtain. Have fun with that. I gave the Abra an Amulet Coin. A simple, helpful item.

3. Trainer ID. Enter any ID you like here, anything from 1-99999. Also, under Trainer ID there is Secret ID. Pokemon games also assign trainers Secret IDs, which can't be viewed in-game. Unfortunately, this means your pokemon can't have you as its OT, unless you're using your own save file for the game - which, considering you're bothering to read this part of the guide, you do not have. Sorry. Still, it can be funny to pick the numbers... Amuse yourself. Use a funny date, or something. For this Abra, I set the TID to 1337 and the SID to 10101. Hooray.

4. Level. Type in a level from one to one-hundred. By typing in the level, Experience, the box beneath, should automatically set itself to the correct value. Sometimes, however, it doesn't, so be very careful and make sure the Experience changes its value when you type the Level in! I set Abra to level 10. The Experience changed itself to 560.

5. Happiness. Set any value from 1 to 255. Higher values mean the Pokemon likes you more. Helpful for happiness-evolution pokemon, like Eevee/Umbreon or Happiny/Chansey. Otherwise, it's not terribly important. I set my Abra to 70 happiness, a fairly standard value for a just-caught pokemon.

6. We'll skip PID for now. Also, regarding Pokerus - if you know what it is, take your pick. If you want to know what it is, look it up on Bulbapedia (look at step zero). If you don't know or care what it is, skip it. I left the Pokerus boxes unchecked, and ignored the PID box temporarily. By the way, PID stands for Pokemon ID.

7. IVs. 99% of the time you can click the "All 31" button and be happy. I already explained these above. Pick your poison. Mainly out of boredom, I set these to (going down) 16, 13, 26, 22, 31, and 20. But again, do whatever you like...

8. EVs. I explained these above as well. Yippee. You can either ignore this, or mess with it. Whatever you like. I kept Abra's EVs at zero across the board, keeping with the illusion that it was "recently caught."

9. Contest Stats are fairly irrelevant... They range form 0-255, with 255 being max condition. Unless you want a Milotic, you probably don't care. I ignored this part. Abra has no contest conditioning and I plan to keep it that way.

10. Now, we jump to the top! Hooray! Go back to what seems to be the middle column, at the top. Now, we choose the pokemon's name. It should currently look something like this: "Name | llllllllll | | Original Name |" Right? Clicking the original name button will set it to the Pokemon species name (for my Abra, that means ABRA.) But, if you want to nick name your pokemon, click on the button with many lines.

The name edit box pops up. Click in the text box (it should have a bunch of l's in it), backspace, and put a nickname of your choice in, with up to ten characters. Feel free to ignore the rest; click OK. Oh, and check the "Nicknamed" checkbox beneath these buttons, if you nicknamed it. I named Abra "Abrian," and clicked the checkbox. Yes, I am feeling creative indeed.

11. Below that, we have the OT (original trainer) Data. Like with the Trainer ID, you can't mess with this without a hard copy of your save file... So, have fun. Click the button with the lines to open the Name Edit box again, and type in whatever you like. Please note that when you press OK, anything past the seventh character will be cut off. SEVEN CHARACTERS LONG! Understand? Good. Now, below the OT buttons, we see an OT gender selection box. Pick male or female. Hooray. I made the original trainer's name SirLeet, who is male. Exciting!

12. We continue down the line, to the boxes labeled "Ball Caught With" and "Ability." Ball Caught With is set automatically to Cherish Ball. CHANGE IT. The only pokemon that should be in Cherish Balls are Event Pokemon, and the pokemon you are creating IS NOT. Going with the standard pokeball usually works best, but if for some reason you want to say "I caught this with a Net Ball" then change it to that. Whaaaatever. Just remember that pokemon supposedly hatched from eggs are in ordinary Pokeballs. Abra was "caught" with a Poke Ball. Keep it simple, stupid.

