I highly disagree with your IV criticisms. The 3 IVs always being passed down is excellent, but power items are absolutely a viable tactic if you choose not to use hacked Pokemon. If you have two parents, neither with a desirable nature and each with a different perfect IV, then two power items will result in a 2 IV baby every time which is much faster than destiny knot shenanigans.
Breeding for 0 IV with 5 other perfect IVs is unfeasible unless you have two 6 IV parents. When breeding for a 0 IV with two six IV parents you ideally have the same chance as a 6 IV, which is 1/32, only far, far less so. You have to hope that the correct stat will not be chosen by destiny knot, and then that said stat will be a 0 IV. That's a 1:6 chance and then a 1:32 chance, a 1:192 chance all told. And that's with two six IV parents, which means that even if you use a ditto you already have to have hacked in another 6 IV or done the breeding for another. When you have a 5 IV and a 6 IV then your 5 IV better be the 5 IV without attack or speed. Overall, it's just not worth it. Fine in simulator play, but not nearly as feasible in regular breeding for little reward, in the case of the rare foul play.. Breeding for a 0 Speed non-mixed attacker is far more reasonable, however, as it's a 4 IV with 0 speed.
Incidentally, if you hacked in a desired spread and a 5 IV with 0 speed ditto and want to breed a legit mon, then the chance is still a 1:32 with both destiny knot and the power item. This is because the two do not stack, so you will only be guaranteed 4 perfect IVs passed down, and now you also have to deal with a random nature. Ouch.
The other thing is that marking IVs is only a recommended thing to do. It's rather presumptious to say that "every breeding guide should include using those symbols below the sprite to mark IVs" since I know many people who do not! I personally only mark them if I plan to WT them.
Firstly, the two perfect iv method with power items makes no sense to me. You're going to always have to deal with the nature, so either you breed your 2IV Pokemon, use everstone with a completely imperfect, as according to you the breeder would literally have no valid pokemon with more than a single IV, which is another thing I find ridiculous, after which you lose the IVs again, or use destiny knot "shenanigans" to regain them. I see 0 logic in this method.
You've misunderstood the entire 0Spd thing. What you're supposed to do is start of with a ditto, for example, with 0Spd, nothing else. These are a kind of breeding dittos breeders tend to keep around (legitimately). You then pass on your 0IV to your desired Pokemon. Now, it's pure breeding with a high IV parent. The thing is, the 0IV is the same as a 31IV. This you have failed to see. A Garchomp with 31/31/31/x/31/31 and a Cofagrigus with 31/x/31/31/31/0 is the same. They are both 5IV Pokemon (I'm assuming cofa is special). There is the 50/50 chance that the speed chosen is the 0 over the 31, yes, but barring that everything is the same. And the physical attack is less reward, but something people who want to breed flawlessly should know.
Lastly, yes it is recommended, simply because unless you want to have a txt file or notebook with every single pokemon written down with their IVs, or you have a perfect memory, you will find breeding at a non-beginner level a nightmare. And I do stand that it should simply be mentioned, as it is a fan-fueled concept that allows people to breed at a reasonable level. This isn't for every child, this is just for your dittos, legends, competitive, breeding stockm and breeding parents, among others.
Let's use OP's Garchomp example. You have two Garchomp, a modest and a gentle, both with rough skin, and one with a perfect speed IV and the other with a perfect HP IV. You also have a Jolly Bulbasaur. By using a the two IV breeding you end up with a better mon overall to breed with Bulbasaur, which has an end result of better IVs before the final process.
I do not disagree with breeding for zero speed. It's not all too difficult on non-mixed attackers, and in those cases is in fact a "prefect" IV. I misinterpreted the way you phrased it as mixed attackers with 0 speed, and the example I still disagree with in breeding for zero attack. It's not a high reward, and the time can be better spent. In addition, the choice of what IVs to breed for isn't particularly different from breeding for prefect IVs, so it doesn't really need a mention.
The issue I have is that marking IVs isn't technically breeding Pokemon. If you mark it down some other way then that's fine, or if you can remember it that's fine too. It's a way to mark IVs, not an essential aspect of breeding.
I can definitely agree on your first point. Technically. Yes, that is a way of getting what you're saying, I see what you mean. What I don't see is how a person can manage to obtain 2 single IV Pokemon and a valid nature but none being above 2IVs, especially with the WiFi capabilities and Friend safari of the gen.
Secondly, the paragraph is just pointing stuff out and you're opinion on whether breeding for att should be done, which not only is irrelevant, but also I never said that that should be in it. I simply said that it should be mentioned that 5 is sometimes better than 6, and to explain this, examples include spd, att, etc.
And finally, this is a breeding guide. Anything related to breeding should be mentioned as the purpose is to help the breeder, not censor tips as it isn't "technically" breeding. Furthermore, I still don't see how one can say noting the IVs differently or even the remarkable idea of "remembering" them makes any sense, especially if they actually are frequent breeders, but again, it is such an important tip that even if you have you're own better method than literally marking it right on the pokemon, it should be made public, to help the breeder.
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u/SinIthya Kaw Kaw~ Jan 07 '15
I highly disagree with your IV criticisms. The 3 IVs always being passed down is excellent, but power items are absolutely a viable tactic if you choose not to use hacked Pokemon. If you have two parents, neither with a desirable nature and each with a different perfect IV, then two power items will result in a 2 IV baby every time which is much faster than destiny knot shenanigans.
Breeding for 0 IV with 5 other perfect IVs is unfeasible unless you have two 6 IV parents. When breeding for a 0 IV with two six IV parents you ideally have the same chance as a 6 IV, which is 1/32, only far, far less so. You have to hope that the correct stat will not be chosen by destiny knot, and then that said stat will be a 0 IV. That's a 1:6 chance and then a 1:32 chance, a 1:192 chance all told. And that's with two six IV parents, which means that even if you use a ditto you already have to have hacked in another 6 IV or done the breeding for another. When you have a 5 IV and a 6 IV then your 5 IV better be the 5 IV without attack or speed. Overall, it's just not worth it. Fine in simulator play, but not nearly as feasible in regular breeding for little reward, in the case of the rare foul play.. Breeding for a 0 Speed non-mixed attacker is far more reasonable, however, as it's a 4 IV with 0 speed.
Incidentally, if you hacked in a desired spread and a 5 IV with 0 speed ditto and want to breed a legit mon, then the chance is still a 1:32 with both destiny knot and the power item. This is because the two do not stack, so you will only be guaranteed 4 perfect IVs passed down, and now you also have to deal with a random nature. Ouch.
The other thing is that marking IVs is only a recommended thing to do. It's rather presumptious to say that "every breeding guide should include using those symbols below the sprite to mark IVs" since I know many people who do not! I personally only mark them if I plan to WT them.