Pokémon breeding

Brock grooming an Electrike

Breeding (Japanese: 育(そだ)てる raise or 増(ふ)やす increase) is the process of raising and hatching Pokémon from Eggs with the goal of obtaining a Pokémon with a particular trait. People who specialize in Pokémon breeding are known as Pokémon Breeders. Breeding (Japanese: 増(ふ)える increase or 繁殖(はんしょく) reproduction) can also refer to the process through which Pokémon produce offspring and increase in population itself.

In the core series games

How to breed

In Generation II through Generation VI, two compatible Pokémon can breed when left at the Pokémon Day Care. In Generation VII and Generation VIII, this is instead done by leaving two compatible Pokémon at the Pokémon Nursery. In Generation IX, having a picnic with two or more compatible Pokémon allows for them to breed (regardless of whether the Pokémon are in the player's party or other players' Pokémon visiting via the Union Circle). Breeding is absent in Generation I, Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, and Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

Two Pokémon are compatible if they share at least one Egg Group and are of opposite genders. As an exception, Ditto is compatible with almost all Pokémon regardless of gender (which is the only way for gender unknown Pokémon to breed). Pokémon in the No Eggs Discovered Egg Group cannot breed in any way whatsoever, and Ditto also cannot breed with another Ditto.

In Generation II only, if the Defense IVs of two Pokémon are the same and the Special IVs are either the same or differ by 8, they cannot produce Eggs. Because of how IVs are passed down from parents, this condition suggests the Pokémon are related.

Locations

Pokémon Day Cares and Pokémon Nurseries can be found in the following locations:

Region	Facility	Location
Kanto (FRLG only)	Pokémon Day Care	Four Island
Johto	Pokémon Day Care	Route 34
Hoenn	Pokémon Day Care	Route 117 Battle ResortORAS
Sinnoh	Pokémon Day CareDPPt Pokémon NurseryBDSP	Solaceon Town
Unova	Pokémon Day Care	Route 3
Kalos	Pokémon Day Care	Route 7
Alola	Pokémon Nursery	Paniola Ranch
Galar	Pokémon Nursery	Route 5 Bridge Field

Breeding rate

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Scarlet and Violet Egg generation mechanics chart, Datamined mechanics link

The chance of any two Pokémon producing an Egg is determined by their species (two Bulbasaur are the same species, while Bulbasaur and Ivysaur are not) and their Original Trainers. In Generation III or later, the Day-Care Man will describe the two Pokémon's compatibility when the player speaks to him. An Egg may be generated after every 256 steps the player takes.

Species	Original Trainer	Quote	Chance for Egg
Same	Different	"The two seem to get along very well!" Man: "Those two seem to get along like a house on fire."ORAS Lad/Lady: "They really seem to like hanging out!"ORASSM	70% Standard 88% with  Oval Charm
Same	Same	"The two seem to get along." Man: "Those two seem peaceable enough toward each other." / Lad: "The two seem to get along all right."ORAS Lady: "They seem to get along all right."SM	50% Standard 80% with  Oval Charm
Different	Different
Different	Same	"The two don't really seem to like each other very much." Man: "But I have to say, those two don’t seem to like each other all that much." / Lad: "But they don’t seem to like each other very much..."ORAS Lady: "They don't seem to like each other very much, though."SM	20% Standard 40% with  Oval Charm
Different Egg Groups, same gender, No Eggs Discovered Group, or both in Ditto Group		"The two prefer to play with other Pokémon more than with each other." Man: "Those two would really rather play with other Pokémon, though, and not each other." / Lad: "Seems they’d rather play with other Pokémon—not so much with each other."ORAS Lady: "They don't seem to like playing together, though."SM	0%

The chances of finding an Egg are different in Generation II, and the compatibility can be checked by interacting with the Pokémon themselves instead of with the Day-Care Man.