Now, for the Ability box. For this one you might need to look it up on the Internet. Some pokemon have two possible abilities, between which you must choose. Others just have one ability. Either way, to stay with a "legal" pokemon, you need to learn what abilities it can have, and choose them. Bulbapedia and Marriland's pokedexes will both list the abilities if you search the species. Find the website, find the page for the pokemon, and I highly suggest that you keep it open! For Abra, I went to Bulbapedia from the site given above. I typed Abra into the search box. I clicked where it said "Abra is a species of pokemon." I looked at the box at the right side of the page, and found that Abra has two abilities: Inner Focus or Synchronize. I then chose Synchronize from the drop-box back in the Pokemon Editor.

13. Skip the Marking Box. It's mainly irrelevant. You can change that any time within the game, anyway.

More importantly: Moves. What can this pokemon know? This part is rather fun. On the web pages that I hope you kept open, you can find all the moves your pokemon learns, in every way: Level Up, Egg Moves, TM/HM moves, and even Tutor moves. To keep legal, you may pick anything from the last two categories. You may pick anything from the Egg move category if you plan to make the game think this pokemon hatched. (Admittedly it's possible to have a non-hatched pokemon that knows an egg move, but it is rare.) Pick from the Level Up moves that your pokemon would have learned - for example, try not to make a level 5 Pikachu that already knows Thunderbolt. (Again, it's possible... But rare.)

The PP column is automatically set to zero. Ignore it. Your pokemon will be dropped into the box when you receive it anyway, and thus fully healed.

I looked at the Bulbapedia page for a while, and finally decided on the following moves for my Abra: Teleport (a level up from level 0), Zen Headbutt (a tutor move), Barrier (an egg/breeding move) and Flash (TM70). Not bad for a usually useless lump of a pokemon. No offense, Abra.

14. Contest ribbons/achievements... Do whatever you want. I don't care, personally. Abra had no contest experience at all.

15. Back to the top again, for column 3! We're almost done... Yeesh. Anyway, at the top we have some very important areas to fill: "Met at Level." For Met at Level, you can really type in any number below or equal to the pokemon's current level. If you want to maintain the illusion that the pokemon was hatched, set this to level one. Abra was met at level 10. I'm still pretending it's freshly caught.

Now. Of more importance is the Location at which the pokemon was caught. See the dropdown box? Please understand that no, you can't catch a Girafarig on route 204, however cool it might be. However, Girafarig COULD be caught at other places in Sinnoh. To be completely honest, you CAN probably get away with saying you caught the Girafarig on route 204... But if you can help it, don't. For "hatched" pokemon, set this to the place "Pokemon Day Care." For Pal Park pokemon, choose Pal Park... Be warned; this is a little trickier, picking Pal Park. You're almost better off just saying you caught a pokemon on a route where it's impossible. Abra was "caught" on route 203. I checked with Bulbapedia. Abra can definitely be caught there.

15. Date Met. Put either today, or a day before today. Do not put a date from before the game came out, such as 2004... That just doesn't make sense, you know. Abra was caught on March 24th, 2010, in honor of my brother's recent birthday.

16. Egg Hatched - leave this field and the drop-box below it alone, if your pokemon was not hatched. Abra wasn't hatched, so this is irrelevant. If your pokemon was "hatched," then pick a place it was hatched at with the drop-box. Don't pick a forbidden place, like the Mystery Zone. Also, pick the day the Egg was received. This should be the same day as or some time before the pokemon was "met" in step 15.

17. Hometown. Where did the pokemon come from? Which game? Pick anything that applies. Remember that 4th generation pokemon didn't exist in earlier games, so you have to choose Diamond, Pearl or Platinum. This has no effect on what game you transport the pokemon to, so if you're sending the pokemon to SoulSilver, for example, don't worry too much. I set Abra's hometown to Sinnoh - Pokemon Diamond.

