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+--- Thread: [DISCUSSION] A Comprehensive Breeding Guide (/Thread-DISCUSSION-A-Comprehensive-Breeding-Guide)
A Comprehensive Breeding Guide - NoImKyle - May 26, 2017
Hey guys, I just want to compile a list of all things useful for breeding and raising pokemon, including IVs, EVs, abilities, egg moves, and anything else that might be relevant for anyone who has any questions, whether they're new to breeding or just have a few questions. I doubt I'm going to get all of the information in one go, so if anyone has any useful advice that I left out or you notice that I've made some sort of mistake, feel free to let me know about it. I know there was a lot of learning involved when I first got into breeding pokemon, so I felt that this would be useful for anyone else who has taken an interest in it but doesn't know where to begin. (I'm sorry if such a guide has already been published, but I have not seen it.)
I'll start off with a few basic questions:
-What is pokemon breeding?
Pokemon breeding is a useful way to obtain pokemon that fit your specific needs, whether it is for battling, obtaining shiny pokemon, or even to create valuable pokemon to trade with.
-Why do you breed?
People breed pokemon to obtain specific stats, or IVs (which I will go into more detail with later), natures, moves, and other things that the breeder would like to be a certain way.
-Where do you breed?
Before a player can start breeding, they must advance through the game far enough to reach the pokemon daycare center. In Sun/Moon, the daycare is at Paniola Ranch. In ORAS, there are two: one on route 117 and one at the battle resort. In XY, the daycare is located on route 7. In the daycare, a player can leave up to 2 pokemon to slowly gain experience (except in Sun/Moon). However, there is a chance that these two pokemon will spawn an egg, which can be collected by talking to the person outside of the daycare.
Now that these basic questions have been answered, it is necessary to explain a few key concepts important in breeding:
-Species:
When the egg hatches, it will always be the same pokemon (or lower form, depending on which pokemon is used) as the female in the daycare. So if you were to put a male Squirtle with a female Charmander, every egg they produce will hatch into a Charmander. And if you were to put in a male Venusaur with a female Charizard, the egg would still hatch into a Charmander.
-Ditto:
Ditto is a pokemon breeder's best friend. They can replace either parent in the daycare. This becomes useful if you only have a male of the pokemon you would like to breed for, or if your Ditto has useful stats you would like to pass down to the eggs you are hatching. No matter what, the eggs will hatch into the species of the other pokemon in the daycare. I will cover Dittos more in depth later. For information on Ditto and where to catch it, go here.
-Egg groups:
Each pokemon is categorized into at least one egg group. Only pokemon from the same egg group can produce an egg together. For example, Bulbasaur is in both the Monster egg group and the Grass egg group, so a Bulbasaur can breed with any pokemon from these two groups. However, it is not capable of producing an egg with a Wingull, because Wingull is in the Water 1 and Flying egg groups. For a list of all egg groups and the pokemon in them, I recommend this page on serebii.
-Other important things to note:
*You cannot breed legendary pokemon, aside from Manaphy. However, any egg Manaphy produces will result in a Phione.
*Genderless pokemon can only breed with a Ditto.
*You cannot breed two Dittos together to create a Ditto egg.
Now that these core concepts have been covered, I will move on to different things pokemon can inherit from their parents.
-Abilities:
Most pokemon have abilities that give them an edge in battle. These abilities are controlled by the mother. The pokemon that hatch have an 80% chance of inheriting the same ability as the mother, regardless of the father's ability. If you are breeding a ditto with a male or genderless pokemon, there is only a 20% chance of the ability being passed down. Note that you cannot pass abilities from one species to another through breeding.
-Hidden Abilities:
Every species of pokemon has a hidden ability that isn't available through normal means. Typically, the hidden ability must be obtained through a method called chaining. Chaining techniques vary between games and will be covered more in-depth later.
