PART II
The Breeding guide
Other parts of the guide:
Part I: Introduction to breeding
Part III: Emerald, Diamond and Pearl IV breeding combinations probabilities list
Part IV: Hidden power breeding
Table of content, Part II:
Section One: Preparations
1. The Magma Armor/Flame Body effect
2. The Everstone factor a.k.a. how to breed for the desired nature
3. Ditto – the Master Breeder
A) The Synchronizer
B) Catching Ditto
4. Moveset Breeding
5. Level 5 Stats
Section Two: Breeding
1. The Species of the Baby
2. Breedability
3. Egg groups
4. Compatibility
5. Breeding Routes
6. IV Chains
Section Three: Hatching
1. Number of steps to hatch
2. Hatching methods
A) Soft reset method
B) Running method
C) Mass hatch method
Credits
SECTION ONE
Breeding Preparations
1. The Magma Armor/Flame Body effect (EDP)
A nice breeding feature introduced in Emerald is an additional effect that Pokémon with the ability Magma Armor or Flame Body have during the game.
Eggs need warmth, right? Having a Pokémon with this ability in your team will reduce the number of steps you need to walk/ride in order for the egg to hatch by roughly half. The word ‘roughly’ here will be clarified later on in Section Three of this part of the breeding guide.
Here is a list of Pokémon that can have the ability Magma Armor and Flame Body:
Magma Armor: Camerupt, Slugma, Magcargo
Flame Body: Magby, Magmar, Slugma, Magcargo
Make sure you have always one of these in your team while you breed in Emerald, Diamond or Pearl.
Where to find Pokemon with Magma Armor/Flame Body
Because Slugma and Magcargo both only have Magma Armor or Flame Body, we're going to work on capturing them. Remember, their out of battle effects work only in EDP, so if you get a Slugma from outside EDP, you need to transfer it to Emerald, Diamond or Pearl for Magma Armor or Flame Body to have their step-to-hatch reducing effects.
Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: Slugma is found 10% of the time on the Fiery Path. In addition, in E, Slugma can also be found in Route 113.
FireRed and LeafGreen: Slugma will always appear on the third basement floor of Mount Ember. If you use Rock Smash on the same floor, Magcargo appear 10% of the time.
Diamond and Pearl: Start by heading north from the Resort Area, onto Stark Mountain. Go inside Stark Mountain itself, and walk around the first area. You've got a 35% chance of getting either Slugma or Magcargo; capture it when you see one.
Other: In Colosseum, Roller Boy Lon of Pyrite Town has a Slugma, and in XD: Gale of Darkness, Cipher Peon Kolest in Citadark Isle has a Magcargo.
2. The Everstone Factor (EDP)
In EDP, if a female Pokémon is holding the item Everstone and breeds with a male Pokémon, the baby will have a 50% chance of having the same nature as the female Pokémon. This also works if the Pokémon holding Everstone is Ditto.
To be perfectly clear, these are the four different ways to transfer a nature 50% of the time to the baby:
1. A Male Pokémon breeding with a Female Pokémon holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as the Female Pokémon.
2. A Male Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto.
3. A Female Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto. (Even if both the female Pokémon and Ditto hold Everstone, it will still be a 50% chance of the nature being transferred, and it will always be the Ditto nature that is transferred to the baby. Also, Everstone will not work if it is being held by the female Pokémon while being bred with Ditto.)
4. A Genderless Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto.
If you breed in DP, it is possible that Everstone won´t work. This happens if you breed two Pokémon that originate from different language versions, for example an English Emerald Ditto with a Japanese Diamond Chimchar.
Where to get the item Everstone
Remember that Everstone’s effect in breeding works only in EDP, so be sure to transfer it to Emerald, Diamond or Pearl if you find one outside of these three games.
Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: An Everstone can be found in Granite Cave.
FireRed and LeafGreen: You can get an Everstone in the Pokémon Center near the Rock Tunnel.
Diamond and Pearl: Everstones are extremely common in the Sinnoh Underground. Just keep mining.
3. Ditto – the Master Breeder
As should be clear from the previous section, Ditto is a very valuable Pokémon to have, since it can breed with every breedable Pokémon, and it can also transfer its nature 50% of the time even to genderless Pokémon like Staryu, if it is equipped with the Everstone item (see section about breedability).
You might be saying, after reading all this: "Okay, let’s see if I’m understanding this correctly. I need a Ditto with a Timid Nature and a 31 IV in Speed in order to breed it with my Gastly, so that I can get a Timid Gastly with 31 Speed IV, right? But from where am I going to get such a Ditto?”
The short answer is: you need to catch it.
I can hear groans of disappointment, but cheer up: this is actually not very difficult to do.
When a wild Pokémon is encountered, the IVs for that Pokémon are generated completely at random. This means that there is a 17.3% chance (about 1 in 6) that a Pokémon caught in the wild has at least one of its IV to be a perfect 31. All we need to do, then, is to catch six Ditto, each of which has a perfect IV in one of the six stats.
However, we also need to ensure that its nature is the one we’re looking for. This can be done using a Pokémon that has the Synchronize trait (only in EDP).
A) The Synchronizer
In EDP, if the first Pokémon in your party has the Synchronize ability (trait), all the Pokémon encountered have a 50% chance of having the same nature as the Synchronize Pokémon. The Pokémon that can have the Synchronize ability are the following:
Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Mew, Natu, Xatu, Espeon, Umbreon, Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir.
So first, you´ll want to get a Ralts, a Natu or an Abra. Abra has a catch rate of 200 and is very rare in Emerald (route 116 and GraniteCave), so you might want to go with Ralts or Natu. Ralts has a catch rate of 235 and can be found in Route 102, but is a bit rare. Natu can be found in the Safari Zone, is uncommon and has a catch rate of 190.
To get your Natu, Ralts or Abra with the nature you want, there are three methods:
1) Breed one of them until you get one with Synchronize and with the nature you want. This can get pretty time-consuming, however.
2) If you have also access to FRLG, you can get an Abra with the right nature there easily. Just go to the Game Corner, buy 2400 or 3600 coins and get twenty or thirty Abra for 120 coins each and then check if you got the personality you wanted (if not and you don´t have more money, save before “buying” them, soft reset and try again). Transfer it to Emerald afterwards.
3) You can get a Natu or Xatu in the Safari Zone in RSE (Emerald is preferred, since, if you're using RS, you then need to transfer the Pokemon to Emerald anyway) by using a rather subtle trick. Go to a patch of grass where you can find Natu or Xatu in the Safari Zone and put a PokéBlock in the feeder. It will draw Pokémon that like the flavour of that block, as follows:
Spicy PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Lonely, Adamant, Naughty, and Brave Pokémon.
