What are effort levels and grit items in Pokemon Legends: Arceus? Here’s a short primer.
Pokemon games have traditionally featured a way to boost your pokemon’s stats, and Legends Arceus is no exception. Instead of the usual Individual Values (IVs) and Effort Values (EVs) with which most Pokemon fans will be familiar, Legends Arceus introduces Effort Levels (ELs). Here’s how Effort Levels work and how to increase them using Grit Dust and other Grit items.
What are Effort Levels?
Alongside leveling your pokemon, increasing your pokemon’s individual Effort Levels will be the key to your success in Pokemon Legends Arceus. Each pokemon has its own set of ELs that when increased will boost that particular stat. This used to be known as the Effort Value system, where stats were increased by batting wild pokemon. Instead, Effort Levels can only be increased by using Grit items.
You can check a pokemon’s Effort Levels in its summary menu if it’s in your party. In the pasture, hovering over any pokemon will show its stats on the right, including ELs. When you use a Grit item to increase a stat, the current ELs will also be shown in addition to the stats of that pokemon.
What are Grit Items?
To raise Effort Levels, you’ll need plenty of Grit items. Grit items consist of Grit Dust, Grit Gravel, Grit Pebbles, and Grit Rocks. The higher your pokemon’s EL, the better the Grit item you’ll need to increase it further. You can only use a greater Grit item to raise that value once it out levels the use of the previous Grit item.
Grit Dust can be used from Effort Levels 0-3, Grit Gravel from levels 3-6, Grit Pebbles from levels 6-9, and Grit Rocks will finish out the Effort Level from 9-10. Each Grit item will only raise one EL by one level.
Grit items are found randomly when you defeat pokemon, when you harvest resources, and most reliably when you release pokemon from the pasture. You can also trade in 10 lower level grit for one higher level grit from Zisu in the Jubilife Village Training Grounds.
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