-Ball-type:
When a pokemon hatches, it automatically hatches with its own ball, so there is no need to worry about running out. In the 6th generation, the type of ball the pokemon hatches with is dependent again on the mother. If there is no female pokemon involved, the ball is derived from the father. However, in the 7th generation there are different rules. If the parents are different species, the mother's ball is passed down. If the parents are the same species, there is a 50% chance of either parent passing down their pokeball. If one of the parents is a Ditto, then the pokeball from the other parent will be passed on. I've found a useful graphic here.
-IVs:
This is where things start to get really interesting. Individual Values (IVs) can be defined as a pokemon's genes. These are determine how strong each of a pokemon's 6 stats are. These stats are HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed. If you would like a refresher on what physical and special attacks are, I recommend going here for physical and here for special, as I will not be covering what each of these does in this guide. Each stat is assigned a number from 0 to 31, with 0 being the worst and 31 being the strongest. Pokemon with high IV stats are desired for battling, where the difference in IVs can determine whether someone wins or loses. When two pokemon breed, 3 IV stats will be chosen at random from the parents and given to the children (Note: this is 3 total, not 3 from one parent and 3 from the other). However, if one of the parents is holding a Destiny Knot, the number of IVs passed down increases to 5. This means that it is possible to combine a pokemon with 2 perfect IVs and one with 3 perfect IVs to create a pokemon with 5 perfect IVs (although the odds of that happening are low). With the Destiny Knot, it becomes possible to hatch stronger pokemon that have an edge in battle. For Destiny Knot locations, follow this link. Unfortunately, the Destiny Knot is somewhat difficult to obtain in Sun/Moon, so just be persistent. It is worth the effort. If a player would like only a single stat to be passed down, Power Items can be given instead. Each power item corresponds to a specific stat and garuntees that the stat will be passed on to the children. For a list of power items, follow this link. This description is kind of short, so if you would like more information on IVs or you understand things better by seeing them rather than reading about it, I recommend watching this video by TamashiiHiroka on Youtube. If you would like more technical information, go here.
-Natures:
Each pokemon has a nature that can give one stat a small boost but lowers another slightly (aside from HP). There is a nature for every possible scenario, so if you would like to see a complete list, I suggest going here. Natures are randomly determined when hatched. However, if one of the parents is holding an Everstone, all children from that pair will hatch with the same nature as that parent.
-Egg Moves:
Egg moves are moves that a pokemon can only learn by inheriting it from one of its parents. This is where pokemon in two egg groups become useful, because it makes it possible to transfer moves learned by a pokemon in one egg group and give it to a pokemon in another egg group. This process is called Chain Breeding, and can involve only one generation, or can extend through multiple generations and multiple egg groups. There are many possibilities in regards to egg groups, so it is best to play around with things and get a feel for it. But keep in mind that before generation VI, egg moves can only be passed down by the father. However, in XY, ORAS, and Sun/Moon, this is no longer an issue. For more information, follow this link.
So now that some of the more complex topics have been covered, it is time to discuss what happens after you obtain the egg. First, we will start off with how to hatch the eggs:
Put most simply, the best way to hatch an egg is to walk around with it a lot. The game counts each step you make, and after a certain amount of steps are taken, the egg automatically hatches. This number is counted in units called Egg Cycles. One Egg Cycle equals 257 steps taken by the player. Each species of pokemon has a certain number of egg cycles that must be met before the egg will hatch. This number of steps can be sped up in several ways. Firstly, riding a bike or a ride pokemon does count as taking steps, so it is recommended that players do this to speed up the process. In XY, it is recommended to ride your bike around Lumiose Tower, as the player must only hold the joystick in one direction. In Sun/Moon, it is possible to walk inside the small, fenced-in area outside of the daycare center at Paniola Ranch and mount your Tauros. This makes it easy to charge in circles without running into objects. Another helpful way to speed up the egg-hatching process is by putting a pokemon with the ability Flame Body or Magma Armor in the first slot of your party. This halves the number of egg cycles required to hatch the eggs in your party, so it is a necessity if you want to do things effeciently. A list of all pokemon with Flame Body and Magma Armor can be found by following these links. In XY, the Hatching O-Power can be used to decrease the number of steps required by up to half. In ORAS, Secret Pals at a player's secret base can help decrease the number of steps required as well. In Sun/Moon, the Isle Avue at Poke Pelago can be used to decrease the number of steps required to hatch over time. For more information on egg cycles and hatching eggs, go here.