Sour PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Bold, Impish, Lax, and Relaxed Pokémon.
Dry PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Modest, Mild, Rash, and Quiet Pokémon.
Bitter PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Calm, Gentle, Careful, and Sassy Pokémon.
Sweet PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Timid, Hasty, Jolly, and Naive Pokémon.
To create the PokéBlocks, using Cheri Berry, Chesto Berry, Pecha Berry, Rawst Berry or Aspear Berry is preferable for this case, since they create one-flavour PokéBlocks (one for each flavour listed above) and there are extremely easy to obtain and to harvest. After putting the PokéBlock with the necessary flavour, you'll have a higher chance of getting a Natu with the required trait (make sure it has the Synchronize ability too, however.)
B) Catching Ditto
Ditto locations
You can catch Ditto in FRLG: it can be found on Route 13, 14 and 15, in Cerulean Cave and in the Pokémon Mansion. However, Synchronize doesn’t work here, so it’s better to do your Ditto catching in Emerald, Diamond or Pearl.
Ditto in Emerald is quite common: it can be found in the Desert Underpass, so try to do your Ditto catching in Emerald if you have it.
Ditto in DP is a little bit harder to catch. Once you've completed the Sinnoh Dex by having seen all the Pokémon native to Sinnoh, Professor Rowan will give you the PokéRadar. Head to Canalave City and buy 100 Super Repels (Max Repels are a ripoff of the highest order). Head east, onto Route 218. Stand in the middle of the grass without your bike and use one of the Super Repels, followed by the PokéRadar. Look for grass with yellow lines coming from it, and head directly for it. 18% of the time, a Ditto will appear in one of these patches. After you capture the Ditto, the grass will shake again, and you generally want to head for a patch that is furthest away, not on the edge of the patch, and has those same yellow lines. If you did it correctly, you will encounter another Ditto. (This is called chaining, and for more info, check here: http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showthread.php?t=19695) Also, try to level up your Synchonizer to Level 35; if you run into another Pokémon, your chain will be broken, you'll have to try again.
How to catch Ditto
Go to the Desert Underpass (through Ruin Maniac´s house on Route 114) with your Synchronizer equipped with the item Smoke Ball as the lead Pokémon, a low-level Magikarp, a Pokémon knowing Fly and a lot of Repeat Balls (buy in Rustboro City). The Smoke Ball is there to ensure that if the Pokémon you encounter is not Ditto, you can safely run away.
When you encounter Ditto, switch immediately for the Magikarp. The Ditto will transform to the Magikarp, and its catch rate will also change to that of the Magikarp: 255. Also, the Ditto will not be able to hurt you at all, since it will know only Splash. Now throw a Repeat Ball, and you should be able to catch it.
Another option would be to teach return to Ralts (235 catch rate) and have it attack Ditto in the turn it transforms and throw the Repeat Ball afterwards (takes less time than a switch). If you´re sick of encountering level 35 Whismur, level up your Synchronizer to level 36-38, buy lot of Max Repels and use them. All Ditto are at level 38 to 45.
If you’re doing this in Emerald, after catching around 15 Ditto (or a full box), fly to the Battle Frontier IV guy (see the section ‘how to discover the IVs of your Pokémon in Part I) and let him check the Ditto you just caught. Release those that don’t have a perfect IV, change your Synchronizer to breed for another nature if you like, and repeat this process as necessary.
How many Ditto you need to catch
It actually turns out that the average amount of Ditto you need to catch in order to get six Dittos with one perfect IV, one Ditto for every stat, is 85. You might need less than this, or more, but 85 is the average number of Dittos you'll need to catch. This is slightly less than 3 full boxes of Ditto. To get these six Dittos, all with the nature you want, you’ll need to catch twice this number, or an average of 170 Dittos. You might think that 170 Dittos are a lot, but remember that you need to do this only once (it only takes a few hours) and then always use these Ditto whenever you need to breed.
4. Moveset Breeding
Not only IVs and natures can be passed down to the baby, but moves as well.
Because of this, it is very important that before actually starting to breed, the baby's moveset should be decided, since there are some moves that can´t be learned by certain Pokémon unless you breed with a particular parent. There are five types of moves that can be passed from the parents to the baby:
1) Level Up Moves: If both parents know the same Level Up move and the baby can learn the same move by level up, the baby will be born with that move. For example, if a male Slowbro is breeding with a female Slowking and both know the Level up move Zen Headbutt, the baby Slowpoke will be born knowing Zen Headbutt.
2) TM or HM moves: If the male parent knows a TM or HM move and the baby can learn that same TM or HM, the baby will be born with that move. Also, if a genderless parent knows a TM or HM move when it breeds with Ditto, the baby will be born with that TM or HM move as well. For example, if you want a Swampert that knows the move Ice Beam, and you don't have Ice Beam as a TM, you can breed your Swampert with a male Dewgong that knows Ice Beam.
3) Egg moves: If the male parent knows a move which the baby can only learn as an Egg move, the baby will be born with that move. You can find a list of Egg moves that each Pokémon learns on most Pokédex (for example SmogonDex). For example, if you want a Sceptile that knows the move Leech Seed, you can breed a Sceptile with a male Venusaur knowing Leech Seed.
4) Move Tutor moves: These moves can only be passed to the baby if they are also among the Egg moves of the baby. See point 3) above. For example, if you want a Medicham with the move Ice Punch, which is an egg move, you can breed it with a male Alakazam that learned Ice Punch from the Emerald move tutor.
5) Volt Tackle move: When breeding for Pichu in E, if any of the parents is a Pikachu or a Raichu holding the item Light Ball, then the baby Pichu will be born knowing the move Volt Tackle.
As you can see, Level up moves and TM or HM moves are relatively easy to breed. A slight complication can occur if you're breeding for an egg move. Sometimes, you'd need to breed for various Pokémon consecutively in order to get the egg move you need. This is called a breeding move chain.
