This article summarizes how to breed for eggs in the Sun and Moon versions. If you want to breed strong Pokemon from eggs, please refer to this.
What is Egg Breeding (Hatch Breeding)?
Breeding using Pokemon Eggs
Egg breeding (hatch breeding) is the process of creating Pokemon eggs using the Day Care and breeding for strong Pokemon.
What Can Be Inherited Through Egg Breeding
| Nature | Natures can be inherited. It's also possible to ensure inheritance by having a parent hold an item. |
|---|---|
| IVs | IVs can be inherited. It's also possible to ensure inheritance by having a parent hold an item. |
| Moves | Moves can be inherited. There are also Egg Moves, which can only be learned by Pokemon hatched from eggs. |
| Ability | Abilities can be inherited. Hidden Abilities can also be inherited. |
Table of Contents
Key Points for Breeding
Breeding is Easier with Items
Specific items can be used for hatch breeding. While it's possible to breed without them, having items makes the breeding process easier.
List of Items Useful for Breeding
| Item Name | Effect |
|---|---|
| Everstone | If a parent Pokemon holds this when creating an egg, its Nature will always be inherited. Ideal for creating Pokemon with a desired Nature. |
| Destiny Knot | If a parent Pokemon holds this when creating an egg, 5 IVs will be randomly inherited from both parents' IVs. (Normally 0-3 IVs are inherited). |
| Power Weight | HP IV is inherited by the offspring |
| Power Bracer | Attack IV is inherited by the offspring |
| Power Belt | Defense IV is inherited by the offspring |
| Power Lens | Special Attack IV is inherited by the offspring |
| Power Band | Special Defense IV is inherited by the offspring |
| Power Anklet | Speed IV is inherited by the offspring |
Having a High IV Ditto Makes Breeding Easier
If you have a high IV Ditto, you can easily create high IV offspring by having the Ditto hold a Destiny Knot. To make breeding easier, prepare a high IV Ditto. High IV Dittos can be obtained using SOS Battles.
Why Ditto?
Ditto can create eggs with Pokemon from any Egg Group. Therefore, catching a Ditto beforehand when breeding will significantly improve efficiency.
Use the [Flame Body] Ability
If a Pokemon with the [Flame Body] Ability is at the front of your party, it has the effect of halving the number of steps required for an egg to hatch. To hatch eggs efficiently, put a Pokemon with the [Flame Body] Ability in your party and hatch the eggs.
Hatch Breeding Flow
Before You Start Breeding
Before you start breeding, research what kind of Pokemon you want to breed. Decide on various factors beforehand, such as what the IVs will be, what moves it will have, and what its Nature will be, before starting the breeding process.
You Need to Create Offspring Multiple Times
To create a more perfectly bred Pokemon, you need to breed multiple times. The average number of breeding cycles is about 3 to 5 times.
This Example
This time, we'll explain the process of creating a 5V Froakie as an example. When Froakie with its Hidden Ability evolves into Greninja, its Ability becomes Protean, making it very useful in battles. The target Froakie is as follows:
| IVs | HBCDS as V｜ |
|---|---|
| Nature | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden Ability |
| Moves | No preference |
The letters H, A, B, C, D, S all represent stats. V means the IV is 31.
| H | HP |
|---|---|
| A | Attack |
| B | Defense |
| C | Special Attack |
| D | Special Defense |
| S | Speed |
About This Time's Parents
We will proceed with the breeding assuming that both Ditto and Froakie have only one V IV (Ditto has H, Froakie has C).
1. Create Froakies with different V IV locations
Create the parents that will be the source of high IVs. The goal is to breed Froakie and Ditto to create male and female Froakies, each with different V IVs (because Ditto will not be used from the next step). This time, since we are making a child with a Hidden Ability, it is essential that one parent Froakie has its Hidden Ability.
Tip!
At this time, if the female's Ability is the Hidden Ability, the subsequent work will be easier (because the female's Ability is more easily passed down to the offspring).
Parents
| Parent | Froakie | Ditto |
|---|---|---|
| IVs | C is V | H is V |
| Nature | Modest | Timid |
| Ability | Hidden | Normal |
| Held Item | Everstone | Power Weight |
Target Offspring
| Offspring | Froakie ♂ | Froakie ♀ |
|---|---|---|
| IVs | HD are V | CS are V |
| Nature | Modest | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden or Normal | Hidden |
2. Breed the Resulting Offspring
Next, use the offspring created in step 1 as parents to create an even higher IV Froakie. The key point here is to have one of them hold a Destiny Knot. By doing so, you can pass down two high IVs with a high probability.
Parents
| Parent | Froakie ♂ | Froakie ♀ |
|---|---|---|
| IVs | HD are V | CS are V |
| Nature | Modest | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden or Normal | Hidden |
| Held Item | Everstone | Destiny Knot |
Target Offspring
| Offspring | Froakie ♂ | Froakie ♀ |
|---|---|---|
| IVs | HBCS are V | HCDS are V |
| Nature | Modest | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden or Normal | Hidden |
3. Complete the Target Froakie
If you breed the offspring created up to step 2, the 5V Froakie is almost complete. If it goes well, you can breed the target Froakie.
Parents
| Parent | Froakie ♂ | Froakie ♀ |
|---|---|---|
| IVs | HBCS are V | HCDS are V |
| Nature | Modest | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden or Normal | Hidden |
| Held Item | Everstone | Destiny Knot |
Target Offspring
| Offspring | Froakie ♂ or ♀ |
|---|---|
| IVs | HBCDS are V |
| Nature | Modest |
| Ability | Hidden |
