Pokemon Sword and Shield - Breeding Guide

Overview

Breeding Pokemon is a recurring feature in the world of Pokemon since Generation 2. With breeding, trainers can obtain a Pokemon with their desired nature, stats, moves, and to some extent shininess.

How to raise Pokemon in the nursery

Breeding can be done in the nursery. To start, simply leave two Pokemon, one male and one female. The two Pokemon need to belong to the same egg group in order to generate an egg. If the two Pokemon are of the same species, or of different species but from two different games, the caretaker will tell you that they are compatible.

Hatching tips

Egg groups

Egg groups are classifications that dictate whether two Pokemon are compatible or not. Some Pokemon belong to two egg groups. This allows trainers to perform chain breeding. Among the list of egg groups, the Ditto egg group is one of its kind since it only consists of Ditto.

List of egg groups

Nursery locations

In the Galar region, there are two nurseries. The first one which appears early in the game is found on Route 5. The other one is located in Bridge Field, a zone in the wild area.

Natures

One of the features that can be passed on to the egg is the nature of either the male or female Pokemon. Trainers need to acquire the item Everstone. After getting the item, make one of the Pokemon you will deposit in the nursery hold it. The Pokemon that holds the Everstone is sure to pass down its nature to any egg that is generated.

Another option is to use mints to copy a certain nature’s growth pattern.

Choosing Egg Moves

While Pokemon already have access to more tools in the form of technical records, there are still some Pokemon that do not learn certain moves even after bouts of training. These moves are called Egg moves. Egg moves are special moves that can first be obtained from breeding Pokemon of two different species. After meeting the conditions, the Pokemon left in the daycare can pass egg moves to the egg. This allows for a unique combination of moves.

Bear in mind that in the Galar region, rare sightings of Brilliant Pokemon are reported to have some of these special moves when caught.

Have the Oval Charm

The Oval charm is a key item that has a passive effect of raising the chance to generate an egg in the nursery. You can obtain this from an npc in the hotel at Circhester. You can generate eggs faster by simply having the key item in your bag.

How to get the Oval Charm

Deducing IVs

You can figure out your Pokemon’s Individual values in the post-game. After completing the main story, head to the Battle tower and fight your way until former champion Leon appears. Defeat him in a Pokemon battle and you will receive the judge feature.

How to check the IVs

Using the Destiny Knot

The Destiny Knot is a highly sought after held item that is mainly used for its effect in the overworld. Normally the pair of Pokemon can only pass around three IVs to the egg. However, if you give one of them a Destiny Knot, you’ll pass five of the pair’s combined IVs to the egg. The stats they pass are random.

Trainers may also replace the destiny knot and use one of the six power items. For example, you can give a Power Anklet to one of the Pokemon to force it to pass its Speed IV to the egg.

Destiny Knot Locations

Using Incense

Some species can also be found as eggs after doing an extra step. In Hulbury, you can visit the marketplace to purchase some incenses. These items have effects in battle but can also affect the result of a generated egg. When a certain Pokemon is given an incense that is compatible to its species, it produces an egg of a baby Pokemon.

Incense List

Going for a shiny Pokemon

Shiny Pokemon are rare variants of Pokemon that have a different coloration. While these Pokemon don’t have any advantages over regular types, they are highly valued by collectors because of their unique sparkling animation and colors. After hatching a shiny Pokemon, trainers can also update their league cards by displaying the amount of shiny Pokemon they have collected.

Brilliant and Shiny Pokemon

Have the shiny charm

Trainers can also obtain a special key item known as the shiny charm. The shiny charm boosts the chance of finding a shiny Pokemon from different encounters. Since breeding is a form of encounter on its own, the shiny charm also affects this method.

How to get the Shiny charm

Use the “masuda method”

The international marriage or widely known as the masuda method, is a way for trainers to boost the odds of finding a shiny Pokemon from an egg. On top of that, trainers can also combine the effects of the shiny charm with the masuda method to get the highest chance of scoring a shiny Pokemon. To get started, trainers must obtain two compatible Pokemon of different genders and of different languages. The fastest way to generate eggs using this method is to have two Pokemon of the same species. However, the most efficient way is to simply have a foreign Ditto since it can take the place of any other Pokemon.

Shiny Pokemon Gallery

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