Pokemon Scarlet and Violet breeding guide: How to get eggs quickly

Pokémon breeding is a little different from normal in Scarlet and Violet, so we'll explain how it works

For the first time since Pokémon breeding was introduced, Scarlet and Violet have made some alterations to how it works and how eggs are gathered. If you want to breed Pokémon with perfect IVs, favorable natures, or boosted shiny chance, then you’ll want to take a look at this complete guide to how breeding works in Scarlet and Violet.

If you're looking for more things to keep you busy, then take a look at our Pokémon Scarlet and Violet post-game guide.

Catch a Ditto

Catching a Ditto makes every step of this process so much easier. Rather than having to worry about egg groups and Pokémon genders, you can just use a Ditto to breed, as it is compatible with every Pokémon that can produce eggs.

Dittos are especially sneaky in Scarlet and Violet though. They are found in the West Province Areas Two and Three, but you won’t see them wandering the landscape. This is because they disguise themselves as other Pokémon. They won’t spawn in groups, but if you see a random Pokémon wandering around on its own, then encounter it. There’s a chance that when you do, it will suddenly transform into a Ditto.

There’s no obvious way to tell what is and isn’t a Ditto, so you’ll just have to keep trying your luck.

Go for a picnic to gather eggs

Before, breeding worked by leaving two compatible Pokémon in the Day Care and then running around, as eggs were based on steps. This is no longer the case.

Now you’ll need to use the new picnic feature, which you can use in the menu in any non-city area in the open world. To get eggs, you’ll need two compatible Pokémon in your party. Ideally, this should be a Ditto and whatever Pokémon you’re trying to breed.

Once they’re let out in the picnic, all you have to do is sit there and wait. Eggs will slowly appear over time in the little basket at the foot of the table. It can hold a maximum of ten eggs at a time.

Eat food for faster eggs

When you go into one of the game’s many restaurants, you’ll see it gives you various buffs which last for 30 minutes. One of these buffs is called “Egg Power”, which will increase the frequency with which eggs appear.

There’s no guaranteed time for eggs to appear, but in our experiments, with Egg Power Level 2 you can expect an egg to appear roughly every 30 seconds. This means you’ll need to wait about five minutes to gather the maximum amount of ten eggs at once. Once you’ve emptied the basket you can then wait and let the eggs build up again.

Use Flame Body to hatch eggs faster

Over launch weekend there has been some confusion over this. It was initially suggested that Flame Body no longer works, but this has since been proven false.

If you have a Pokémon with Flame Body in your party with an egg, then the amount of steps required to hatch the egg is cut in half. There are a few Pokémon you can use for this, such as Coalossal, but the easiest is Talonflame, as you can catch a Fletchling in the game’s very first area.

Use a foreign Ditto for increased shiny chance

Also known as the Masuda Method – named after its creator – if you use two Pokémon that are from games of different languages, your chance for a shiny Pokémon is dramatically increased. Without the shiny charm, it gives a shiny chance of 1 in 618, and with the shiny charm, the chance is 1 in 512.

To get one, the community you can go onto Link Trade and use the dedicated Link Code for Ditto-for-Ditto trades. Have a Ditto ready to trade and then enter the code 4448 4448. You should be connected with someone who is also trading a Ditto. It may take a few tries, but you’ll likely encounter someone on a different language quite quickly.

Items for competitive breeding

If you’re looking to get Pokémon in competitive condition, then are a few items you should get your hands on. You’ll need one of the Pokémon you’re breeding to hold these items to affect the stats and nature of the offspring.

First up is the Destiny Knot. This guarantees that the offspring will received five of the 12 IVs of the parents, instead of the usual three. This means that, if you’re breeding parents with perfect IVs, there’s only one stat you’ll be rolling the dice on.

Next is the Power Items. These items will guarantee one of the IVs from a parent will be carried over, depending on which item you use:

• Power Weight - HP IV
• Power Bracer - Attack IV
• Power Belt - Defense IV
• Power Lens - Special Attack IV
• Power Band - Special Defence IV
• Power Anklet - Speed IV

Last but not least is the Everstone. If a parent holds this when they breed then the offspring will be guaranteed to have the same nature as that parent. This is needed because different natures will boost one stat while negatively affecting another. Guaranteeing a favorable nature is very useful for this reason.

You can buy all of these items from Delibird Presents in the southeast of Mesagoza. The store’s stock will depend on how many gym badges you have, so if you can’t find them, you need to make more progress.