Pokémon Egg

Eggs of Togepi and Elekid

A Pokémon egg (Japanese: ポケモンのタマゴ Pokémon egg) is an object from which all Pokémon are known to hatch. An egg's shell will usually have a pattern that reflects the appearance of the Pokémon developing inside, though in the games this is not the case (likely to save space on the game media).

Pokémon eggs are produced by breeding two Pokémon of a compatible egg group and opposite gender together, and will contain by default the lowest species in the evolutionary line of the mother. According to a girl in Solaceon Town, where one of many Pokémon Day Cares are located, no one has ever seen a Pokémon lay an egg, and so it is not confirmed that this is how they appear. No alternate explanation for their creation is offered, however, and most assume that the details are not gone into to keep the games appropriate for all audiences.

Some Pokémon, known as baby Pokémon, are often only found by hatching them from an egg created by their evolved forms. Unlike other species which cannot breed, baby Pokémon evolve into species which can do so. A majority of legendary Pokémon cannot breed in captivity, and thus cannot produce eggs of themselves, however, a notable exception is made with Manaphy and Phione, which both produce Phione eggs if bred with Ditto.

Despite not having hatched yet, eggs are kept in Poké Balls.

In the games

Pokémon eggs have appeared in all games where Pokémon breeding has been available, as a major plot point in their introduction in Generation II. They have also appeared in several side games.

Mechanics

An egg's status screen in Generation II

Despite time being an introduced concept in Generation II, the amount of time left until a Pokémon hatches from its egg is instead determined by the amount of steps taken by the player when it is in the party.

The internal coding for an egg in the games is very similar to that of a Pokémon-- being that they are stored in the same places that a Pokémon is, this is to be expected. A Pokémon egg will be created knowing what species it will hatch into, with this species determining the value for the amount of steps left until the Pokémon hatches. The value is then stored in the same space that the happiness value, also introduced in Generation II, is stored for normal Pokémon. Unlike normal Pokémon, whose happiness gains a point for every 256 steps the player takes, an egg's "happiness" value, the egg cycle number, decreases for every 256 steps.

The amount of egg cycles that an egg has left determines what is displayed on its status screen. When an egg has more than 10 egg cycles remaining, it will display, "Wonder what's inside? It needs more time, though." When the egg's cycles have dipped below that, but are still above 5, it will display, "It moves around inside sometimes. It must be close to hatching." When the egg has less than 5 cycles remaining, it will display, "It's making sounds inside! It's going to hatch soon!"

Generation II

An egg hatching in the beta version of Gold and Silver

An egg in Pokémon Stadium 2

Generation II introduced the system of egg creation and hatching that would continue, much unaltered, to the present. The first Pokémon egg obtainable by the player in the series was a key item given by Mr. Pokémon in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal. The Mystery Egg is to be delivered to Professor Elm in New Bark Town; he will then study it and have one of his aides return it to the player in the Violet City Pokémon Center.

Elm's studies show that when a Pokémon egg is carried with a Trainer with a party of lively Pokémon, it will eventually hatch. This is easily proven, as some time after the egg is given, if it is kept in the party, it will hatch into a Togepi.

Once the player reaches the Daycare on Route 34 is where the game mechanics of breeding are truly introduced. Though unrevealed in the games (and only ever truly shown by Pokémon Stadium 2 and Pokédex 3D), Pokémon belong to one or two of fifteen egg groups, and those which share an egg group and are of opposite gender are capable of breeding. Pokémon without gender can be bred with a Ditto, as can any other Pokémon. Pokémon in the Undiscovered Group will not breed with any Pokémon, and will thus not produce any eggs.

Pokémon that hatch from an egg will come out at level 5, having whatever moves their species can learn by that level, any TM or HM moves they are compatible with that were known by their father, and any egg moves their father passed down.

These are the only games in which an egg's status screen differs considerably from that of a normal Pokémon, as all later games use either a modified version of the Pokémon status screen of that game (as is the case in Generation III) or the same status screen minus some pages (as is the case in Generation IV and V).

Eggs available

Aside from eggs made by the player's Pokémon, the following eggs can be obtained in Generation II:

• Togepi: From Mr. Pokémon, initially classed as a key item. Received from Professor Elm's aide in Violet City.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Odd Egg^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}: From the Day-Care Man, will hatch into a Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Tyrogue, Smoochum, Elekid, or Magby that knows Dizzy Punch. It has a 14% chance of being Shiny in international versions. In the Japanese version, it is available by trading in the Egg Ticket from the Day-Care Man at the Pokémon Communication Center in Goldenrod City and has a 50% chance of being Shiny.