For example, suppose you need to breed a Larvitar with the egg move Dragon Dance. Checking all the Pokémon that can breed with Larvitar and that can learn Dragon Dance, we find two possibilies: Charmander and (in DP) Totodile. The problem, though, is that Dragon Dance is an egg move also for both Charmander and Totodile. So you first need to breed for a male baby Charmander or Totodile to get Dragon Dance, which would then be bred with your Larvitar to give him Dragon Dance. Charmander can breed with either Gyarados, Altaria or Dragonite, all of which learn Dragon Dance by level up, and Totodile can breed with Kingdra, which also learns Dragon Dance by level up. So there are two breeding chains:
Male Gyarados/Swablu/Dratini with Dragon Dance -> Male Charmander with Dragon Dance -> Larvitar with Dragon Dance
or (for DP):
Male Horsea with Dragon Dance -> Male Totodile with Dragon Dance -> Larvitar with Dragon Dance
Let’s give a second example. Suppose you need to breed a Snorunt with the egg move Spikes. Checking all the Pokémon that can breed with Snorunt and that can learn Spikes, we find that only Roselia can learn Spikes and can breed with Snorunt. The problem, though, is that Spikes is an egg move also for Roselia. So you first need to breed for a male baby Roselia to get Spikes, which would then be bred with your Snorunt to give him Spikes. Roselia can breed with Cacturne, and Cacturne can learn Spikes by Level up. So the breeding move chain is:
Male Cacturne with Spikes -> Male Roselia with Spikes -> Snorunt with Spikes
5. Level 5 stats
As we have already said in Part I of this guide, it's easier to get rid of Pokémon that don´t have the IVs you want while you're breeding. For this to not be too time consuming, you can find out the Level 5 maximum stats of the baby you're going to breed before you start breeding (refer to Part I section about finding out your IVs) and write them down on a piece of paper. Now, everytime you check the IVs of a baby, you will be able to tell whether the baby is good enough for further IV checking or not by just looking at its stats and comparing them with the numbers on your paper. If the numbers do not correspond, you release that Pokémon. After a while, you´ll be able to do this without using the paper.
To save you even more time, here is a list of all the Pokémon babies, and their maximum stats at Level 5. All the following stats assume a neutral nature.
If the nature is boosting the stat, and the stat listed here is a two-digit number, add the first digit of that number to the number shown. If the nature is hindering the stat, first subtract one from the stat listed here, then, if the resulting number is a two-digit number, subtract further the first digit of that number from itself. To clarify:
If a stat is less than 10, it stays the same with a beneficial nature and is decreased by 1 with a hindering nature.
If a stat is 10, it is increased by 1 with a beneficial nature and is decreased by 1 with a hindering nature.
If a stat is between 11 and 19, it is increased by 1 with a beneficial nature, and is decreased by 2 with a hindering nature.
For example, if Bulbasaur is Adamant, then the maximum Attack stat is 12 (11 + the first digit of 11), and the maximum Special Attack stat is 11 (13 - 1 = 12, and since 12 is a two-digit number, 12 - 1, the first digit of 12, = 11).
SECTION TWO
Breeding
If you put two compatible Pokémon in the Day Care, after you walk/ride a while, the Day Care man will offer you an egg.
The locations of the Day Care breeding centre for each game are the following:
RSE: Route 117
FRLG: Four Island (after beating the Elite Four)
D/P: Solaceon Town
1. The Species of the Baby
The Pokémon that will hatch from the egg will be at Level 5 (Level 1 in DP) and of the first evolution step of the mother's species, unless one of the following occurs:
1) If one of the parents is Ditto, then the offspring's species is the other parent's first evolution step.
2) If the mother is Nidoran♀, then the offspring will either be Nidoran♀ or Nidoran♂, since they are treated as the same species.
3) If the mother is Illumise, then the offspring wll either be Volbeat or Illumise, since they are treated as the same species.
4) A Marill or Azumarill's offspring will be Marill unless one of the parents is holding the item Sea Incense, in which case the baby will be Azurill.
5) A Wobbuffet's offspring will be Wobbuffet unless one of the parents is holding the item Lax Incense, in which case the baby will be Wynaut.
6) A Roselia or Roserade's offspring will be Roselia unless one of the parents is holding the item Rose Incense, in which case the baby will be Budew.
7) A Chimecho's offspring will be Chimecho unless one of the parents is holding the item Pure Incense, in which case the baby will be Chingling.
8 ) A Sudowoodo's offspring will be Sudowoodo unless one of the parents is holding the item Rock Incense, in which case the baby will be Bonsly.
9) A Mr.Mime's offspring will be Mr.Mime unless one of the parents is holding the item Odd Incense, in which case the baby will be Mime Jr..
10) A Chansey or Blissey's offspring will be Chansey unless one of the parents is holding the item Luck Incense, in which case the baby will be Happiny.
11) A Mantine's offspring will be Mantine unless one of the parents is holding the item Wave Incense, in which case the baby will be Mantyke.
12) A Snorlax's offspring will be Snorlax unless one of the parents is holding the item Full Incense, in which case the baby will be Munchlax.
13) A Manaphy's offspring will be Phione, but Phione is itself a final evolution stage Pokémon.
2. Breedability
All Pokémon except these can produce eggs (breed):
-> Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Togepi, Elekid, Magby, Smoochum, Tyrogue, Wynaut, Azurill, Happiny, Mime Jr., Munchlax, Bonsly, Mantyke, Chingling, Budew, Riolu.
-> Nidorina, Nidoqueen
-> Unown
-> Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, Mewtwo, Mew
-> Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi
-> Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Latias, Latios, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys
-> Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina, Cresselia, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus
-> Ditto (breeding a Ditto with another Ditto won´t produce a Ditto egg.)
3. Egg Groups
Only Pokémon from the same group can breed. The final forms of the Pokémon are listed in alphabetical order, since all evolved Pokémon forms can breed except Nidorina and Nidoqueen.
