Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is the next generation of Pokémon games. With it comes a ton of new Pokémon as well as a few changes to the game. One of the main features is how we breed Pokémon in Pokémon Scarlet & Violet. Normally we’d leave two Pokémon at the Daycare Center, but here in Paldea, such a place does not exist.
In this guide, we’ll cover how to breed Pokémon in Gen 9’s new Pokémon game. And how to get the best ones
The Steps of Breeding Pokémon
- Choose two Pokemon in the same “Egg Group”
- One must be male and one female (or one is a Ditto)
- Start a Picnic with those two Pokemon in your party. It’s easiest if you put the other four in your Pokémon boxes.
- Wait for some (real) time and then check the picnic basket for eggs. (You can increase the spawn rate of eggs by eating a meal with the Egg Power bonus.)
- Put the Egg in your party and walk around until it hatches.
HELPFUL ITEMS FOR BREEDING POKÉMON
Like in previous games, the parent Pokémon can hold items to affect what’s passed down to the resulting eggs. These items include the Everstone and the Destiny Knot, and using them is the most effective way to breed a Pokémon with the stats and nature you want.
A parent holding an Everstone will pass its nature, which affects how its stats develop, to the resulting Pokémon. Giving the other parent a Destiny Knot to hold will ensure that five IVs (or base stats) will be passed down from the parents’ collective 12 base stats, meaning only one stat will be randomized rather than several.
How To Hatch Eggs
Once you’ve collected some eggs, it’s time to hatch them. Simply put the eggs in your party and walk (or ride Koraidon/Miraidon) around. (Some species take longer to hatch than others, so remember to be patient.) Keep in mind that you’ll need at least one non-egg Pokémon in your party at all times, and unlike with collecting eggs, you do actually have to move around to hatch them — idling doesn’t count.
To speed up the hatching process, you can include a Pokémon with the Flame Body, Magma Armor, or Steam Engine Abilities in your party. The most efficient way to hatch eggs is to limit your party so it’s just this Pokémon, with eggs taking up the remaining five slots. The Egg Power bonus will also make eggs hatch faster, so try to hatch eggs while the bonus is still active.
These Pokemon are: Fletchinder, Talonflame, Larvesta, Volcarona, Rolycoly, Carkol, and Coalossal.
Why Ditto?
One of the quickest ways to breed is to have a Ditto as one of your breeding Pokémon. Ditto always mimic the other parent Pokémon, which means you’re guaranteed to get (for example) a Girafarig Egg if you breed a Girafarig with a Ditto. Ditto are found in West Province (Area Two) and West Province (Area Three), although they disguise themselves as other Pokémon!
This is also the only way to breed genderless Pokémon, like Voltorb, or Pokémon that can only be male. Keep in mind that certain Pokémon, including some genderless Pokémon and most legendaries and mythical Pokémon, are in the “undiscovered” Egg Group and can’t breed at all.
HOW TO LEARN EGG MOVES
Pokemon Scarlet and Violet also make a convenient change to Egg Moves, or moves that a Pokémon could previously only learn through breeding. For this you’ll need a brand-new item, the Mirror Herb.
In your party, include a Pokémon that knows the desired Egg Move and the Pokémon you want to teach the Move to. Make sure the Pokémon that wants to learn the Egg Move has an empty move slot (you can forget a move from the Pokémon’s summary screen at any time).
Then give that Pokémon (with the empty slot) a Mirror Herb to hold, and set up a picnic. The Pokémon holding Mirror Herb can learn any Egg Move its species is able to learn from any other Pokémon in your party, even if they’re the same gender, different species etc. This way, you don’t have to breed a brand-new Pokémon just for the Egg Move. Using the Mirror Herb should be instant, so you don’t have to wait around for anything to happen.
Buy a Mirror Herb from the Delibird Presents store on the second level of Cascarrafa. They’re listed under “Battle items,” and each one costs 30,000. In battle, these are single-use items, so be sure to unequip it before battling so you don’t lose it!
BABY POKÉMON Update
One of the best changes in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet from previous games is that you no longer need Incense items to breed “baby” Pokémon. Instead, all eggs from these Pokémon will hatch as the baby, or pre-evolution.
For example, in past games, breeding Marill or Azumarill without the Sea Incense item would result in Marill eggs, rather than Marill’s pre-evolution, Azurill. Now, every egg from a Marill or Azumarill will hatch into an Azurill, so you don’t have to sacrifice an Everstone or Destiny Knot to breed the baby Pokémon.
SHINY HUNTING WITH THE MASUDA METHOD
As Jacq alludes to during one biology lesson, the Masuda method still exists in Scarlet and Violet. If you pair two compatible Pokémon from different-language versions of the game, the resulting eggs have an increased chance of being shiny. This stacks with the Shiny Charm to improve your shiny odds while breeding.
