From egg groups to inheritance mechanics -- everything you need to know about Pokemon breeding.
Last updated: 2026-06-03
Pokemon breeding was introduced in Generation 2 (Gold and Silver) and has become one of the most important mechanics for competitive play. When two compatible Pokemon are left at the Day Care or Nursery, they may produce an Egg. The offspring inherits traits from both parents, including species, moves, Individual Values (IVs), Nature, and Ability, depending on the items held and the species involved.
Breeding requires one male and one female Pokemon that share at least one Egg Group. Alternatively, a Ditto can breed with any breedable Pokemon regardless of gender. Ditto is the most versatile breeding partner because it bypasses gender restrictions entirely, making it essential for breeding genderless Pokemon or those with skewed gender ratios like starters.
Every breedable Pokemon belongs to one or two of 15 Egg Groups. Two Pokemon can breed only if they share at least one Egg Group. The 15 Egg Groups are: Monster, Water 1, Water 2, Water 3, Bug, Flying, Field, Fairy, Grass, Human-Like, Mineral, Amorphous, Dragon, Ditto, and No Eggs Discovered. The Ditto group contains only Ditto itself. The No Eggs Discovered group includes Legendaries, Mythicals, baby Pokemon, and Ultra Beasts, which cannot breed at all.
Knowing Egg Groups is essential for Egg Move chains. For example, if a Pokemon cannot learn a certain move by level-up or TM, you may need to breed it with a compatible species from another Egg Group that does learn the desired move. The Field group is the largest, containing most mammalian Pokemon like Eevee, Lucario, and the Growlithe line, which gives it the widest breeding compatibility.
Each Pokemon species has a base Egg Cycle count that determines how many steps are needed to hatch its Egg. The formula is straightforward: total steps = base cycle count x 257 steps per cycle. For instance, Magikarp has the lowest Egg Cycles (5), meaning it hatches in about 1,280 steps. At the other extreme, Dragonite and other pseudo-legendary Pokemon require 40 Egg Cycles, roughly 10,280 steps to hatch.
You can speed up hatching significantly by having a Pokemon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in your party. These Abilities double the Egg Cycle progress per step, effectively halving the time to hatch. Popular Flame Body carriers include Talonflame and Volcarona, which can also learn Fly for convenience. In Generation 9 (Scarlet and Violet), the hatching process is further streamlined by the ability to picnic and hatch Eggs automatically.
When an Egg is produced, the offspring inherits traits from its parents through a combination of random selection and item-based manipulation. The species of the offspring is always determined by the female parent (or the non-Ditto parent when breeding with Ditto). The female determines the base species, while the male passes down Egg Moves. Nature is normally random, but becomes 100% inherited from a parent holding an Everstone. IV inheritance defaults to 3 random IVs from both parents combined, but a Destiny Knot increases this to 5 random IVs from both parents.
Ability inheritance depends on the parent and method. Female Pokemon have an 80% chance to pass down their Ability (including Hidden Ability if the female has it). Since Generation 6, male Pokemon can also pass down Hidden Abilities when breeding with Ditto. Regular Abilities are split into Ability 0 and Ability 1 slots, each with equal chance when no Ability-related items are used. The Ability Capsule and Ability Patch items allow changing Abilities after hatching.
An efficient breeding setup requires the right tools and knowledge. First, obtain a Ditto with good IVs -- a 6-IV Ditto from a max-raids or trade is ideal. Give the Ditto a Destiny Knot to pass down 5 IVs to offspring. The other parent should hold an Everstone if you need a specific Nature, or a Power item (Power Weight, Power Bracer, etc.) to guarantee inheritance of a specific IV stat. Everstone is the single most important item for competitive breeding because Nature strongly affects a Pokemon's performance.
Start by breeding for the correct Nature first, since it is guaranteed with Everstone and does not interfere with IV breeding. Once you have a Pokemon with the right Nature, swap it into the Day Care and switch the Destiny Knot to your high-IV Ditto. Hatch Eggs in batches of five to check IVs efficiently using the Judge function unlocked at the Battle Tower. Replace the parent with better offspring as you go, and within a few generations, you will have a 5-IV or 6-IV competitive Pokemon ready for training.