Could this specific use of the EV-reducing berries be a feasible method for checking EVs overall?

Question

Let's say that I completed my Pokémon's EV training, got it to level 100, and kept track of what specific EVs it gained (88 HP, 252 Atk, and 168 Spe to be precise), but otherwise have doubts as to whether I made a mistake during the process.

Upon saving the game before attempting the following, shouldn't I be able to reduce all the invested stats to zero using the berries and take note of the total number subtracted from each of them after the fact, therefore deducing the exact amount of EVs invested?

Take for example the 88 HP EVs. If I were to give my Pokémon 9 Pomeg Berries, 22 stat points (since 88 divided by 4 is 22) should be the exact number that's subtracted from its HP stat assuming that I did not make a mistake upon my initial EV training. Please let me know if anything I've discussed is unclear and for anyone taking the time to help me verify the validity of this method, thank you.

Comments

I'm pretty sure there are online calculators that give you a Pokemon's EVs if you just enter the base stat (obv it only works if you know the IV stat tho, often by maxing it to 31)

Answer 1

Yes, this method is used in games that don't have Reset Bag or the Y-button graph.

It has the following limitations:

1. In Gen 4 only, EV-reducing berries set EVs to exactly 100 if the current EVs for the relevant stat are above 110. This introduces significant imprecision for this method whenever the EVs are >100, as the Pokemon will always accept exactly 11 berries in that case.
2. Even if you track the decrease in stat points, this method is usually imprecise. For example, your level 100 Pokemon would lose the same number of stat points and accept the same number of Pomeg berries if it had 88, 89 or 90 HP EVs. (You could then confirm/deny 90 by resetting and then seeing if the Pokemon accepts two HP Ups instead of one... but you get the idea.)

The only way to get the exact EVs every time is to view the EVs using a save editor (or, if you know your Pokemon's IVs, track its stats at enough different levels holding EVs constant and put the figures into a calculator).

Comments

I see. However, on your second point, couldn't I also completely erase the EVs for the Attack and Speed stats to verify it? My logic is that whether I invested 88, 89, or 90 for HP, I should see 22 points erased from it IF when also erasing the other two stats, 63 is subtracted from the Attack (252/4 = 63) stat while 42 (168/4 = 42) is subtracted from the speed stat. Regardless of the where the last two useless EVs went, the subtracted numbers shouldn't lie.

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The last two EVs are going to be a problem. For example, there is no way to separate 88 / 252 / 168 from 89 / 252 / 169 (which is a legal spread totalling 510) using EV reducing berries.

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I think there's some miscommunication here. From the title and second paragraph of my initial post, I said that my goal was to find the exact amount of invested EVs for the three stats when in actuality, that exact number is not my main concern but rather the subtracted stat bonus is. Apologies for misspeaking there.

After all, I am aware that simply reducing the EVs to zero with the berries doesn't indicate the exact number of EVs invested but as long as the subtracted numbers are the ones I listed, it wouldn't matter whether I invested 88 HP / 253 Atk / 169 Spe or 90 HP / 252 Atk / 168 Spe or any other combination. Thank you however for your time and patience as I will surely go over what you've said as I experiment with the methods shared here!