Species	Original Trainer	Quotes	Chance for Egg
Same	Different	"It appears to care for <other Pokémon's nickname>."	31.25% (80/256)
Same	Same	"It's friendly with <other Pokémon's nickname>."	15.63% (40/256)
Different	Different	"It's friendly with <other Pokémon's nickname>."	11.72% (30/256)
Different	Same	"It shows interest in <other Pokémon's nickname>."	3.91% (10/256)
Different Egg Groups, same gender, No Eggs Discovered Group, or both in Ditto Group		"It has no interest in <other Pokémon's nickname>."	0%
Both Pokémon's Defense IVs are the same and their Special IVs are different by either 0 or 8		"It's brimming with energy."	0%

Receiving the Egg

When there are two compatible Pokémon in the Day Care or Nursery, the game will periodically decide whether the NPC standing outside the facility has found an Egg, with the chances depending on the compatibility of the two Pokémon as detailed in the section above.

If an Egg was produced, the NPC will move from their default position so that the player can know they have an Egg.

• In Generation II, the Day-Care Man will appear in the Day Care's yard.
• In Generation III, the Day-Care Man will step out of line with the fence.
• In Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, the Day-Care Man will face the road instead of facing down.
• In HeartGold and SoulSilver, the Day-Care Man will face left or right instead of down and call the player over the Pokégear.
• In Generation V, the Day-Care Man will call out to the player when they are passing by on the road below.
  • In Black and White, however, the Day-Care Man will not call out to the player if the player's party is full, even if he has found an Egg.
• In Generation VI, the Day-Care Man will face the road instead of in towards the Day Care.
• In Generation VII and Generation VIII, the Pokémon Nursery lady will fold her arms, with her right hand under her chin.

The NPC will hand the player an Egg if the player replies that they want it. If the player replies they do not want the Egg, the NPC will permanently keep it. Prior to Generation VII, the player will only be given the Egg if they have an empty slot in their party for it to fill; if the player says they want the Egg but does not have a spare slot, the Day-Care Man will keep it until the player next speaks to him, at which point he will offer it again. In Generation VII and Generation VIII, the player no longer needs an empty slot in the party to accept an Egg, with any Eggs accepted with a full party being automatically sent to a Box.

In Generation IX, Eggs will appear during picnics in the basket in front of the picnic table while any two compatible Pokémon are in the picnic (including both the player's party and any other players' Pokémon also present via the Union Circle). When an Egg is collected from the basket, it is automatically sent to a Box. More than one Egg can be found in the basket at once.

What will hatch

After taking enough steps, the Egg will hatch into a level 5 (Generation II and III) or level 1 (Generation IV onward) first-stage Pokémon of the female species's (or non-Ditto parent's) evolutionary chain.

Parents		Offspring
Same species breeding
Krookodile♂	Krookodile♀	Sandile
Ditto breeding
Dragapult	Ditto	Dreepy
Same evolution family breeding
Armarouge♂	Ceruledge♀	Charcadet
Same Egg Group breeding
Infernape♂	Medicham♀	Meditite
Field/Human-Like	Human-Like	Human-Like
No Eggs Discovered Egg Group breeding
		None
Great Tusk	Iron Treads	None
No Eggs Discovered	No Eggs Discovered	N/A
Different Egg Group breeding
		None
Torterra♂	Staraptor♀	None
Monster/Grass	Flying	N/A
Same gender breeding
		None
Empoleon♀	Empoleon♀	None
Water 1/Field	Water 1/Field	N/A

Gender-counterpart species

There are two pairs of Pokémon families where the male and female are different species. In these cases, an Egg produced has an even chance to hatch into either the male or female variant. The pairs are the following:

Parents		Offspring
Poison Pin Pokémon
Nidoran♀	Any compatible Pokémon	Nidoran♀
		Nidoran♂
Nidoran♂, Nidorino, or Nidoking	Ditto	Nidoran♀*
		Nidoran♂
Firefly Pokémon
Illumise	Any compatible Pokémon	Volbeat
		Illumise
Volbeat	Ditto	Volbeat
		Illumise*

Incense breeding

Prior to Generation IX, there were several Pokémon which could produce two different kinds of Eggs, with a baby Pokémon being produced only if a parent of the Egg held a specific incense when it was produced. Starting in Generation IX, these Pokémon will always produce the baby Pokémon regardless of held item.

