Pokémon breeding is a cornerstone of the franchise, allowing players to obtain specific Pokémon with desired characteristics. Whether you’re aiming for competitive dominance or simply filling out your Pokédex, understanding breeding mechanics is crucial. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to become a Pokémon breeding master.
Understanding the Basics of Pokémon Breeding
Breeding in the Pokémon world primarily occurs at Pokémon Daycares. By leaving two compatible Pokémon with the Daycare attendant, you can receive a Pokémon Egg. While the games keep the specifics of how this happens lighthearted, the mechanics are based on clear rules of compatibility.
For two Pokémon to breed, they must meet several criteria:
- Exclusion of Special Pokémon: Legendary Pokémon, Baby Pokémon, Unown, Nidorina, and Nidoqueen are unable to breed. This ensures that these unique Pokémon remain special and are not mass-produced through breeding.
- Opposite Genders: With the exception of Ditto, breeding requires one male and one female Pokémon. Genderless Pokémon can only breed with Ditto.
- Shared Egg Groups: Compatible Pokémon must belong to at least one common Egg Group. These groups are classifications that determine which Pokémon can breed together, regardless of their species.
A special case in breeding is the Pokémon Ditto. Ditto can breed with any Pokémon that meets the first compatibility criterion (excluding those listed above). When breeding with Ditto, the resulting Egg will always be of the non-Ditto Pokémon’s species. This makes Ditto an invaluable tool for breeding Pokémon of various genders and even genderless species.
Once you receive an Egg, you’ll need to walk around with it in your party for a set number of steps. Eventually, the Egg will hatch, revealing a Level 1 Pokémon (Level 5 in Generations 2-3). The species of the hatched Pokémon will always be the same as the female parent, or the non-Ditto parent if bred with Ditto, and it will be in its base evolutionary stage. For instance, breeding a female Blastoise will produce a Squirtle Egg.
Exceptions to Breeding Norms
While the breeding system is generally consistent, there are a few notable exceptions:
- Nidoran and Illumise/Volbeat Pairs: Breeding Pokémon from the Nidoran♀/Nidoran♂ or Illumise/Volbeat pairs with a compatible partner can result in either the male or female variant offspring, adding a layer of unpredictability.
- Incense for Baby Pokémon: Certain Pokémon, when holding a specific Incense, will produce a Baby Pokémon Egg instead of their usual base form. For example, a Roserade holding a Rose Incense will produce a Budew Egg, otherwise, it would produce a Roselia Egg. This mechanic is essential for obtaining Baby Pokémon that are only accessible through breeding.
Passing Down Moves: Egg Moves and TM Inheritance
One of the primary reasons trainers engage in Pokémon breeding is to customize their Pokémon’s movesets. Breeding allows for the inheritance of moves, including exclusive “Egg Moves.”
If the male parent knows moves that the baby Pokémon can inherently learn, the offspring will hatch knowing those moves. This was particularly useful in earlier generations where TMs were limited and could not be reused.
A hatched Pokémon will always know any moves it naturally learns at Level 1. Additionally, if both parents know a move that the offspring learns through leveling up, the baby will also inherit that move. For example, breeding two Ampharos that both know Thunder will result in a Mareep knowing Thunder upon hatching.
Furthermore, Pokémon can learn moves exclusively through breeding, known as Egg Moves. These moves are often powerful or strategically advantageous and are listed in Pokédex entries. Obtaining Egg Moves may require chain breeding, where you breed a move down through several Pokémon species to reach your desired Pokémon.
When there are multiple possible moves to inherit, a priority system is followed:
- Level 1 moves: Moves naturally learned at level 1 take precedence.
- Level-up moves: Moves known by both parents that the child learns by level up are inherited next.
- TM/HM moves (Gen 2-5): In Generations 2-5 only, compatible TM and HM moves known by the father could be passed down.
- Egg Moves: Egg Moves known by either parent (or only the father in Gen 2-5) are the final priority for inheritance.
Ability Inheritance: Regular and Hidden Abilities
Abilities play a significant role in Pokémon battles, and breeding offers a way to influence the ability of your hatched Pokémon.
A female Pokémon (or a male Pokémon bred with Ditto) has a 60% chance of passing down its Ability to its offspring. If the Ability is not inherited, the offspring’s Ability is randomly selected from its standard Abilities. This means if a parent has a regular Ability, there’s an 80% chance the child will have the same Ability slot (60% from inheritance + 20% chance of randomly getting the same slot), and a 20% chance it will get the other regular Ability slot.
For Hidden Abilities, the female parent has a 60% chance of passing it down. If the Hidden Ability is not passed down, there is a 20% chance for each of its regular Abilities (or 40% if it only has one regular Ability).
It’s important to note that the specific Ability can change through evolution. For example, Poochyena can have Run Away or Quick Feet, while Mightyena can have Intimidate or Quick Feet. Breeding a Mightyena with Intimidate might result in a Poochyena with Run Away, even though Intimidate was the parent’s Ability.
