[Coda]

Originally Posted by Yokuutsu

IVs can change if they're traded, I have heard....but idk

This is true, but that's because trading effectively generates a new Pokemon on the receiver's end instead of actually transferring the Pokemon. However, there are some constraints applied to the newly-generated Pokemon: The moveset is forced to be the same, and the newly-generated IVs have a minimum value based on your friendship level with your trade partner. (This means that trading a Pokemon with crappy IVs to someone you're best friends with is GUARANTEED to result in a much better outcome.)

Another interesting tidbit I just picked up is that another feature is enabled when you trade with a friend: The Pokemon has a chance to be "Lucky" which halves its powerup costs!

Originally Posted by RedRum

Well, that's shitty.

Quite the contrary, it means that wild Pokemon have variability and individuality instead of every Pokemon growing up exactly the same. IVs are like genetics, and in fact in games with breeding the parents' IVs have some influence on the offspring's, but the child will always have some unique traits instead of copying the parents directly.

I mean, yes, it's inconvenient that some Pokemon will always be a little bit weaker than others no matter how well you train them. But in terms of game design it's a very good decision.