18. If this pokemon will hatch from an egg - meaning it IS an egg, right when you get it - check the box that says "Is Egg" off to the right. You can also put in however many steps you need to take for it to hatch. I suggest a number around 100. That gives you enough time to fly to a location you want it to hatch at. If the pokemon has any ribbons - i.e. champion ribbons, effort ribbons (only check effort ribbons if the pokemon has 510 total EVs), Julia's ribbons - click the Ribbons button to choose those. Abra doesn't have anything from either of these, so I left the "Is Egg" box and the Ribbons button alone.

19. Up at the top, again! This time, we're looking at the drop-box in the top right corner. Language! You probably want English for this, unless you want a pokemon of a different language. Below that is the Fateful Encounter checkbox. You won't need to use this, most likely, but it set it so that the pokemon appears to be a mystery gift event pokemon. Pokemon that aren't mystery gifts shouldn't have this checked, for legality issues. Abra is English, and not a Fateful Encounter pokemon.

20. For Unown, Burmy/Wormadam, Shellos/Gastrodon, Deoxys, Rotom, Giratina and Shaymin, you might want to pick the form of the pokemon. For Giratina and Shaymin, make sure the held item matches the form you pick. Abra has no other form.

21. Do you remember that we skipped two things, at the beginning, and around step 6? You want to save the Stats Edit button and the PID for absolute last, and we're doing them now! Aren't you excited? You're finally almost done. Emphasis on Finally.

Go back to the PID box in the first column. Click the Generate button. Choose a Nature (you can check what effect Natures have on different Stats online). Class should be left alone. Gender is up to you. If you want to you can make your pokemon Shiny by checking the Shiny box here! Cool, right? Finally, click Generate. Based on all the values you've already given the program, it will come up with a unique PID - Pokemon ID, that is - for the pokemon. This will automatically be a legitimate PID, which is nice. Click OK. I made my Abra Quirky, which according to Bulbapedia has no effect on its stats, just as I like it. I ignored the class option. I set its gender to male, and decided to make Abra really cool by making it shiny! I clicked generate, and pressed OK.

22. Finally, the last step. Click the Stats Edit button at the top left - it's hard to miss. You don't need to manually input the stats, IF you have filled out the IVs, the level, and the EVs. Instead, just click the "All Max" button. Everything will be automatically set for you! You can even add a status condition if you want. I wouldn't bother. I clicked All Max, and Abra's stats immediately calculated themselves as I hoped. I clicked OK.

Now, you're done. If you've followed this guide really well, your Pokemon should be complete and the hacking should be undetectable. At the top of the window, click the OK button.

Back at the original window, your pokemon's name should now be in the Party Edit box, slot one. Click the "save" button next to your Pokemon's name. SAVE THE FILE IN THE SAME FOLDER LABELED SAVEPKM. You can name the file anything. I saved the file for Abra as customAbra.pkm.

Congratulations! You have created your Pokemon! Keep Pokesav open for now.

Back in the savepkm folder, find the .pkm you created. Drag the .pkm and drop it, first, on TrashBytes.exe. A python screen should pop up, blank. Wait for it to start. Without you even doing anything it should do its job, then say "Press enter to exit." Press enter. Exit.

Now, a more important part. Drag and drop the .pkm to Legal.exe. A black screen will pop up, then fill with text - some of it colored. Read it through, looking for anything in red, and anything that says "invalid" or something similar. With the exception of the very last line, "Type:", if you followed this guide then everything should check out! If something is wrong, you need to go back to pokesav and figure out what you did that made the pokemon invalid. The Legal program's readme file can help with that, as can Bulbapedia and Marriland.

The last line - the Type line - may be impossible to validate, one way or another. The pokemon should still be legal enough to pass any tests, as long as it isn't a Manaphy or an Arceus, for example - obtained only via events. If it points to an obvious cause that you think you could fix with pokesav, it never hurts to try! Otherwise, just move on.