Generation III

Generation III retained much of the system introduced in Generation II, with only one major change. If specific Pokémon are holding specific items, the baby Pokémon that hatch from their eggs will be different, new baby Pokémon introduced in this generation. These special incenses are specific to Marill and Wobbuffet's evolutionary line, and when held by them, will cause the baby to be an Azurill or Wynaut instead. Presumably this is to keep breeding consistent: as the items did not exist in earlier generations, they could never be held, always resulting in the evolved form hatching.

All other mechanics present in Generation II are present in Generation III, including the system for hatching the eggs. Egg groups now have more members, but the groups themselves number the same as in Generation II, and no Pokémon have changed groups. In Pokémon Emerald, several more mechanics were added. A Pokémon's nature could be influenced through its mother holding an Everstone while in the Day-Care, while Pokémon with Magma Armor or Flame Body would quicken the hatching process if in the party with eggs.

Eggs available

Aside from eggs made by the player's Pokémon, the following eggs can be obtained in Generation III:

• Wynaut: From an old couple in Lavaridge Town.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Togepi: From an old man in the Water Labyrinth.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}

Generation IV

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: Manaphy egg in Ranch, and both eggs in Battle Revolution

An egg on the Pokétch

An egg on My Pokémon Ranch

File:Battle Rev Egg.png

An egg on Pokémon Battle Revolution

File:Battle Rev Manaphy Egg.png

A Manaphy egg on Pokémon Battle Revolution

Generation IV expanded on the mechanics found in Emerald, making them standard to the series, as well as added more baby Pokémon only obtainable through incense breeding. A new mechanic is that both parents can now pass down its nature to its offspring if one of them holds an Everstone. In addition to this, Pokémon eggs were altered to hatching at level 1, for better consistency with the games' early routes. This would have been possible in Generation III as well, but was not in Generation II due to a glitch in the programming that caused level 1 "Medium Slow" Pokémon to jump to level 100 instantly when leveled up. A change in mechanics from Generation III causes the eggs to hatch slightly earlier, with the egg cycle number going down after 255, rather than 256, steps. The Manaphy Egg obtainable from Ranger games came with its own party and status screen sprites.

Trainers can use the Pokétch Day-Care Checker app to check whether or not an egg has yet been produced, unlike in previous generations' games, where Trainers attempting to breed two Pokémon would need to stay near the Day-Care Center to make sure that they got an egg as soon as it was ready.

Eggs may also be tranferred to My Pokémon Ranch, but they will not hatch as long as they are kept in the game. When 999 Pokémon are present in the ranch it will expand and jump to level 25, the maximum level. Once this level is reached Hayley will offer to trade any Pokémon egg for her Mew.

Eggs available

An egg produced by Arceus, about to hatch into Dialga, Palkia or Giratina

Aside from eggs made by the player's Pokémon, the following eggs can be obtained in Generation IV:

• Happiny: From a hiker in Hearthome City.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Riolu: From Riley on Iron Island.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Togepi: From Cynthia in Eterna City.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Manaphy: From Pokémon Ranger, Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia and Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Togepi: From Mr. Pokémon, initially classed as a key item, the Mystery egg. Received from Professor Elm's aide in Violet City.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Mareep: From Primo after entering the correct secret phrase.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Wooper: From Primo after entering the correct secret phrase.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}
• Slugma: From Primo after entering the correct secret phrase.^{Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.Wrong template. See Template:Sup/doc.}

Generation V

Building on the mechanics introduced in HeartGold and SoulSilver, Generation V adds the possibility of female Pokémon with a Hidden Ability to pass on their exclusive ability to its offspring, unless the father is a Ditto. No new baby Pokémon were introduced this generation. The Manaphy egg is found in the coding of Black and White, implying it may be used in a future event.

Eggs available

Aside from eggs made by the player's Pokémon, the following eggs can be obtained in Generation V:

• Larvesta: From a Pokémon Ranger inside a building on Route 18.

Appearance

The picture used in this is unsatisfactory. Please feel free to replace it so it conforms to Bulbapedia conventions. Reason: Quality of Gen V Backsprite

Image from Generation II	Image from Generation III	Image from Generation IV	Image from Generation V (front)	Image from Generation V (back)
Mystery Egg sprite from HeartGold and SoulSilver	Menu sprites from Generations III, IV, and V	A Manaphy egg from Generation IV	A Manaphy egg from Generation V	Manaphy egg menu sprites from Generations IV and V

Side games

A Togepi egg

Hey You, Pikachu!

