How does breeding work in Pokémon?

Leave two compatible Pokémon of opposite genders (or one with Ditto) at a Nursery or Day Care. They produce an Egg that hatches into the base form of the mother (or the non-Ditto parent). Two Pokémon are compatible if they share at least one egg group.

Egg groups classify which Pokémon can breed together. There are 15 groups. Two Pokémon can produce an Egg only if they share a group. The exceptions are Ditto, which breeds with almost anything, and the Undiscovered group, which cannot breed at all.

How do you pass down IVs when breeding?

A baby inherits 3 random IVs from its parents by default. Give one parent a Destiny Knot to pass down 5 of the 12 combined IVs instead, then breed toward perfect IVs across generations.

How do you control a baby’s nature?

Give the parent the nature you want and have it hold an Everstone. The baby is guaranteed to inherit that nature.

What is the Masuda Method?

Breeding two Pokémon from games of different languages dramatically raises the shiny chance for the Egg (roughly 1 in 683, or better with the Shiny Charm). It is the fastest reliable way to breed shinies.

Egg moves are special moves a baby can only learn by inheritance from a compatible parent that knows the move. They let a Pokémon access moves outside its normal level-up or TM pool.

Pokédex · Reference

Breeding & egg groups.

Everything that decides what hatches from an Egg: compatibility, IVs, natures, egg moves and shiny odds, plus member rosters for all 15 egg groups. Pairs with natures and abilities for full team-building.

The 15 egg groups

Two Pokémon can breed if they share a group. Ditto pairs with almost anything; Undiscovered can’t breed.

Monster Large reptilian and saurian Pokémon, including the Kanto starters, fossils and many pseudo-legendaries. 81 species Water 1 Amphibious and aquatic-mammal Pokémon. Overlaps heavily with the Field and Monster groups. 114 species Water 2 Fish-like Pokémon such as Magikarp, Goldeen and the deep-sea lines. 34 species Water 3 Invertebrate sea creatures: crabs, shells and cephalopods. 37 species Bug Insectoid Pokémon. Fast egg cycles make this a popular breeding group. 91 species Flying Bird Pokémon and winged species. 73 species Field The largest egg group, home to land mammals and the most common breeding pairings. 278 species Fairy Cute, small, and magical Pokémon. Overlaps with Grass and Human-Like. 66 species Grass Plant-based Pokémon: Grass-type lines and flora-inspired species. 89 species Human-Like Bipedal, humanoid Pokémon, including the Fighting types and many Psychic types. 70 species Mineral Inorganic Pokémon: rocks, metals and crystalline species. 84 species Amorphous Gas, slime and shapeless Pokémon, like ghosts and oozes. 63 species Ditto Ditto alone. It can breed with almost any Pokémon, making it the universal breeding partner. 1 species Dragon Dragon and serpentine Pokémon, plus several non-Dragon-type lines. 72 species Undiscovered Pokémon that cannot breed: most legendaries, mythicals and baby Pokémon. 151 species

How breeding works

Compatibility

Leave two Pokémon of opposite genders that share an egg group at a Nursery. Genderless Pokémon can only breed with Ditto; Ditto itself pairs with nearly everything. The baby is the base form of the mother (or the non-Ditto parent).

IV inheritance · Destiny Knot

A baby inherits 3 random IVs by default. A parent holding a Destiny Knot passes down 5 of the parents’ combined 12 IVs, so you can breed toward 5–6 perfect IVs over a few generations.

Nature · Everstone

Give a parent the target nature and an Everstone to hold; the baby inherits that nature 100% of the time.

Egg moves

A baby can inherit moves outside its normal pool from a compatible parent that already knows them. It is the only way to get certain coverage and combo moves.

Shiny · Masuda Method

Breed two Pokémon originally from games of different languages to raise the Egg’s shiny chance to ~1/683 (better with the Shiny Charm).

Hatch cycles

Each species has a fixed number of egg cycles. The ability Flame Body (or Magma Armor) on a party Pokémon halves hatch time.

FAQ

How does breeding work in Pokémon?: Leave two compatible Pokémon of opposite genders (or one with Ditto) at a Nursery or Day Care. They produce an Egg that hatches into the base form of the mother (or the non-Ditto parent). Two Pokémon are compatible if they share at least one egg group.
What are egg groups?: Egg groups classify which Pokémon can breed together. There are 15 groups. Two Pokémon can produce an Egg only if they share a group. The exceptions are Ditto, which breeds with almost anything, and the Undiscovered group, which cannot breed at all.
How do you pass down IVs when breeding?: A baby inherits 3 random IVs from its parents by default. Give one parent a Destiny Knot to pass down 5 of the 12 combined IVs instead, then breed toward perfect IVs across generations.
How do you control a baby’s nature?: Give the parent the nature you want and have it hold an Everstone. The baby is guaranteed to inherit that nature.
What is the Masuda Method?: Breeding two Pokémon from games of different languages dramatically raises the shiny chance for the Egg (roughly 1 in 683, or better with the Shiny Charm). It is the fastest reliable way to breed shinies.
What are egg moves?: Egg moves are special moves a baby can only learn by inheritance from a compatible parent that knows the move. They let a Pokémon access moves outside its normal level-up or TM pool.