POKEMON GAMES HIDDEN NUMBERS
As you may suspect, there are a lot of hidden numbers and values within the Pokemon game. Some values control your Pokemon's stats. Others control whether your Pokemon is shiny, how Wurmple evolves, and whether Mirage Island appears today. This guide is a quick reference to all these values, and how they may affect your game.
Deter Values
Deter Values are preset values that determine your Pokemon's base stats. That is, they are a fundamental means of telling how strong your Pokemon will be. Deter Values will also affect the type and base power of the attack, Hidden Power.
Effort Values
While Effort Values also affect your Pokemon's stats, they are different from Deter Values since they can be changed (Their value will increase with training). Effort Values range from 0 to 255 (or 0 to FF in hexadecimal).
Gender Value
A Pokemon's gender value, as the name suggests, determines what gender it is. Even Pokemon like Starmie and Metagross will have a gender value, even though they are genderless. The Gender Value ranges from 0 to 255.
Happiness
Happiness is a measure of how much a Pokemon likes you. While the exact value is not publically displayed, you can visit the Happiness Rater who will give you a rough idea on how happy the first Pokemon in your party is. Happiness affects the base power of the attacks Return and Frustration, as well as when certain Pokemon like Chansey, Eevee, Igglybuff and Pichu will evolve. The Happiness Rater can be found in Verdanturf Town next to Wanda's House in Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, and in FireRed and LeafGreen, you can visit Daisy Oak in Pallet Town. Happiness ranges from 0 to 255.
ID Number
The ID Number allocated at the beginning of the game is in fact visible - you can see it on your trainer card. There is, however, another ID Number that is hidden. This ID Number is used within the game for certain other things (That I don't really know about), but it is basically an extra safeguard against duplicate ID Numbers. This way, the chances of finding someone with the exact same ID Number is reduced from 1/65,536 to 1/4,294,967,296.
Nature Values
As the name suggests, this value determines a Pokemon's nature.
Personality Value
This name is given to the grouping of the Gender Value and the Nature Value. Combined, the personality value controls Wurmple's evolution and the position of Spinda's spots. Since there is no way finding the exact value of the Personality Value, it is as good as random.
Shiny Value
While shininess was determined by DVs in Gold, Silver and Crystal, it is now determined by a completely separate value, meaning shiny Pokemon are not weaker than usual. The shiny value ranges from 0 to 65,535 and a Pokemon will be shiny if this value is less than 8. Thus the odds of encountering a shiny Pokemon is 1/8192. For more information on Shiny Pokemon, see the Shiny Pokemon guide.