In Hey You, Pikachu!, a Togepi egg can be found and hatched while completing the Pokémon Picnic missions.

Pokémon Snap

The first eggs to appear in the games were, in actuality, slightly before Generation II, with eggs of the Kanto legendary birds appearing in Pokémon Snap. These eggs could be hatched by interaction with the player through various means:

• Articuno: This egg is in the Cave area. It is silver and has a crystalline form. It hatches with the aid of two dancing Jynx.
• Zapdos: This egg is in the Tunnel area. It is yellow with a jagged electric pattern on it. It hatches with the aid of a Pikachu's Thunderbolt.
• Moltres: This egg is in the Volcano area. It is white with a red flame design on it. It hatches when a Pester Ball or apple knocks it into the lava.

• 

  Articuno Egg

• 

  Zapdos Egg

• 

  Moltres Egg

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

Eggs available in Puzzle Challenge

Four eggs are available as unlockables in Pokémon Puzzle Challenge; over time they will hatch and the Pokémon inside are only playable in Marathon mode.

• Magby is available after hatching the Fire Egg
• Elekid is available after hatching the Lightning Egg
• Igglybuff is available after hatching the Normal Circle Egg
• Cleffa is available after hatching the Normal Star Egg

Pokémon Breeder mini

This section is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this section to add missing information and complete it. Reason: image

Three eggs containing Treecko, Torchic and Mudkip, are available for the player to choose between in Pokémon Breeder mini. However, these eggs have a generic appearance, rather than their individual designs present in other media.

Pokémon Channel

This setion is incomplete. Please feel free to edit this setion to add missing information and complete it. Reason: images of other Eggs

A Treecko egg

In Pokémon Channel, Pokémon eggs appear on the Eggzamination: Hatch Up! channel, where the player can guess which Pokémon is within an egg and will win money if correct on hatching, which can take anytime between 10 minutes to 24 hours. While some Pokémon hatch from plain white eggs, a number of eggs that have appeared in the anime are a main feature on the channel. Pokémon with eggs seen include Bellsprout, Hoppip, Igglybuff, Ledyba, Mudkip, Oddish, Phanpy, Smoochum, Swinub, Teddiursa, Torchic, Treecko, Wooper, and Zubat.

Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire

Pinball RS Eggs

Eggs can be hatched while playing in Egg Mode in Pokémon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire. While playing on the Ruby Field hit Cyndaquil into the egg stand three times to start heating the egg. Hitting it once more will make the egg hatch. Afterwards, sending the ball into the egg stand again will lead to Aerodactyl or Totodile replacing the egg. While playing on the Sapphire Field, send the ball through the Egg Stand to turn on one of the lights. This only works by sending the ball up the lower Egg Loop and not through Spoink launching the ball. Once all four lights are lit, the egg will hatch the next time the ball is sent through the egg stand. Aftwerwards, sending the ball through the egg stand once more makes a new egg appear and the process starts over. After an egg has been hatched it must be caught by hitting it twice with the Poké Ball in less than a minute, otherwise it will go back into the Egg Stand.

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon

In Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time, Darkness and Sky, the player can earn eggs as a reward for missions with a reward listed as ???. Only one egg can be kept at a time, and will be sent to Chansey. The egg will hatch after a random number of missions, at which point the hatched Pokémon will join the player's team and know egg moves. A Wonder Egg can be found at the end of the Surrounded Sea, which will hatch into Manaphy the next morning.

In the anime

File:Breeding house eggs.png

A breeding house in the anime, full of different Pokémon eggs

The anime was where Pokémon eggs made their debut, with Ash's find of an egg in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon predating Pokémon Snap by nearly a year. The egg was kept safe by Brock, but unlike later episodes, was not kept in its own case.

Later eggs have all been shown to be kept in a case, which includes a Poké Ball for the baby to be put into on hatching. Aside from Togepi's egg, which hatched not unlike an egg in the real world, later eggs are shown to flash white before hatching, then to glow white and transform into the Pokémon they contain.

Pokémon hatched from eggs

Misty's Togepi

This egg was white with blue and red triangular spots. It was found by Ash deep in Grampa Canyon in Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon. It was taken care of by Brock and, for a short period, by Meowth. It hatched into a Togepi in Who Gets to Keep Togepi?. Since Misty was the first person it saw, the baby Pokémon thought she was its mother, and thus became hers.

Ash's Phanpy

This egg was light blue with no designs. It was given to Ash as a prize for winning a race in Extreme Pokémon!. He took care of it himself, and it hatched into a Phanpy in Hatching a Plan!.