Monster:
Abomasnow, Aggron, Ampharos, Bastiodon, Blastoise, Charizard, Exploud, Feraligatr, Garchomp, Kangaskhan, Lapras, Lickylicky, Marowak, Meganium, Nidoking, Nidoran♀, Rampardos, Rhyperior, Sceptile, Slowbro, Slowking, Snorlax, Swampert, Torterra, Tropius, Tyranitar, Venusaur
Dragon:
Altaria, Arbok, Charizard, Dragonite, Garchomp, Gyarados, Kingdra, Milotic, Salamence, Sceptile, Seviper
Ground:
Absol, Ambipom, Ampharos, Arbok, Arcanine, Bibarel, Blaziken, Buizel, Camerupt, Delcatty, Delibird, Dewgong, Donphan, Dugtrio, Dunsparce, Empoleon, Espeon, Exploud, Farfetch'd, Flareon, Furret, Girafarig, Glaceon, Golduck, Granbull, Grumpig, Hippowdon, Houndoom, Infernape, Jolteon, Kecleon, Leafeon, Linoone, Lopunny, Lucario, Luxray, Mamoswine, Manectric, Mawile, Mightyena, Miltank, Nidoking, Nidoran♀, Ninetales, Pachirisu, Persian, Primeape, Purugly, Quagsire, Raichu, Rapidash, Raticate, Rhyperior, Sandslash, Seviper, Shiftry, Skuntank, Slaking, Smeargle, Spinda, Stantler, Tauros, Torkoal, Typhlosion, Umbreon, Ursaring, Vaporeon, Wailord, Walrein, Weavile, Zangoose
Water 1:
Azumarill, Bibarel, Blastoise, Buizel, Corsola, Crawdaunt, Delibird, Dewgong, Dragonite, Empoleon, Feraligatr, Gastrodon, Golduck, Gorebyss, Huntail, Kabutops, Kingdra, Lapras, Ludicolo, Mantine, Masquerain, Milotic, Octillery, Omastar, Pelipper, Politoed, Poliwrath, Quagsire, Relicanth, Slowbro, Slowking, Swampert, Walrein
Water 2:
Gyarados, Lanturn, Lumineon, Luvdisc, Octillery, Qwilfish, Relicanth, Seaking, Sharpedo, Wailord, Whiscash
Water 3:
Armaldo, Cloyster, Corsola, Cradily, Crawdaunt, Drapion, Kabutops, Kingler, Omastar, Tentacruel
Flying:
Aerodactyl, Altaria, Chatot, Crobat, Dodrio, Farfetch'd, Fearow, Honchkrow, Noctowl, Pelipper, Pidgeot, Skarmory, Staraptor, Swellow, Togekiss, Xatu
Bug:
Ariados, Beautifly, Beedrill, Butterfree, Drapion, Dustox, Flygon, Forretress, Gliscor, Heracross, Illumise, Kricketune, Ledian, Masquerain, Mothim, Ninjask, Parasect, Pinsir, Scizor, Scyther, Shuckle, Venomoth, Vespiquen, Volbeat, Wormadam, Yanmega
Plant:
Abomasnow, Bellossom, Breloom, Cacturne, Carnivine, Cherrim, Exeggutor, Jumpluff, Ludicolo, Meganium, Parasect, Roserade, Shiftry, Sunflora, Tangrowth, Torterra, Tropius, Venusaur, Victreebel, Vileplume
Fairy:
Azumarill, Blissey, Breloom, Castform, Cherrim, Clefable, Delcatty, Froslass, Glalie, Granbull, Jumpluff, Mawile, Minun, Pachirisu, Plusle, Raichu, Roserade, Togekiss, Wigglytuff
Humanshape:
Alakazam, Cacturne, Electivire, Hariyama, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Hypno, Illumise, Infernape, Jynx, Lopunny, Lucario, Machamp, Magmortar, Medicham, Mr. Mime, Sableye, Spinda, Toxicroak, Volbeat
Indeterminate:
Banette, Castform, Chimecho, Drifblim, Dusknoir, Gallade, Gardevoir, Gastrodon, Gengar, Magcargo, Mismagius, Muk, Spiritomb, Swalot, Weezing, Wobbuffet
Mineral:
Froslass, Glalie, Golem, Probopass, Steelix, Sudowoodo
Genderless (can only breed with Ditto):
Bronzong, Claydol, Electrode, Lunatone, Magnezone, Manaphy, Metagross, Porygon-Z, Rotom, Shedinja, Solrock, Starmie
Also, Ditto can breed with any Pokémon from any egg group.
4. Compatibility
After you deposit two Pokémon in the Day Care, the Day Care man will tell you their breeding compatibility.
“Ah, it´s you! Your [Parent A] and [Parent B] are doing fine.”
The man then tells you one of the following four phrases:
1. “The two prefer to play with other Pokémon than each other.”
This means one of the following four cases:
a) One or both parents cannot breed (is one of the Pokémon listed in Section 2).
b) They are from different egg groups.
c) You are breeding a genderless Pokémon with a Pokémon that is not Ditto.
d) You a breeding a male Pokémon with another male Pokémon, or a female Pokémon with another female Pokémon.
In this case, the two Pokémon will never breed.
2. “They don´t seem to like each other much.”
This means that the Pokémon being bred are different but have the same trainer IDs. They have a low chance of breeding, but they will eventually breed, so don’t give up.
3. “The two seem to get along.”
This means either that the Pokémon being bred are the same Pokémon and have the same trainer IDs, or that they are different Pokémon having different trainer IDs. They have a moderate chance of breeding.
4. “The two seem to get along very well.”
This means that the Pokémon being bred are the same Pokémon having different trainer IDs. They have a high chance of breeding.
Note: By “same Pokémon” is meant two Pokémon of the same species and the same evolution form, for example Bagon + Bagon, Chimchar + Chimchar, etc. By “different Pokémon” is meant two different species of Pokémon or two Pokémon of different evolution forms, for example Kingdra + Bagon or Bagon + Salamence.
5. Breeding Routes
This is where you´ll spend most of your time while you breed and hatch.
In Emerald, it is 134 steps long, ranges from the Battle Tent Sign in Verdanturf Town to the boulder on the shore of Route 118.
The distance from the Day Care man standing in front of his fence to the left hand side of the end of the route is 66 steps. The distance between him and the right end of the route is 70 steps.
In Diamond and Pearl, there is a nice road connecting Route 210 (north of SolaceonTown) and Route 209 (south of SolaceonTown) where you can bike through it back and forth while you're breeding. This road is 123 steps long. The distance from the Day Care man standing in front of the day care to the top of Route 210 is 64 steps. The distance between him and the bottom of Route 209 is 71 steps.
6. IV Chains
An IV chain is a chain of parents with which you get your Pokémon with the IVs you want.
For example, an IV chain to get a Duskull with a perfect HP IV, a perfect Defense IV and a perfect Special Defense IV could be the following:
First, breed a Duskull with any IVs with a Ditto with a perfect 31 IV in HP, until you get a Duskull with a 31 HP IV.
Next, breed this Duskull with a Ditto with a perfect 31 Defense IV, until you get a Duskull with a 31 IV in HP and in Defense.
Finally, breed this Duskull with a Ditto with a perfect 31 Special Defense IV, until you get a Duskull with a 31 IV in HP, Defense and Special Defense.
This can be represented as follows:
Duskull x/x/x/x/x/x + Ditto 31/x/x/x/x/x = Duskull 31/x/x/x/x/x
Duskull 31/x/x/x/x/x + Ditto x/x/31/x/x/x = Duskull 31/x/31/x/x/x
Duskull 31/x/31/x/x/x + Ditto x/x/x/x/31/x = Duskull 31/x/31/x/31/x
Some IV chains provide a bigger probability of getting the IVs you want than others, which means that you get the Pokémon you want quicker if you use them. If you want to breed for your perfect IV Pokémon, then, you’ll need a chart to see all the probabilities at a glance. This is what Part III of this guide provides. You might also want to use an IV chain in order to breed for your perfect Hidden Power type and base power, in which case, Part IV of this guide provides the details to do just that.