Parents		Item	Offspring
Marill and Azumarill
		Sea Incense
		No item
Marill	Azumarill	Azurill
		Marill
Wobbuffet
		Lax Incense
		No item
Wobbuffet		Wynaut
		Wobbuffet
Roselia and Roserade
		Rose Incense
		No item
Roselia	Roserade	Budew
		Roselia
Chimecho
		Pure Incense
		No item
Chimecho		Chingling
		Chimecho
Sudowoodo
		Rock Incense
		No item
Sudowoodo		Bonsly
		Sudowoodo
Mr. Mime and Mr. Rime
		Odd Incense
		No item
Mr. Mime	Mr. Rime	Mime Jr.
		Mr. Mime
Chansey and Blissey
		Luck Incense
		No item
Chansey	Blissey	Happiny
		Chansey
Mantine
		Wave Incense
		No item
Mantine		Mantyke
		Mantine
Snorlax
		Full Incense
		No item
Snorlax		Munchlax
		Snorlax

Regional forms

If a Pokémon has regional forms, then its offspring will always hatch into the form native to that region. However, if a parent of a foreign form is holding an Everstone and is from the same evolutionary line as the offspring, then the offspring will hatch into that parent's form.

Parents		Offspring
In Paldea
Wooper♂	Wooper♀	Paldean Wooper
Paldean Wooper♂	Quagsire♀ Everstone	Wooper
Quagsire♂ Everstone	Ditto	Wooper
Psyduck♂ Everstone	Wooper♀	Paldean Wooper

Other

There is one special case, where a Pokémon can produce offspring that cannot evolve into it exclusively, and they are not gender counterparts.

Parents		Offspring
Ditto breeding
Manaphy	Ditto	Phione
Phione	Ditto	Phione

Hatching Eggs

Main article: Pokémon Egg

The time it takes for an Egg to hatch depends on its species's required number of Egg cycles. Magikarp have the fewest Egg cycles, meaning they hatch the fastest. Some baby Pokémon in the No Eggs Discovered Egg Group, such as Cleffa, Pichu, and Igglybuff, hatch quickly as well. Besides these, most Pokémon take considerable time to hatch. Rare and powerful Pokémon, like Dratini, Bagon, Beldum, Larvitar, Chansey, and more, start with a high number of Egg cycles and take a long time to hatch. Most Legendary Pokémon have a very high number of Egg cycles, although it is impossible to get these Pokémon from an Egg in-game.

"Time" is actually determined by Egg cycle completion, which is determined by in-game steps or biking. An Egg cycle is a counted number of steps that activates breeding-related programs in the game. One Egg cycle lasts 256 steps in Generations II and III, 255 steps in Generation IV, 257 steps in Generations V to VII, and 128 steps in later generations. When the game reaches the end of an Egg cycle, it does a few things: the step counter for the cycle is reset to zero, the game randomly decides if an Egg is to be found at the Day Care (if compatible Pokémon are present in the Day Care at the time), and all (or only a few) Eggs currently in the player's party have their Egg cycle count reduced by one. If the Egg cycle count for an Egg reaches zero after being reduced (in Generation II and from Generation V onward) or is zero when it would be reduced (in Generations III and IV), the Egg will begin to hatch. Prior to Generation V as well as Scarlet and Violet, if an Egg hatches, the game will not subtract an Egg cycle count from the rest of the Eggs after it in the party, ensuring that no two Eggs can hatch at the same time. From Generation V to VIII, if more than one Egg reaches zero at the same time, the first Egg hatches immediately while the rest hatch in order each time the player takes another step. In Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl, each time the player is brought back to the overworld after hatching an Egg, the text box with the "Oh?" message will immediately appear which means that the rest of the Eggs hatch in order back to back.

In Generations III and IV, the Egg cycle's step counter can be reset by receiving an Egg from the Day-Care Man or the Manaphy Egg from the Mystery Gift delivery man in the Poké Mart. When an Egg is received from one of these people, the game resets the Egg cycle step counter to one in the third generation and to zero in the fourth generation.

As an example, in Pokémon X and Y, a Misdreavus Egg starts with 25 Egg cycles, meaning it requires from 6,169 to 6,425 steps to hatch, depending on where the Egg cycle step counter is when the Egg is picked up. After each Egg cycle is completed, the Egg's Egg cycle count will drop by one, first to 24, then 23, then 22, and so on until the Egg cycle count hits zero, at which point the Egg will hatch into Misdreavus.

