Topic: Re-Introducing Myself to Pokemon

[EDIT: Skip to the last paragraph if you don't want to read the whole story, I just felt like sharing. ]

Hi, I'm bit new to these new Generations of Pokemon, having never played since Ruby/Sapphire (or FireRed/LeafGreen?) I can't remember. But I was 11 or 12 then, now I'm 20.

Anyways, I had just started to get back into Pokemon as of September 2013, picking up a 3DS with Diamond, HeartGold(Actually got HeartGold a few weeks ago), and Black just to start. I beat Diamond first , and i liked it a lot! I liked the starters and I liked the new legendaries. Had fun and all my memories started coming back of the good old days.

I got Pokemon X as soon as it came out and I beat it quickly...and although I felt like i may have done it too fast to REALLY enjoy the game, but I loved it and I'm still playing it now! The endgame felt lacking at first but I figured out ways to keep going in the game (Through the GTS, trying to make Wonder Trade better by sending over pokemon that evolve after trading) Although I am a bit nooby at it, I had fun playing it and I love my Greninja!

Then I started playing Pokemon Black... and for some reason, it was just dreadful. The new pokemon in Gen 5 were alright but I just couldnt immerse myself like I did with Diamond and X. It could be because I am extremely unfamiliar with Gen 5, and it just didn't feel right to me. I'm not even sure if I beat Black or not, I beat N and I caught Reshiram but do I keep going? Do I challenge the Pokemon League again? I just can't seem to get myself into this game, I don't really like Gen 5 too much. It would be great if someone could tell me, and maybe if Black2/White2 would be worth getting.

Finally, I picked up HeartGold and it felt like a great refresher! Having played Blue and Yellow, as well as Silver and Crystal as little boy, it was just awesome! I picked my old starter, Totodile, and my adventure was awesome! I got all 16 badges, beat the Elite 4 and Red for the first time in over 10 years! It was fun and it was great reminiscing about those days, and it made me happy.

Now that I told you my life story with pokemon, I can get to the point of this topic.

I am kinda new to the whole thing about IVs, EVs, Natures and Abilities. I believe it was introduced in Ruby/Sapphire if I remember correctly, but I never really understood what it was all about, as I didn't know any friends who played pokemon and compete against and if I did, I can't really remember. I did some reading on that stuff and I kinda know what they are but I still don't truly understand how they work and how to utilize EV training or the benefits of having Max IVs, and figuring out how to unlock hidden abilities or what natures work best with the pokemon I am using, etc.

If anyone could take the time to help me learn what this stuff is all about it would be greatly appreciated.

Also, feel free to add me and I will add you right back! Thanks!

so... I recommend to start with the EV training(they're simple) as the IVs can turn away many people(tried in the third gen got bored and only gave it a second chance now on Pokémon Y because they say it's easier) well first things first I'll explain the basics:

• the abilities are quite simple they give other effects to the Pokémon every pokémon has one ability and most species have 2 or more possible abilities(of which only one will be in a pokémon. some only have one possibility, mostly legendaries or some pokemon with levitate) you can see your Pokémon's ability on the sumary with a description about it there too.
• now Natures are just slightly more complicated every pokémon has a nature(and any pokémon can have any nature) each nature multiplies one stat by 1.1 and other by 0.9(except Hardy, Docile, Serious, Bashful and Quirky they have no effect I like them because of this) some sites metion a "Favorite Flavor" this has only use in some games of gens III and IV(Ruby, Saphire, Emerald, Diamond, Pearl and Platinum)
• EVs are points you pokémon gets for beating other Pokémons every Pokémon has an ammount of EVs they give to a certain status when defeated and every 4 EVs for a single stat mean 1 extra point in that stat by level 100(might happen before this part is kinda confusing) a pokémon can only get 510 EVs total and one stat can get up to 255(or 252 don't remember the exact number now) EVs so you can only max two stats at once for a single Pokémons so you have to be careful on how you will distribute those points. there are guide online that tell the EVs you get for each Pokémon and some items give extra EVs either by training or instantly and in XY there's the super training that makes things easier and faster to EV train.
• IVs are the most simple to understand and hardest to control every Pokémon gets a random number between 0 and 31 for each stat. the higher the number the bigger the stat will be. the problem is that you can't see or guess those numbers without a lot of math(or number typing on an IV calculator in some sites) the most you can do is see a vague phrase from an NPC that only tells the highest(and the worst if it's a 0) and then there's breeding;. when breeding Pokémon the new one hatched from the egg will have 3of the parent's stats(chosen randomly) and the rest of them will be generated randomly there are ways to control this a little more but it's extensive and hard to explain so I won't go much deeper(there are good tutorials online on IV breeding)

and that's the basics, hope you can understand my explanation but don't give up if it's hard to understand I'm horrible explaining anything and often make things looks harder than they are.