Let's give an example of a small IV chain here. Suppose you want to breed for a Jolly Garchomp, having a perfect IV in Attack and Speed. You first breed a Gible with a 31 Attack IV Ditto, until you get a Gible with 31 Attack IV. (According to the applet and/or Part III of the guide, this should happen among the first 4 eggs.) Then you breed this Gible with a 31 Speed IV Jolly Ditto holding Everstone, until you get a Gible with 31 IV in both Speed and Attack. (This happens in one in 17 eggs according to the applet and Part III. So, to get a Jolly Gible, you’ll need 17x2 = 34 eggs on average.) So, after breeding an average of only 38 eggs, you have the Gible you want.
This is illustrated by the following IV chain:
x/x/x/x/x/x Gible + x/31/x/x/x/x Ditto = x/31/x/x/x/x Gible (4 eggs average)
x/31/x/x/x/x Gible + x/x/x/x/x/31 Jolly Ditto with Everstone = x/31/x/x/x/31 Jolly Gible (34 eggs average)
Note that if you do it in reverse (first getting the 31 Speed IV and then getting the 31 Attack IV and the Jolly nature), you need to breed the same number of eggs on average in this case.
SECTION THREE
Hatching
Number of steps to hatch
Each Pokémon requires that you walk a certain number of steps in order to be able to hatch its egg. This number, unlike what many people think, depends on many factors, which will be explained in detail here.
First of all, there is an internal number for every hatchable Pokémon on which the number of steps for the egg to hatch is dependent. We will call this number the egg counter. For now, just remember that the smaller the egg counter is, the quicker that Pokémon will hatch. Here is a list of all hatchable Pokémon, and their corresponding egg counter starting number:
Egg counter starts from 5: Magikarp.
Egg counter starts from 10: Azurill, Cleffa, Croagunk, Igglybuff, Manaphy, Marill, Pachirisu, Pichu, Togepi.
Egg counter starts from 15: Bidoof, Burmy, Caterpie, Combee, Corphish, Geodude, Hoothoot, Illumise, Kricketot, Ledyba, Lotad, Nincada, Pidgey, Poochyena, Rattata, Seedot, Sentret, Shroomish, Skitty, Slakoth, Spearow, Spinarak, Spinda, Starly, Surskit, Taillow, Volbeat, Weedle, Wurmple, Zigzagoon, Zubat.
Egg counter starts from 20: Any hatchable Pokémon not mentioned.
Egg counter starts from 25: Absol, Carnivine, Castform, Chimecho, Chingling, Duskull, Elekid, Heracross, Lunatone, Magby, Mantine, Mantyke, Mime Jr., Misdreavus, Mr. Mime, Onix, Pinsir, Riolu, Sableye, Sandshrew, Scyther, Shuppet, Skarmory, Smoochum, Solrock, Tropius, Tyrogue, Venonat.
Egg counter starts from 30: Anorith, Cranidos, Drifloon, Hippopotas, Kabuto, Lileep, Omanyte, Shieldon, Spiritomb.
Egg counter starts from 35: Aerodactyl, Aron, Eevee.
Egg counter starts from 40: Bagon, Beldum, Chansey, Dratini, Gible, Happiny, Lapras, Larvitar, Munchlax, Phione, Relicanth, Snorlax, Wailmer.
Internally, in the game, there is also a step counter. This step counter literally counts the number of steps that you walked during the game. It starts from zero and increases by 1 for every step you take. If it exceeds 255, (i.e. becomes 256) it is reset to zero. (In DP, it is reset to zero when it becomes 255, not 256. Why this happens is unclear.) This step counter is also reset to zero whenever the player collects an egg from the Day Care.
Whenever the step counter reaches 255, the game checks if you have any eggs in your team. If you do, then it checks if its egg counter is zero or less. If it is not zero, this egg counter is decreased by 1, or by 2 if you have a Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in your team. This is the reason why Flame Body and Magma Armor roughly half your number of steps needed in order to hatch an egg. If the egg counter is zero or less, that egg hatches.
If you are carrying more than one egg, and the step counter reaches 255, then all the egg counters, starting from the topmost one, are checked to see if they hatch or not. If that egg's egg counter is not zero, it is decreased accordingly (by 2 if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, or by 1 otherwise), and the next egg is checked. If it is zero, then that egg hatches, and the other eggs’ counters are not checked or decreased. This means that you cannot hatch two or more eggs simultaneously, but you need to wait at least 256 steps (255 in DP) between a hatching egg and another.
Here is a step-by-step account of the above explanation.
Whenever the player walks/rides a step, the game does the following:
Step 1: Increase the step counter by 1.
Step 2: (For RSFRLGE) If the step counter is 256, reset the step counter to zero.
Step 3: If the step counter is not 255, skip all the following steps.
Step 4: (For DP) Reset the step counter to zero.
Step 5: Make an internal list of all the eggs that the player has in the team, starting from the topmost egg in the team and finishing with the bottom egg.
Step 6: If this list is empty, skip all the following steps.
Step 7: If the egg counter for the first egg in the list is zero or less, hatch that egg and skip all the following steps.
Step 8: If the egg counter for the first egg in the list is greater than zero, decrease it by 2 if the player has a Pokémon with the ability Magma Armor or Flame Body in the team, or by 1 otherwise.
Step 9: Remove the first egg from the list and go to Step 6.
Remember also that the step counter resets to zero whenever you take an egg from the Day Care. Every time you do so, the number of steps you need to walk in order to hatch your eggs will be increased by at most 254, depending on how much was the step counter before being reset.
Assuming you do NOT reset the internal step counter by taking another egg from the Day Care and you have only one egg in your team, these are the amount of steps you need to walk in order for your egg to hatch:
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 5:
For RSFRLGE, 1023 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 1535 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 1020 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 1530 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 10:
For RSFRLGE, 1535 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 2815 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 1530 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 2805 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 15:
For RSFRLGE, 2303 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 4095 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 2298 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 4080 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 20:
For RSFRLGE, 2815 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 5375 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 2805 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 5355 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 25:
For RSFRLGE, 3583 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 6655 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 3570 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 6630 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 30:
For RSFRLGE, 4095 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 7935 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 4080 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 7905 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 35:
For RSFRLGE, 4863 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 9215 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 4845 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 9180 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 40:
For RSFRLGE, 5375 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 10495 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 5355 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 10455 steps if you don’t.
If you have more than one egg in your team, and/or you get another egg from the Day Care while already having an egg in your party, the number of steps you need to walk for the eggs to hatch isn’t so clear-cut. An example would explain what will happen more than just words.