Ash's Larvitar

This egg was jade green with no designs. It was given to Ash in Lapras of Luxury. It hatched into a Larvitar in Hatch Me If You Can!.

Misty's Azurill

This egg was never seen. It was the offspring of Tracey's Marill, and then Tracey gave it to Misty as mentioned in The Scheme Team!, when Azurill itself first appeared.

File:Eevee hatches.gif

May's Eevee hatching from its egg

May's Eevee

This egg was brown with a cream-colored zigzag stripe around its middle. It was given to May by a day-care worker in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure. She took care of it herself, and it hatched into an Eevee in Time-Warp Heals All Wounds.

Manaphy

This egg was translucent blue with a red, yolk-like sphere and a ring of yellow dots inside of it. It was primary to the plot of Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea. During the movie, while everyone was trying to protect the egg, the center began to glow. When May caught it after being tossed into the air it began to hatch into a Manaphy.

Brock's Happiny

This egg was light pink with a white stripe around the center and a red top. It was won by Brock in a Cosplay Convention in All Dressed Up With Somewhere To Go!. He took care of it himself, and it hatched into a Happiny with the help of Nurse Joy in One Big Happiny Family!.

Dawn's Cyndaquil

Dawn's egg obtained in An Egg Scramble! hatched into a baby Cyndaquil later in the episode. The egg was mostly green, with a cream colored bottom and three red spots near the bottom.

Ash's Scraggy

Ash's egg obtained in Here Comes the Trubbish Squad! hatched into a baby Scraggy in Scraggy-Hatched to be Wild!. The egg is similar to the ones seen in the games. However, it retains Scraggy's color scheme, being tan with brown spots.

• 

  Misty's Togepi egg

• Phanpy egg.png

  Ash's Phanpy egg

• 

  Ash's Larvitar egg

• 

  May's Eevee egg

• 

  Manaphy egg

• Happiny egg.png

  Brock's Happiny egg

• Cyndaquil egg.png

  Dawn's Cyndaquil egg

• 

  Ash's Scraggy egg

Other Pokémon eggs in the anime

File:Pokemon eggs.png

Some eggs in a cart

• Extreme Pokémon!: An entire breeding house full of Eggs appeared in this episode. Several "dummy" eggs were used in the race. A large number of the egg varieties seen, both real and dummy, are unique to this episode. Some of the designs seen are similar to Beedrill, Farfetch'd, Drowzee, Starmie, and Heracross.
• A Mudkip Mission: This episode showed a home where baby Mudkip were bred, and even showed one hatching and spraying May in the face. These eggs were small and blue with orange spots.
• May's Egg-Cellent Adventure: An entire breeding house full of eggs appeared in this episode. Primarily, it featured an Egg of a Vulpix which was about to hatch, which was two shades of red with a design of curls separating the top from the bottom, reflecting the design of Vulpix's tails. Many other eggs appeared in the breeding house. Based on the design, some of the other eggs were identified as Aipom, Bellsprout, Chinchou, Cleffa, Elekid, Igglybuff, Ledyba, Magby, Pichu, Sandshrew, Sentret, Smoochum, Spinarak, Swinub, Teddiursa, and Wooper. A few of the designs were more difficult to distinguish than others.
• The Psyduck Stops Here!: Psyduck eggs were seen in this episode and were the reason why the Psyduck were blocking the road. These eggs were yellow with patterns that looked like Psyduck feet.

• Sentret egg.png

  A Sentret egg in Extreme Pokémon!

• Pichu egg.png

  A Pichu egg in Extreme Pokémon!

• Dummy Pokemon egg 1.png

  "Dummy" eggs

• Dummy Pokemon egg 2.png

  "Dummy" eggs

• Mudkiphatching2.gif

  A Mudkip hatching from its egg

• Aipom egg.png

  An Aipom egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Bellsprout egg.png

  A Bellsprout egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Chinchou egg.png

  A Chinchou egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• 

  A Cleffa egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Ledyba egg.png

  A Ledyba egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Magby egg.png

  A Magby egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Sandshrew egg.png

  A Sandshrew egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Smoochum egg.png

  A Smoochum egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Spinarak egg.png

  A Spinarak egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Swinub egg.png

  A Swinub egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Teddiursa egg.png

  A Teddiursa egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Wooper egg.png

  A Wooper egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• 

  A Vulpix egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure

• Unknown egg.png

  An unidentified egg in May's Egg-Cellent Adventure, speculated to be that of Slowpoke

• Psyduck eggs.png

  Three Psyduck with their eggs

In the manga

A Pichu egg in the Pokémon Gold and Silver: The Golden Boys manga

Pokémon Adventures

• In Sigh for Psyduck a photograph of Mr. Fuji's deceased Doduo is shown hatching from an egg.
• Red's Pika and Yellow's Chuchu produce an egg that later hatches into Gold's Pichu.