Egg cycles are also important for egg spawning. Every 257 steps, the game will check to see if an egg is able to spawn. If it is, there is a chance that an egg will become available for the player to retrieve. This is usually indicated by the person standing outside of the daycare making some sort of movement or change in pose. Once this happens, you can talk to this person to retrieve your egg. This person can only hold one egg at a time, so no more eggs will spawn while they are already holding one. To judge how likely an egg is to spawn, you can speak to the person in front of the daycare center when they are not holding an egg. If they get along well, they will produce eggs often. If they like each other but prefer to play with other pokemon, they will be slower to produce eggs. If they don't get along, they are not compatible to produce eggs. In XY and ORAS, you must have a free slot in your party to retrieve your egg. In Sun/Moon, you are now able to send the egg to a box in the PC if your party is full.
Now that the egg has hatched, you're almost done with creating your perfect pokemon. However, there are a few more steps to follow before it is ready for competitive battle.
-Checking IVs:
Because IVs are randomly chosen, it is important to check the IVs of your pokemon once it hatches. This is where IV judges come into play. In XY, the Ace Trainer in the Pokemon Center located in Kiloude City acts as the IV judge. In ORAS, the judge is located in the Battle Resort Pokemon Center. Unfortunately, the judge does not tell you the exact value of each IV, but his quotes do tell you the best stats, as well as any stats that are not good. For a list of quotes and what they mean, go here. In Sun/Moon, things are made a little more convenient. In the 7th generation, the judge is located at the Battle Tree. However, before he will talk to you, you must have hatched 21 eggs. After you do this, he gives you the ability to check your pokemon's IVs yourself in the PC. Just select which pokemon you would like to check and hit the "Judge" button at the bottom of the screen and a chart showing each IV and a word or phrase indicating how good it is. If the stat says "best," that means its IV is 31. If it says "fantastic," the value is 30. For the ranges of of the other quotes, go here.
-EVs:
Effort Values, also known as EVs, are another important factor when trying to maximize a pokemon's stats. A pokemon can have up to 510 EVs, with a maximum of 255 per stat. EVs can be increased by earning Effort Points, which are awarded for defeating a pokemon. Each pokemon defeated awards points towards a different stat, so it is important to control which pokemon your newly hatched pokemon fights to ensure that its EVs are assigned correctly. EV training is simple, but can vary from game to game, so follow these links (XY, ORAS, Sun/Moon) for details on the best methods for EV training in each game. While battling, pokemon can be given the power items mentioned earlier to increase the number of EVs earned per battle. For the list of power items and their effects on EVs, visit this page. Aside from battling, players can also use vitamins to improve IVs. Each vitamin adds 10 points towards a specific EV, up to 100. Once the EV reaches 100, the vitamins will be ineffective. For a list of vitamins and which EV they increase, go here. If you make a mistake, it is possible to reset your EVs. In XY and ORAS, you can use the reset bag received from Super Training. In Sun/Moon, this feature was removed, so you must use EV-reducing berries. For a list of which berries reduce what, go here. For a list of berry locations in Sun/Moon, go here.