There are ways to speed up the time required to hatch an Egg. Riding a Bicycle reduces the time required simply by making it faster to complete steps. From Pokémon Emerald onward, if a Pokémon with Flame Body, Magma Armor, or Steam Engine is in a player's party, Egg cycles are reduced by two instead of one at the end of an Egg cycle, effectively halving the steps needed to hatch the Egg. In the Misdreavus example, the Egg would start at 25, and with Slugma in the party, the Egg would drop 2 Egg cycle counts after each Egg cycle, to 23 then 21 then 19 and so on, until it finally drops from 1 to 0 and hatches. Having multiple Pokémon with the Ability or one with each will not increase the Egg cycle reduction. Starting from Generation V, Hatching Powers can also be used (either from Pass Powers or O-Powers) to shorten the length of an Egg cycle, making Eggs hatch 1.25, 1.5, or 2× faster depending on the strength of the power used. In Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire, Secret Pals in the player's Secret Base can also use the skill "Take care of an Egg" to reduce an Egg's Egg cycle count by half of its base Egg cycles.

Passing moves down

The moves obtained by a Pokémon when hatching are as follows:

• By default, the baby Pokémon will start with any moves that it learns at level 1. (In Generation II and Generation III, they will know all moves that are level 5 and below in their learnset.)
• If both parents know a move that the baby can learn via leveling up, the Pokémon will inherit that move.
• Prior to Generation VI, if the father knows any moves that are TMs or HMs in that game (and in Crystal, moves that are taught by a Move Tutor) that the baby is also compatible with, it will inherit the move. If a Pokémon species that is gender unknown (such as Magnemite) breeds with Ditto, the resultant baby will inherit any compatible TM or HM moves that the non-Ditto parent knows.
• If the father or, starting in Generation VI, the mother knows any specific Egg Moves that the baby can learn, the baby will inherit the move.
• From Pokémon Emerald onward, if either parent is holding a Light Ball, a bred Pichu will know Volt Tackle. Volt Tackle cannot be passed down as a normal Egg Move.

If this would result in the baby possessing more than four moves, the moves take priority in the order listed: Volt Tackle, mother's Egg Moves, father's Egg Moves, TM and HM moves, inherited level-up moves, baby's default moveset. The moves passed down will be ordered on the baby Pokémon by the priority listed above.

Starting in Generation VI, the Move Reminder can teach any Pokémon hatched in a Generation VI or later game any move that it knew when it hatched, if it has forgotten it. Moves that can be taught this way due to inheriting them appear at the top of the Move Reminder's list. However, even if a Pokémon meets the requirements for more than four inherited moves, only the moves it knew when it hatched can be taught by the Move Reminder.

Starting in Generation IX, a Pokémon holding a Mirror Herb during a picnic can inherit compatible Egg Moves from other Pokémon in the picnic, regardless of Egg Groups, without the need for hatching a new Pokémon.

Inheriting stats

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Generation 7 and swap breeding

A Pokémon's individual values are also passed down. This is determined differently between generations.

Generation II

In Generation II games, the baby inherits its stats from the parent of the opposite gender, unless one parent is Ditto, in which case it inherits the stats from Ditto. The Defense IV is passed, and also either the Special IV or the Special IV plus or minus 8 (plus for values in the 0-7 range; minus for values in the 8-15 range); the Special IV has a 50% chance of remaining the same. Attack and Speed IVs are determined entirely at random, whereas HP is determined by the IVs of the other four stats, using the same formula for wild Pokémon. The probability of a Pokémon having the same IVs as its opposite-gender parent is therefore 1/512.

If the Defense IVs of two partners are the same, and the Special IVs are either the same or differ by 8, the two Pokémon are incompatible. This is due to the high likelihood of a family relation, hence the inability to breed.

Generation III

In Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, FireRed and LeafGreen, exactly three of the baby's IVs are inherited from its parents (e.g. if one parent contributes two IVs, its mate will contribute the third). The other three are determined at random, though it is possible that some of these may coincide with those of its parents without actually being inherited.