Generations 3 and 4 had a simpler system where the hatched Pokémon’s Ability was randomly chosen (50% chance for each possible Ability) regardless of the parents’ Abilities. In Generation 5, only female Pokémon could pass down Abilities; males bred with Ditto reverted to the 50/50 chance.
Nature Inheritance: Guiding Personality
Natures influence a Pokémon’s stat growth, making them a critical aspect for competitive trainers. Breeding allows you to manipulate Nature inheritance.
Normally, a Pokémon’s Nature is randomly determined from 25 options. However, if a parent Pokémon holds an Everstone during breeding, the offspring is guaranteed to inherit that parent’s Nature. If both parents hold an Everstone, the Nature is randomly chosen between the two parents’ Natures.
Prior to Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, Everstones only had a 50% chance of passing down Nature. In Emerald, this effect only applied to the female parent or Ditto. In Generation 4, both parents had to be from games of the same language for Nature inheritance to work.
IV Inheritance: Maximizing Potential
Individual Values (IVs) are hidden stats that significantly impact a Pokémon’s overall strength. Breeding provides mechanisms to pass down and optimize IVs.
Starting from Generation 3, Pokémon offspring inherit some IVs from their parents. A baby Pokémon will inherit three IVs from either parent. The inherited IVs are chosen randomly. If the same stat is selected twice, the later selection overwrites the earlier one.
HeartGold and SoulSilver introduced Power Items for more controlled IV inheritance. If a parent holds a Power Item (Power Weight, Power Bracer, Power Belt, Power Lens, Power Band, Power Anklet), the child will inherit the corresponding IV stat. Two other IVs are still randomly inherited from either parent, and the remaining three IVs are completely random. If both parents hold Power Items, one of the two corresponding stats is chosen randomly to be inherited.
| Power Item | Inherited IV |
|---|---|
| Power Weight | HP |
| Power Bracer | Attack |
| Power Belt | Defense |
| Power Lens | Sp. Attack |
| Power Band | Sp. Defense |
| Power Anklet | Speed |
X and Y introduced the Destiny Knot, a game-changer for IV breeding. A parent holding a Destiny Knot will pass down five IVs to its offspring. If the other parent holds a Power Item, the offspring will inherit the Power Item’s IV and then four random IVs from the Destiny Knot parent. This combination allows for highly targeted and efficient IV breeding.
Baby Pokémon: Breeding for the Youngest Forms
Baby Pokémon are the unevolved base forms of certain Pokémon and can often only be obtained through breeding. While some Baby Pokémon have become available in the wild in later games, breeding remains a reliable method to acquire them.
Many Baby Pokémon require a specific Incense to be held by the parent to produce their Egg form.
| Baby Pokémon | Incense Requirement |
|---|---|
| Azurill | Sea Incense |
| Wynaut | Lax Incense |
| Budew | Rose Incense |
| Chingling | Pure Incense |
| Bonsly | Rock Incense |
| Mime Jr. | Odd Incense |
| Happiny | Luck Incense |
| Munchlax | Full Incense |
| Mantyke | Wave Incense |
Egg Group Connections: Bridging the Breeding Gap
Egg Groups dictate which Pokémon can breed together, and understanding their connections is essential for advanced breeding techniques, especially for inheriting Egg Moves across different species.
The following table illustrates how Egg Groups are interconnected. This helps visualize how to transfer moves from one Pokémon to another, even if they don’t directly share an Egg Group.
| Egg Group | Connected to |
|---|---|
| Amorphous | Dragon, Fairy, Grass, Human-Like, Mineral, Water 1 |
| Bug | Dragon, Fairy, Grass, Human-Like, Mineral, Water 1, Water 3 |
| Dragon | Amorphous, Bug, Field, Flying, Grass, Mineral, Monster, Water 1, Water 2 |
| Fairy | Amorphous, Bug, Field, Flying, Grass, Human-Like, Mineral, Water 1 |
| Field | Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Grass, Human-Like, Mineral, Monster, Water 1, Water 2 |
| Flying | Dragon, Fairy, Field, Human-Like, Water 1, Water 3 |
| Grass | Amorphous, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Field, Human-Like, Mineral, Monster, Water 1 |
| Human-Like | Amorphous, Bug, Fairy, Field, Flying, Grass, Water 1 |
| Mineral | Amorphous, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Field, Grass, Monster |
| Monster | Dragon, Field, Grass, Mineral, Water 1 |
| Water 1 | Amorphous, Bug, Dragon, Fairy, Field, Flying, Grass, Human-Like, Monster, Water 2, Water 3 |
| Water 2 | Dragon, Field, Water 1 |
| Water 3 | Bug, Flying, Water 1 |
For example, if you want to breed an Egg Move from a Fairy Egg Group Pokémon onto a Dragon Egg Group Pokémon, and there’s no direct overlap, you need to find an intermediate Egg Group that connects both. Looking at the table, Field, Flying, and Water 1 groups connect to both Fairy and Dragon. You could breed the move onto a Pokémon like Pikachu (Fairy/Field) and then breed that Pikachu with a Pokémon like Arbok (Field/Dragon) to transfer the move.