-TMs/HMs:
Some moves are not naturally learned by pokemon. One way they can learn these moves is by passing them down through breeding, as was discussed earlier. Another, more convenient approach for some moves is the use of Technical Machines (TMs) and Hidden Machines (HMs). TMs and HMs are items that are found throughout the game and can be used to teach a pokemon a move it might not normally learn on its own. Keep in mind that pokemon can still only learn certain TM and HM moves. You can't use every TM on every pokemon. HMs can be used outside of battle to access areas that are normally inaccessible or to travel between locations quickly. For a list of TM and HM locations in XY, ORAS, and Sun/Moon, visit these links. Note that HMs were removed from Generation VII.
-Move Reminder, Move Deleter, and Move Tutors:
Yet another way to teach moves to pokemon is the use of Move Tutors. They can be located throughout the game and can teach pokemon moves that they wouldn't naturally learn by leveling up. For a list of move tutors, the moves they teach, and their locations, visit this page. The move reminder can teach your pokemon any move that it had previously learned but has forgotten. The Move Deleter allows a pokemon to forget a move it currently knows. A list of Move Reminder locations and prices can be found here, and a list of Move Deleter locations can be found here. It is important to keep in mind that a pokemon cannot relearn moves that it learned before it evolved if the evolved form is not capable of learning that move. This means that sometimes it is advantageous to keep a pokemon from evolving until it learns a specific move. (Note: To keep a pokemon from evolving, give it either an Everstone or hold the B button when the evolution cut-scene begins.)
This just about sums up all of the essential information about pokemon breeding. For more advanced stuff like high IV dittos, shiny pokemon, and charms, keep reading. Otherwise, good luck breeding, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
-Shiny Pokemon:
Shiny pokemon are pokemon that are a different color from their typical palette. While shiny pokemon have no increase in stats or any secret ability or move, they are still highly valued for their rarity. The odds of finding or hatching a shiny pokemon are only 1/4096 as of Generation V, but different methods can be used to significantly increase the odds of obtaining one. In this guide, I will only be covering the Masuda Method, as it is the only one that pertains to breeding.
-Masuda Method:
The Masuda Method is a method of obtaining shinies by breeding pokemon from two different regions. For example, breeding a pokemon from Japan with one from America significantly increases the odds of an egg hatching as a shiny (1/683). While these odds are still fairly low, it is significantly better than what they are normally.
-Shiny Charm:
Another way to increase your shiny odds is to obtain the Shiny Charm. Unfortunately, that is much easier said than done. Until Generation VII, the only way to obtain the shiny charm is by completing the national pokedex, which involves owning or having owned one of each pokemon in existence (all 802, minus a few event pokemon). This became significantly easier in Sun/Moon though, where you only have to obtain each pokemon in the game. However, this is still 300 pokemon, and can be challenging. There are many forums dedicated to helping people acheive this goal, so if you are interested, I would suggest looking some of them up. For more information about the shiny charm, visit this page. Note that the Shiny Charm can stack with the Masuda Method, bringing the odds up to only 1/512.
-Oval Charm:
While on the topic of charms, it is important to bring up the Oval Charm. This increases the odds of an egg appearing at each egg cycle. The methods of obtaining the oval charm varies in each game, so for a list of the requirements, go here.
-Chaining:
Chaining is a term used to describe stacking up pokemon encounters to increase their IVs, their chance of being shiny, and their chance of having other things like egg moves and hidden abilities. Chaining methods vary considerably among games, and there are sometimes multiple methods in each game, so I will provide a list of links here:
*XY (PokeRadar Chaining, Chain Fishing)
*ORAS (DexNav Chaining, Chain Fishing)
*Sun/Moon (S.O.S. Battle Chaining)
-High-IV Dittos:
There are methods of chaining that you can use to obtain Dittos that are garunteed to have at least 4 perfect IVs. However, there are quite a few steps involved in preparing for it, so I will link this video by aDrive which explains things well.
Thats all the information I have on the topic. Like I said, if I've missed anything, I'd appreciate it if you could let me know! If you have any other advice to give to others, it is more than welcome here. I've been doing this for years but I'm still learning things as well. Thank you so much for reading, and I hope it was helpful!