In Pokémon Emerald, the process is similar but more complicated. First, a random IV is passed from one of the parents to the baby. Afterwards, a random IV of any stat (other than HP) is passed from either parent to the baby; if it is the same stat (not necessarily the same IV value, depending on whether or not the same parent passed it on), it will override it. Finally, another random IV of any stat other than HP and Defense is passed from one of the parents to the baby; this IV will override any of the previous two if it is from the same stat. The remaining stats (a number ranging from 3 to 5) are determined at random, again with the possibility of one or more IVs coinciding with those of the parents.

Generation IV

Inheriting IVs in Pokémon Diamond and Pearl and Pokémon Platinum is determined in the same way as in Pokémon Emerald.

From HeartGold and SoulSilver onward, the baby will inherit three IVs, each from a different stat and from a random parent. In addition, if either parent holds an Power item, the baby will instead receive the IV of the corresponding stat from that parent, then inherit two other random IVs each from a random parent; if both parents hold a Power item, the baby will inherit the corresponding stat to their held item from one of those parents at random. For example, if a parent is holding the Power Anklet, the baby will inherit the Speed IV from that parent, and it will also inherit two other different IVs from its parents, such as Attack and Special Defense. As another example, if one parent holds a Power Anklet and the other parent holds a Power Weight, the baby will inherit either the Speed IV from the first parent or the HP IV from the second parent, and it will also inherit two different IVs from its parents other than Speed or HP (whichever was successfully inherited will be the one not chosen).

Generation V

Inheriting IVs in Generation V is determined in the same way as in HeartGold and SoulSilver.

Generation VI

From Pokémon X and Y onward, if at least one parent holds a Destiny Knot, the baby will inherit five IVs instead of three.

This can be combined with a Power item to ensure that one desired IV is always inherited; however, the offspring will still inherit only a total of five IVs from its parents (the Power item simply guarantees which IV will be transferred for one of the five that the Destiny Knot allows).

Inheriting Natures

In Pokémon Emerald, if the mother (in a male-female pair) or Ditto (in a pair that includes Ditto) is holding an Everstone, the baby has a 50% chance of inheriting that Pokémon's Nature.

In Pokémon Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, inheriting Natures remains the same as in Emerald, except that passing on Natures via an Everstone will not work if the Pokémon have different original languages.

In Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver, whichever Pokémon is holding an Everstone will have a chance of passing down its Nature, regardless of gender, or whether it is breeding with a Ditto.

In Pokémon Black and White, inheriting Natures remains the same as in HeartGold and SoulSilver, except that passing on Natures via an Everstone will now work even if the Pokémon are from different original languages.

From Black 2 and White 2 onward, if one parent holds an Everstone, its Nature will always be passed down. If both parents are holding an Everstone, a parent's Nature will still always be passed down, but which parent's Nature is passed down is randomly determined.

From Pokémon Sword and Shield onward, if a Pokémon is given a mint, their stats will be changed, but the Nature used for breeding, and therefore the one that will be passed down with an Everstone, is unchanged.

Inheriting Abilities

In Generations III and IV, Abilities could not be inherited by breeding—an Egg would simply randomly be born with one of its possible Abilities. From Generation V onward, parents have a chance to pass down their Ability slot in certain circumstances.

When breeding a female Pokémon with a male Pokémon, only the female Pokémon's Ability is relevant; when breeding a Pokémon with Ditto, only the non-Ditto Pokémon's Ability is relevant. If a parent's Ability is altered via Ability Patch or Ability Capsule, the new Ability slot is taken into account for breeding.

Rockruff with the Ability Own Tempo (which evolves into Lycanroc's Dusk Form) is treated as a separate form, so breeding it uses form inheritance rather than Ability inheritance mechanics.

Regular Abilities

Pokémon with two possible non-Hidden Abilities have a different Ability in slots 1 and 2, while Pokémon with only one possible non-Hidden Ability have the same Ability in both slots.

In Black 2 and White 2, if a female Pokémon is bred with a male Pokémon (but not when bred with Ditto), there is a 80% chance that its offspring will have the Ability in the same slot as the mother (regardless of whether it is a Hidden Ability or not). Pokémon bred with Ditto cannot pass their Abilities down. (In Pokémon Black and White, non-Hidden Abilities cannot be passed down.)