Egg Groups List: Categorization for Compatibility
Each Pokémon belongs to one or two Egg Groups, determining their breeding compatibility. Understanding these groups is fundamental to successful breeding.
| Name | Pokémon Count |
|---|---|
| Amorphous | 86 |
| Bug | 99 |
| Dragon | 81 |
| Fairy | 76 |
| Field | 330 |
| Flying | 85 |
| Grass | 93 |
| Human-Like | 77 |
| Mineral | 96 |
| Monster | 99 |
| Water 1 | 124 |
| Water 2 | 42 |
| Water 3 | 38 |
| Ditto | 1 |
| Undiscovered | 196 |
Breeding Examples: Putting Theory into Practice
Let’s solidify your understanding with some practical breeding examples:
1. Basic Breeding for Species Replication
If you have a female Raichu and want another Raichu, breeding is the solution. To start, you’ll need a compatible Pokémon. A Raichu or Pikachu of the opposite gender will always work. Alternatively, you can choose any male Pokémon from Raichu’s Egg Groups: Fairy and Field. Options include male Shinx, Bidoof, Umbreon, or Granbull, among many others.
2. Breeding with Ditto for Genderless and Male-Only Pokémon
To breed a male Primeape, or a genderless Pokémon like Magneton, Ditto is essential. Breeding a male Primeape with Ditto will produce a Mankey Egg. If Primeape were bred with a female Pokémon instead, the Egg would be of the female’s species. Magneton, being genderless, must breed with Ditto to produce Magnemite Eggs.
3. TM Move Inheritance (Generations 2-5 Example)
In older generations (2-5), TMs could be passed down through breeding. Imagine you taught TM28 Dig to a male Aggron, who also knows Iron Tail by level up, and you have a female Charmeleon. Aggron and Charmeleon are both in the Monster Egg Group, making them compatible. Breeding these two would result in a Charmander knowing Dig and Iron Tail.
4. Egg Move Breeding: Drapion with Night Slash
Drapion’s Sniper ability benefits greatly from high critical-hit moves like Night Slash. While Skorupi/Drapion learn Night Slash through breeding, there’s no TM for it. To get Night Slash on a Skorupi, you need to breed it with a compatible Pokémon that knows the move. Drapion is in the Bug and Water 3 Egg Groups. Scyther, among others, learns Night Slash at level 45. By breeding a male Scyther with Night Slash with a female Drapion, you can get a Skorupi that hatches knowing Night Slash. (Note: Drapion can now learn Night Slash by level up in later generations, making this specific example less relevant now).
5. Smeargle: The Ultimate Breeding Tool
Smeargle is unique for its move Sketch, which permanently copies any move used against it in battle. This makes Smeargle invaluable for passing down moves that are otherwise difficult to breed. You can use Smeargle to copy a move from any Pokémon, even wild ones, and then breed Smeargle with a female Pokémon to pass that move down. Smeargle is in the Field Egg Group, making it compatible with a vast number of Pokémon and simplifying Egg Move inheritance within that group.
6. Chain Breeding: The Umbreon Wish Example
Chain breeding becomes necessary when you want to pass down an Egg Move but no directly compatible Pokémon learns it naturally. Umbreon learning Wish is a classic example. Umbreon (Field Egg Group) can learn Wish as an Egg Move, but no directly compatible Pokémon learns it by level up.
However, other Eeveelutions and the Pikachu line (Pikachu is in Fairy and Field Egg Groups) can learn Wish through breeding. Togetic (Fairy Egg Group) learns Wish at level 28. This allows for a chain breeding process:
- Train a male Togetic to level 28 to learn Wish.
- Breed Togetic with a female Pikachu/Raichu to get a Pichu with Wish.
- Breed Pichu until you get a male Pichu (50% chance).
- Evolve Pichu into Pikachu (through happiness).
- Breed the male Wish Pikachu with a female Umbreon to get an Eevee with Wish.
- Evolve Eevee into Umbreon.
This chain breeding process, while lengthy, demonstrates how to overcome breeding limitations to obtain specific move combinations. Smeargle could simplify this process by sketching Wish from Togetic and directly breeding it onto Umbreon, bypassing the Pikachu intermediary steps but still requiring multiple Pokémon.
Conclusion: Mastering Pokémon Breeding
Pokémon breeding is a deep and rewarding system that offers immense control over your Pokémon team’s potential. By understanding the mechanics of compatibility, Egg Groups, move inheritance, and IV/Nature manipulation, you can breed Pokémon tailored to your exact specifications. Whether you’re aiming for competitive perfection or simply want to expand your collection with unique Pokémon, mastering breeding is an invaluable skill for any Pokémon trainer. Start experimenting, and hatch your dream team today!