Pokémon Gold and Silver: The Golden Boys

• Gold receives a Pokémon egg from the Day-Care Couple in A Huge Mysterious Tree!!, and it hatches into Pichu in The New Pokémon Is Hatched!!.
• Gold receives an egg from Jasmine's Togetic, which eventually hatched into a Togepi.
• Chris hatches a Togepi from an egg that Gold delivered to Professor Elm.

Pokémon Pocket Monsters

• Isamu Akai hatches a Togepi egg in Volume 6

In the TCG

• _____'s Chansey: Depicts a Chansey hatching from an egg, as well as many other generic eggs in the background.
• Fossil Egg: Used to hatch into any Pokémon that evolves from Mysterious Fossil.

Trivia

An Elekid egg in the anime. Note that the stripes are more similar to Electabuzz's, rather than those on Elekid

• The eggs of Elekid and Magby are the only eggs whose designs depict those of the Pokémon's evolved form, rather than the Pokémon it directly hatches into.
• No Pokémon that was hatched from an egg in the anime has evolved twice, either because their evolutionary line prohibits it (Phanpy, Eevee and Scraggy), their evolutionary line went no further than one evolution at the time of their release (Togepi), the Pokémon's Trainer is no longer part of the main cast (Azurill, Happiny and Cyndaquil), or simply because, as of this point, the Pokémon who can go on to evolve twice have not even undergone one evolutionary event yet (Larvitar).
• Aside from Manaphy, which is legendary, no anime Pokémon that has been seen hatching from an egg is a Pokémon that is unable to evolve.
• In the anime, with the exception of Ash's Scraggy, each egg owned by a main character and shown onscreen has been stolen from the rightful owner prior to its hatching. The usual perpetrator is Team Rocket, but there have been others.
  • Misty's Togepi egg was stolen by Team Rocket, though it wasn't hers at the time.
  • Ash's Phanpy egg was also stolen by Team Rocket.
  • Ash's Larvitar egg was stolen by three poachers prior to Ash obtaining it.
  • May's Eevee egg was first taken by accident by a disoriented Elekid. It was then found by Team Rocket and they planned to not return it to May. However, James willingly gives it to her in exchange for his Mime Jr. which she had found.
  • Manaphy's egg was taken by The Phantom, then rescued by Jack Walker. Then Team Rocket takes it from him briefly before Phantom attempts to get it back.
  • Brock's Happiny egg was stolen by Team Rocket. However, this was before it was given to him personally.
  • Dawn's Cyndaquil egg was taken by Team Rocket and hatched when she got it back.
• In the episode Address Unown, it was revealed that Pokémon are able to see the world outside of their eggs.
• Pokémon have been seen interacting from inside their eggs: Manaphy had used Heart Swap on Team Rocket before it even hatched (it was also implied that it was the one who gave May the dream involving the Sea Temple).
• Even though eggs are incapable of battling, they have base stats programmed into the game. Each stat is 10.
  • Through a glitch in Pokémon Emerald and Generation IV, eggs can actually battle in-game.
• In Ruby and Sapphire, there was a minor bug when Pokémon hatched from an egg in another game was traded to either game. When so is done, the "egg" that appears after the location where the egg hatched in the summary will change to "met" when traded to Ruby or Sapphire. This bug was fixed in Pokémon Emerald.
• Another issue with traded eggs appears in all generations since Generation III: When an egg is generated, it is given the OT, ID, secret ID, and game identifier of the game which created it. This can cause an egg which is traded to hatch Shiny and then be normally colored, or hatch normally colored, and then be Shiny. This is due to the change in OT, ID, and secret ID happening after the hatching cutscene.
  • This issue is also present if a Pokémon is traded between the main and remake games of the third and fourth generations: the game identifier is never changed, meaning that an Azurill egg generated in Ruby, but then traded to FireRed and hatched will, though identifying itself as having FireRed's player as its OT, still be marked as having been generated in Ruby. When transferred via Pal Park to Generation IV, it will say that it is from Hoenn, rather than Kanto, as this is determined not by index number of the location hatched, but by game identifier. In Generation IV, this occurs between Sinnoh and Johto games when Pokémon are transferred forward to Generation V. It cannot occur between Kanto/Hoenn and Johto/Sinnoh games, however, as Pokémon eggs cannot be transferred via Pal Park.

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