For Generation VI onward, if the female Pokémon has a non-Hidden Ability, there is a 80% chance that its offspring will have the Ability in the same slot as the mother (regardless of whether it was bred with a male Pokémon or Ditto).

Hidden Abilities

In Pokémon Black and White, if a female Pokémon has its Hidden Ability and is bred with a male Pokémon (but not when bred with Ditto), there is a 60% chance that its offspring will have its Hidden Ability; in Black 2 and White 2, there is instead an 80% chance the offspring will have its Hidden Ability. (Male and gender-unknown Pokémon cannot pass their Ability down in these games.)

From Generation VI onward, if a female Pokémon, or any Pokémon bred with Ditto, has a Hidden Ability, there is a 60% chance that its offspring will have its Hidden Ability.

If an Egg does not inherit a Hidden Ability from a parent, it can only be born with a non-Hidden Ability.

Inheriting forms

In most cases, if a hatched species has multiple forms (not dependent on in-battle conditions), it will inherit the form of the mother or non-Ditto parent. Burmy will always hatch with the same cloak as its mother, and if bred between Mothim and Ditto, it will always hatch with a Plant Cloak. Rockruff with the Ability Own Tempo, which evolves into Lycanroc's Dusk Form, is treated as a separate form that is inherited by its offspring. Oricorio, which changes its form using nectar, can also pass down its form by breeding.

There are a few exceptions to this inheritance pattern:

• Rotom will always hatch into its normal form, but this form can be changed afterwards.
• In Nintendo 3DS games, Vivillon's pattern depends on the set geographic area of the system at the time the save file it originated from was created, regardless of its parent's pattern. In Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, hatched Scatterbug will only evolve into Fancy Pattern Vivillon, regardless of its parent's pattern.
  • The form that Scatterbug will evolve into is predetermined when the Egg is first obtained, not when hatched or evolved.
• Furfrou, whose trims are temporary, will always hatch in its Natural Form.
• Sinistea will always hatch in its Phony Form, regardless of its parent's form.
• Poltchageist will always hatch in its Counterfeit Form, regardless of its parent's form.

Species with regional forms will hatch into whichever form is native to the region they are bred in. However, if a parent of a foreign form and the same evolutionary line is holding an Everstone, the offspring will be of that parent's form instead. If both parents meet this criteria, the mother's form takes priority.

The Gigantamax Factor and the Alpha, Jumbo, and Mini marks cannot be passed down by breeding.

Pokémon such as Dunsparce, Wurmple, and Tandemaus, where the species or form they will evolve into is predetermined when they are first generated, do not follow form inheritance rules. The forms or species of the parents have no influence on the personality value or encryption constant of the offspring.

Inheriting Poké Balls

From Generation II through V, all Eggs are obtained in standard red-and-white Poké Balls, regardless of the type of ball either parent was obtained in. In later generations, this is still used as the default ball if another type of ball is not inherited.

Generation II through V
Parents		Offspring
Great Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	Always Poké Ball

In Generation VI, the Poké Ball of the female Pokémon is always passed down to its offspring (even when bred with Ditto); male and gender-unknown Pokémon have no effect on their offspring's Poké Ball in this generation.

Generation VI
Male and female parents
Parents		Offspring
Great Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	Ultra Ball
Ditto and a female parent
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Ultra Ball ♀	Ultra Ball
Ditto and a male parent
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Ultra Ball ♂	Always Poké Ball
Ditto & Gender unknown Parents
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Premier Ball	Always Poké Ball

From Generation VII onward, usually offspring will have the same Poké Ball as the female Pokémon, or the non-Ditto Pokémon when breeding with Ditto. However, if a male and female Pokémon of the same species are bred (regardless of form), the offspring has an equal chance of inheriting either parent's Poké Ball.

Generation VII through IX
Male and female parents Different species
Parents		Offspring
Great Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	Ultra Ball
Male and female parents Same species
Parents		Offspring
Moon Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	50% Moon Ball 50% Ultra Ball
Ditto and a female parent
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Ultra Ball ♀	Ultra Ball
Ditto and a male parent
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Great Ball ♂	Great Ball
Ditto & Gender unknown Parents
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Premier Ball	Premier Ball

The Master Ball, Cherish Ball, and Strange Ball cannot be inherited via breeding; instead, the game treats any parent obtained in those balls as if they were in a standard Poké Ball for the purposes of inheritance.