Suppose we’re breeding Magikarp in Emerald with a Magcargo with Flame Body in our team. A Magikarp egg is taken from the Day Care, and thus, the step counter resets to zero. The egg counter for Magikarp starts from 5:
Step Counter: 0. Egg1 Counter: 5.
After walking 255 steps, the step counter reaches 255. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: 3.
Suppose that now we walk 50 more steps, and another Magikarp egg is created. We go and fetch it. The step counter is reset to 0.
Step Counter: 0. Egg1 Counter: 3. Egg2 Counter: 5.
After walking 255 steps, the step counter reaches 255. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2. Egg2 Counter is also greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2 as well.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: 1. Egg2 Counter: 3.
We walk 256 more steps (one to reset the counter to zero, and 255 more to reach 255), and the step counter reaches 255 again. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2. Egg2 Counter is also greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2 as well.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: -1. Egg2 Counter: 1.
We walk 256 more steps, and the step counter reaches 255 again. This time, Egg1 Counter is less than zero, so the first egg hatches. Since an egg hatched, the game doesn’t check nor decrease Egg2 Counter at this point.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Hatches. Egg2 Counter: 1.
We walk 256 more steps, and the step counter reaches 255 again. Egg2 Counter is still greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2.
Step Counter: 255. Egg2 Counter: -1.
Finally, after walking yet another 256 steps, the second egg hatches.
Step Counter: 255. Egg2 Hatches.
Let’s see how many steps we had to walk for the eggs to hatch.
For the first egg, we walked 255 + 50 + 255 + 256 + 256 = 1072 steps.
For the second egg, we walked 255 + 256 + 256 + 256 + 256 = 1279 steps.
The above example should have shown why calculating the number of steps required to hatch an egg is more complicated than most people think. It showed, however, that having more than one egg in your team increases the number of steps required in order to hatch them. In the example above, the first egg required 49 steps more than the minimum 1023 steps in order to hatch, while the second one required a whopping 256 more steps.
As most people know, you can also look at the egg to check its state. The message that is displayed is directly related to its egg counter. There are three different messages that can be displayed:
1) What will hatch from this? It will take some time. In this case, the egg counter is 11 or more.
2) It moves occasionally. It should hatch soon. In this case, the egg counter is between 6 and 10.
3) It´s making sounds. It´s about to hatch! In this case, the egg counter is 5 or less.
2. Hatching methods
A) Soft reset method
This method is based on the fact that in Emerald, Diamond and Pearl, gender, nature (personality) and ability (trait) are already set (locked) as soon as the egg is created, before you take it. That means that if you save exactly before taking the egg and then soft reset, the Pokémon inside the egg will have the same gender, nature and ability if you load again.
1. Save in front of the Day Care grandpa.
2. Take the egg.
3. Bike on the breeding route.
4. Ignore the next egg proposed to you by the Day Care grandpa.
5. Hatch the egg.
6. Check the newly hatched Pokémn to see whether it does have the desired gender, nature and ability and
a) If it doesn´t have the desired gender/nature/ability, save in front of the Day Care grandpa again (there should be another egg waiting for you, which was produced while you hatched the first one) and repeat the process until you get a suitable baby.
b) If it does have the desired gender/nature/ability, but it doesn´t have the desired IVs, soft reset the game (START+SELECT+A+B) and take the egg again (gender/nature/ability won´t change, only the IVs), hatch and check the IVs, repeat the process until you get the IVs you want.
Pros:
1. The gender, nature and ability you want are set in stone.
2. This method is useful to get a female Pokémon with the right nature and a few perfect IVs.
3. It is also useful if the parents don´t like each other much.
Cons:
1. Not many babies are bred and checked using this method, which means that it can get hard to get the right IVs when there isn´t a high probability.
2. This method does not suit persons who care about game time more than anything else.
I recommend using this method at the beginning, when the probabilities to get the IVs you want are still relatively high (like when getting 1 or 2 flawless IVs). Alternatively, you can use this method when you're trying to get a female parent with the right nature. If you want to breed for 3 flawless IVs or more, where the probability of getting the desired IVs is less than 1 in 50, the running method is recommended.
B) Running method (E)
Using this method, Pokémon are hatched and checked regularly while having five eggs in your team.
The exact process for Pokémon having egg counter 40 (see the previous section):
1. Take the first egg
2. Bike 66 steps to the left, to Verdanturf town (1)
134 steps to the right, to the stone at Route 118 (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
134 steps to the left (5)
134 steps to the right (6)
134 steps to the left (7)
134 steps to the right (8 )
134 steps to the left (9)
134 steps to the right (10)
3. Take another egg, now repeat the process until you have five eggs.
As you start, some of the eggs will hatch before you have five eggs, but after a while, the first egg will then always hatch after you hit (10), exactly two steps before the boy standing on route 118 (seven steps away form the right end of the Breeding route). This is exactly 1279 steps after taking the fifth egg.
Now, go to the MauvilleCityPokémonCenter, choose the option "Deposit" in Lanette´s PC and check the baby (use you level 5 max stats paper) and either release it or, if it looks promising, save in front of the PC and Rare Candy it to get a better view of the IVs.
If the baby has better IVs than one of its parents, deposit the four eggs, get the fifth, switch the baby with the appropriate parent, go to the PC in the Day Care, release the old parent, get the other 4 eggs and continue.
The process for Pokémon having egg counter 20:
Bike 66 steps to the left (1)
134 steps to the right (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
134 steps to the left (5)
134 steps to the right (6)
After a while, the first egg will always hatch 31 steps away from the right end of the Breeding route, which is a few steps before the Pokémon Center in Mauville City.
The process for Pokémon having egg counter 10:
Bike 66 steps to the left (1)
134 steps to the right (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
Take the next egg. The first few eggs will hatch before you have five in your team, but you have to ride those four lengths (1), (2), (3) and (4) nonetheless. After a while, the first egg will always hatch at the same place. When you´re done with the four lengths, go straight to the MauvilleCityPokémonCenter. The egg will hatch two steps away from the PC.
Using this method, you breed:
-> Around 25 to 26 eggs an hour for egg counter 40 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 137-140 seconds (2 minutes 20 seconds) to hatch.
-> Around 34 to 35 eggs an hour for egg counter 20 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 102-105 seconds (1 minute 45 seconds) to hatch.
-> Around 42 to 43 eggs an hour for egg counter 10 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 82-85 seconds (1 minute 25 seconds) to hatch.