Master, Cherish, & Strange Ball
Same Species Parents
Parents		Offspring*
Strange Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	50% Poké Ball 50% Ultra Ball
Different species parents Male has un-inheritable Ball
Parents		Offspring
Strange Ball ♂	Ultra Ball ♀	Ultra Ball
Different species parents Female has un-inheritable Ball
Parents		Offspring
Ultra Ball ♂	Strange Ball ♀	Always Poké Ball
Ditto & Non-Ditto Parents
Parents		Offspring
Quick Ball	Strange Ball	Always Poké Ball

Breeding for Shininess

Generation II

In Generation II, due to Shininess being determined by IVs and the fact that IVs are passed down through breeding, it is possible for an Egg bred from a Shiny Pokémon to have a chance as high as 1/64 of being Shiny itself, but only if the offspring is of the opposite gender as the Shiny parent. This is not possible in any later generations due to Shininess no longer being related to IVs.

Generation III

In Generation III, a bred Pokémon always has the same chance of being Shiny as any Pokémon met in the wild.

Generation IV

Starting in Generation IV, if the two parents have different languages of origin, the Pokémon in Eggs they produce are more likely to be Shiny due to the Masuda method. The game does this by generating up to four additional personality values if the Pokémon is not Shiny, meaning that the Pokémon is approximately five times as likely to be Shiny (approximately 5/8192 or 1/1639).

Generation V

Starting in Generation V, the Masuda method now generates five additional personality values, meaning that the Pokémon is approximately six times as likely to be Shiny (approximately 6/8192 or 1/1366).

In Pokémon Black 2 and White 2, the Shiny Charm was introduced, which increases the player's chance of encountering or hatching Shiny Pokémon while in the player's Bag. If the player has the Shiny Charm when an Egg is generated, the game generates two additional personality values if the Pokémon is not Shiny, meaning that the Pokémon is approximately three times as likely to be Shiny (approximately 3/8192 or 1/2731).

The Shiny Charm and Masuda method can both apply at the same time. If they both do, their rerolls stack, resulting in seven additional personality values being generated, meaning that the Pokémon is approximately eight times as likely to be Shiny (approximately 8/8192 or 1/1024).

Generation VI

The overall Shiny rate has been increased to 1/4096. As a result, while the number of rerolls remains the same, the probability of hatching a Shiny Pokémon when using the Masuda method or Shiny Charm has also increased.

• The Masuda method alone generates five additional personality values (approximately 6/4096 or 1/683 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).
• The Shiny Charm alone generates two additional personality values (approximately 3/4096 or 1/1365 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).
• The Masuda method and Shiny Charm together generate up to seven additional personality values (approximately 8/4096 or 1/512 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).

Generation VIII

In Generation VIII, the Masuda method now generates six additional personality values, which would make it more likely to hatch a Shiny Pokémon; however, due to a bug, while breeding the original roll is skipped if any bonus rolls are applied. As a result, the Masuda method has the same probability of producing Shiny Pokémon as it does in Generation VII (both with and without the Shiny Charm); while the Shiny Charm alone actually has a lower chance of producing a Shiny Pokémon than it does in Generation VII or wild encounters do with the Shiny Charm alone.

• The Masuda method alone generates a total of six personality values (approximately 6/4096 or 1/683 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).
• The Shiny Charm alone generates a total of two personality values (approximately 2/4096 or 1/2048 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).
• The Masuda method and Shiny Charm together generate a total of eight personality values (approximately 8/4096 or 1/512 chance of a Shiny Pokémon).

Generation IX

The Pokémon Egg Shiny Roll bug from Generation VIII (which affects the effectiveness of the Shiny Charm while breeding) still applies.

The Sparkling Power provided by sandwiches does not affect the chances of an Egg being Shiny.

In the spin-off games

Pokémon Breeder mini

Main article: Pokémon Breeder mini

In the anime

Brock preparing Pokémon food

In the anime, Pokémon breeding refers to an entire line of work practiced by Pokémon Breeders, such as Brock and Reggie. The anime has shown and discussed little about the literal breeding of Pokémon to produce Eggs, but it is assumed to be a part of a Breeder's work.

Pokémon breeding in the anime focuses heavily on raising happy and healthy Pokémon and keeping them in top condition by grooming them well and feeding them nutritious food. When preparing Pokémon food, Breeders will carefully select ingredients to ensure that the Pokémon will consume all it needs to grow stronger and healthier.

Breeders are shown to have knowledge on how to treat Pokémon illnesses and injuries by administering Potions and other medicine. Some Breeders will use a mortar and pestle to crush and grind herbs to produce herbal medicine. They also know which Berries can be used to cure Pokémon from status conditions.

It has been shown that Pokémon Professors get their first partner Pokémon from Breeders who specifically raise and breed them, like Old Man Swamp from A Mudkip Mission. There are also a few farm-like facilities that produce Pokémon Eggs of various species. Both Ash and May have obtained Eggs from such locations.

In Following A Maiden's Voyage!, Johanna stated that Dawn would need to learn about breeding in order to become a Top Coordinator. This is because Pokémon Coordinators must care for their Pokémon's appearance and well being, something which requires them to know how to produce nutritious snacks in the form of Pokéblocks and Poffins, as well as to regularly groom them.

In the manga

Gold hatching an Egg in Pokémon Adventures

Pokémon Adventures

Gold's special skill, as described by Professor Oak, is Pokémon hatching and is known as the "Hatcher" (孵す者 Hatcher). He has the ability to draw out the largest potential of a baby Pokémon, having lived with Pokémon his whole life. Togebo and Pibu are testaments to that title, and share similar traits with him.

Trivia

• Except for Pokémon species in the No Eggs Discovered group or with gender unknown, all other known Pokémon species can be indirectly or directly related to each other via their shared Egg Groups, even if no breeding with Ditto is involved.
• Nidorina and Nidoqueen cannot breed, despite the fact that the Nidoran♂ line and Nidoran♀ can. This is because Nidorina and Nidoqueen's inability to lay Eggs was established by Japanese media before breeding became a game mechanic. As such, Nidoran♀ is the only Pokémon that loses the ability to breed upon evolving.
• Although all Legendary Pokémon, Mythical Pokémon, and Ultra Beasts except Manaphy and Phione cannot breed in the core series games, Eggs containing Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres can be hatched in Pokémon Snap, and a baby Lugia appears in the anime. Likewise, Manaphy can be hatched from a special Egg transferred from Pokémon Ranger in the Generation IV games.
• When a Pokémon hatches from an Egg during both Generation II and Generation III, it is at level 5. However, many Pokémon from the wild can be found between levels 2 and 4, which is below the level of newly hatched Pokémon. This oddity has since been addressed from Generation IV onwards, where all hatched Pokémon start at level 1.
  • An additional consequence of this is that level 1 Pokémon cannot be obtained legally until Generation IV.
• The Pokémon Mansion journals (which predate Generation II's introduction of breeding) describe Mew giving birth as opposed to producing an Egg. This was not changed in Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, but in Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!, the journal instead says "We obtained a new Pokémon from Mew." It is unclear as to whether this is meant literally or metaphorically.
• Due to a bug in Pokémon Sword and Shield, Galarian Stunfisk is not considered a regional form for the purposes of regional form inheritance.

In other languages

Language Title Chinese Cantonese 培育 Pùihyuhk 增加 Jānggā 繁殖 Fàahnjihk Mandarin 培育 Péiyù 增加 Zēngjiā 繁殖 Fánzhí French Élever German Züchten Italian Allevare Korean 기르다 Gireuda 늘리다 Neullida 늘다 Neulda 번식 Beonsik Brazilian Portuguese Incubação de Pokémon Spanish Criar

See also

• Chain breeding

External links

• Legendary Pokémon's advanced breeding information
• Smogon's detailed guide on breeding and Egg-hatching
• The Ultimate Pokémon Center's Generation II breeding guide (archived)
• Smogon's guide on Egg RNG in Generation VII

References

This game mechanic article is part of Project Games, a Bulbapedia project that aims to write comprehensive articles on the Pokémon games.