Pros:
1. A large number of eggs is bred.
2. A newly hatched baby can be used as one of the new parents immediately.
Cons:
1. Sometimes, the eggs are not created when you're ready to take another egg. The result is that the next few eggs will hatch earlier than you want. This means you have to oversee the number of lengths you ride, like at the beginning.
2. There is no fix number of lengths for egg counter 5, 15, 25 and 35 Pokémon, so you may find it a bit more difficult to breed those Pokémon using this method.
Don´t use this method when the parents don´t like each other much, as you won´t get eggs at regular intervals. This method is best suited for the final stages of breeding, when you breed for 3 or more perfect IVs using at least parents with 2 flawless IVs (one overlaps), when you don´t need to get a particular nature/ability combination. Most of the time it´s worth even then, as you can get parents with awesome IVs who can then pass IVs to other Pokémon.
C) Mass hatch method
This method consists of three separate stages. First you get a large number of eggs, then you hatch all of them and check them at the end.
Stage One: Getting a number of eggs
You take an egg as soon as it is created. When you have five eggs in your team and the next one is created, deposit all five in a box. Repeat this process until you have at least 25 eggs in a box. Take the parents from the daycare and leave the Pokémon you want to level up there instead.
Stage Two: Hatching all eggs
Withdraw five eggs having approximately the same number of steps walked before deposit (for example #5, #10, #15, #20 and #25) and ride the bike unless all of them hatch. Then deposit the Pokémon, withdraw another five eggs (#4, #9, #14, #19, #24) and hatch them. Repeat the process until all eggs hatch.
Stage Three: Checking all eggs
If you want, first save in front of the PC. This helps if you release the wrong Pokémon by mistake. In the PC, choose the "Move Pokémon" option and go through all of the babies quickly to check if there are any shinies. Get your level 5 max neutral stats paper and check the babies. If you see one that you're aiming for, mark that baby (for flawless IVs I use ring = HP, square = Attack/Defense, triangle = Special Attack/Special Defense, heart = Speed). After you´re done, release all the unmarked babies. Now withdraw five of the marked babies, and save in front of the PC. Rare Candy all five to Level 10 and check their IVs. Continue to Rare Candy the ones that look promising. When you´re done, soft reset, release the ones that didn´t pass the check, and deposit the rest. Repeat the process until you check all of the marked babies.
Pros:
1. A large number of eggs (about the same amount as for the running method) are bred.
2. Other Pokémon can level up during this process.
3. You are able to do other things while riding your bike (like watching TV or surfing the Smogon boards).
4. You don´t lose as much time as with the running method while going to your PC and back - around 30 seconds. For 25 eggs, this means there will be five deposits and five withdrawals. For the running method, you would make 25 deposits. On the other hand, the mass hatch method wastes time while waiting for egg creation and because of some of the eggs being left in the PC.
Cons:
1. The time it takes to complete this method relies a lot on how often an egg is created. That´s why it´s only suited for when the parents get along very well, or get along. Sometimes, it takes around three minutes to get five eggs, sometimes even more than five.
2. Switching parents during this process is impossible. You´ll have to wait until you have hatched and checked all the babies before doing so.
This method is suited for the final stages of breeding, where you go for 3 or 4 flawless IV babies while you have both parents with at least 2 flawless IVs. You can also level up two other Pokémon while you ride the bike.
Credits
We wish to thank the following people:
- loadingNOW for looking at the Emerald ROM to discover a lot of things related to the number of steps required in order for an egg to hatch.
- Eszett for contributing the method of finding Synchonize Natu from the Safari Zone.
- Paperfairy for contributing the locations of Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, Everstone and Ditto.
The Breeding guide
Other parts of the guide:
Part I: Introduction to breeding
Part III: Emerald, Diamond and Pearl IV breeding combinations probabilities list
Part IV: Hidden power breeding
Table of content, Part II:
Section One: Preparations
1. The Magma Armor/Flame Body effect
2. The Everstone factor a.k.a. how to breed for the desired nature
3. Ditto – the Master Breeder
A) The Synchronizer
B) Catching Ditto
4. Moveset Breeding
5. Level 5 Stats
Section Two: Breeding
1. The Species of the Baby
2. Breedability
3. Egg groups
4. Compatibility
5. Breeding Routes
6. IV Chains
Section Three: Hatching
1. Number of steps to hatch
2. Hatching methods
A) Soft reset method
B) Running method
C) Mass hatch method
Credits
SECTION ONE
Breeding Preparations
1. The Magma Armor/Flame Body effect (EDP)
A nice breeding feature introduced in Emerald is an additional effect that Pokémon with the ability Magma Armor or Flame Body have during the game.
Eggs need warmth, right? Having a Pokémon with this ability in your team will reduce the number of steps you need to walk/ride in order for the egg to hatch by roughly half. The word ‘roughly’ here will be clarified later on in Section Three of this part of the breeding guide.
Here is a list of Pokémon that can have the ability Magma Armor and Flame Body:
Magma Armor: Camerupt, Slugma, Magcargo
Flame Body: Magby, Magmar, Slugma, Magcargo
Make sure you have always one of these in your team while you breed in Emerald, Diamond or Pearl.
Where to find Pokemon with Magma Armor/Flame Body
Because Slugma and Magcargo both only have Magma Armor or Flame Body, we're going to work on capturing them. Remember, their out of battle effects work only in EDP, so if you get a Slugma from outside EDP, you need to transfer it to Emerald, Diamond or Pearl for Magma Armor or Flame Body to have their step-to-hatch reducing effects.
Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: Slugma is found 10% of the time on the Fiery Path. In addition, in E, Slugma can also be found in Route 113.
FireRed and LeafGreen: Slugma will always appear on the third basement floor of Mount Ember. If you use Rock Smash on the same floor, Magcargo appear 10% of the time.
Diamond and Pearl: Start by heading north from the Resort Area, onto Stark Mountain. Go inside Stark Mountain itself, and walk around the first area. You've got a 35% chance of getting either Slugma or Magcargo; capture it when you see one.
Other: In Colosseum, Roller Boy Lon of Pyrite Town has a Slugma, and in XD: Gale of Darkness, Cipher Peon Kolest in Citadark Isle has a Magcargo.
2. The Everstone Factor (EDP)
In EDP, if a female Pokémon is holding the item Everstone and breeds with a male Pokémon, the baby will have a 50% chance of having the same nature as the female Pokémon. This also works if the Pokémon holding Everstone is Ditto.
To be perfectly clear, these are the four different ways to transfer a nature 50% of the time to the baby:
1. A Male Pokémon breeding with a Female Pokémon holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as the Female Pokémon.
2. A Male Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto.
3. A Female Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto. (Even if both the female Pokémon and Ditto hold Everstone, it will still be a 50% chance of the nature being transferred, and it will always be the Ditto nature that is transferred to the baby. Also, Everstone will not work if it is being held by the female Pokémon while being bred with Ditto.)
4. A Genderless Pokémon breeding with a Ditto holding an Everstone results in the baby having a 50% chance of having the same nature as Ditto.
If you breed in DP, it is possible that Everstone won´t work. This happens if you breed two Pokémon that originate from different language versions, for example an English Emerald Ditto with a Japanese Diamond Chimchar.
Where to get the item Everstone
Remember that Everstone’s effect in breeding works only in EDP, so be sure to transfer it to Emerald, Diamond or Pearl if you find one outside of these three games.
Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald: An Everstone can be found in Granite Cave.
FireRed and LeafGreen: You can get an Everstone in the Pokémon Center near the Rock Tunnel.
Diamond and Pearl: Everstones are extremely common in the Sinnoh Underground. Just keep mining.
3. Ditto – the Master Breeder
As should be clear from the previous section, Ditto is a very valuable Pokémon to have, since it can breed with every breedable Pokémon, and it can also transfer its nature 50% of the time even to genderless Pokémon like Staryu, if it is equipped with the Everstone item (see section about breedability).
You might be saying, after reading all this: "Okay, let’s see if I’m understanding this correctly. I need a Ditto with a Timid Nature and a 31 IV in Speed in order to breed it with my Gastly, so that I can get a Timid Gastly with 31 Speed IV, right? But from where am I going to get such a Ditto?”
The short answer is: you need to catch it.
I can hear groans of disappointment, but cheer up: this is actually not very difficult to do.
When a wild Pokémon is encountered, the IVs for that Pokémon are generated completely at random. This means that there is a 17.3% chance (about 1 in 6) that a Pokémon caught in the wild has at least one of its IV to be a perfect 31. All we need to do, then, is to catch six Ditto, each of which has a perfect IV in one of the six stats.
However, we also need to ensure that its nature is the one we’re looking for. This can be done using a Pokémon that has the Synchronize trait (only in EDP).
A) The Synchronizer
In EDP, if the first Pokémon in your party has the Synchronize ability (trait), all the Pokémon encountered have a 50% chance of having the same nature as the Synchronize Pokémon. The Pokémon that can have the Synchronize ability are the following:
Abra, Kadabra, Alakazam, Mew, Natu, Xatu, Espeon, Umbreon, Ralts, Kirlia, Gardevoir.
So first, you´ll want to get a Ralts, a Natu or an Abra. Abra has a catch rate of 200 and is very rare in Emerald (route 116 and GraniteCave), so you might want to go with Ralts or Natu. Ralts has a catch rate of 235 and can be found in Route 102, but is a bit rare. Natu can be found in the Safari Zone, is uncommon and has a catch rate of 190.
To get your Natu, Ralts or Abra with the nature you want, there are three methods:
1) Breed one of them until you get one with Synchronize and with the nature you want. This can get pretty time-consuming, however.
2) If you have also access to FRLG, you can get an Abra with the right nature there easily. Just go to the Game Corner, buy 2400 or 3600 coins and get twenty or thirty Abra for 120 coins each and then check if you got the personality you wanted (if not and you don´t have more money, save before “buying” them, soft reset and try again). Transfer it to Emerald afterwards.
3) You can get a Natu or Xatu in the Safari Zone in RSE (Emerald is preferred, since, if you're using RS, you then need to transfer the Pokemon to Emerald anyway) by using a rather subtle trick. Go to a patch of grass where you can find Natu or Xatu in the Safari Zone and put a PokéBlock in the feeder. It will draw Pokémon that like the flavour of that block, as follows:
Spicy PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Lonely, Adamant, Naughty, and Brave Pokémon.
Sour PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Bold, Impish, Lax, and Relaxed Pokémon.
Dry PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Modest, Mild, Rash, and Quiet Pokémon.
Bitter PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Calm, Gentle, Careful, and Sassy Pokémon.
Sweet PokéBlocks will increase the chances of finding Timid, Hasty, Jolly, and Naive Pokémon.
To create the PokéBlocks, using Cheri Berry, Chesto Berry, Pecha Berry, Rawst Berry or Aspear Berry is preferable for this case, since they create one-flavour PokéBlocks (one for each flavour listed above) and there are extremely easy to obtain and to harvest. After putting the PokéBlock with the necessary flavour, you'll have a higher chance of getting a Natu with the required trait (make sure it has the Synchronize ability too, however.)
B) Catching Ditto
Ditto locations
You can catch Ditto in FRLG: it can be found on Route 13, 14 and 15, in Cerulean Cave and in the Pokémon Mansion. However, Synchronize doesn’t work here, so it’s better to do your Ditto catching in Emerald, Diamond or Pearl.
Ditto in Emerald is quite common: it can be found in the Desert Underpass, so try to do your Ditto catching in Emerald if you have it.
Ditto in DP is a little bit harder to catch. Once you've completed the Sinnoh Dex by having seen all the Pokémon native to Sinnoh, Professor Rowan will give you the PokéRadar. Head to Canalave City and buy 100 Super Repels (Max Repels are a ripoff of the highest order). Head east, onto Route 218. Stand in the middle of the grass without your bike and use one of the Super Repels, followed by the PokéRadar. Look for grass with yellow lines coming from it, and head directly for it. 18% of the time, a Ditto will appear in one of these patches. After you capture the Ditto, the grass will shake again, and you generally want to head for a patch that is furthest away, not on the edge of the patch, and has those same yellow lines. If you did it correctly, you will encounter another Ditto. (This is called chaining, and for more info, check here: http://bmgf.bulbagarden.net/showthread.php?t=19695) Also, try to level up your Synchonizer to Level 35; if you run into another Pokémon, your chain will be broken, you'll have to try again.
How to catch Ditto
Go to the Desert Underpass (through Ruin Maniac´s house on Route 114) with your Synchronizer equipped with the item Smoke Ball as the lead Pokémon, a low-level Magikarp, a Pokémon knowing Fly and a lot of Repeat Balls (buy in Rustboro City). The Smoke Ball is there to ensure that if the Pokémon you encounter is not Ditto, you can safely run away.
When you encounter Ditto, switch immediately for the Magikarp. The Ditto will transform to the Magikarp, and its catch rate will also change to that of the Magikarp: 255. Also, the Ditto will not be able to hurt you at all, since it will know only Splash. Now throw a Repeat Ball, and you should be able to catch it.
Another option would be to teach return to Ralts (235 catch rate) and have it attack Ditto in the turn it transforms and throw the Repeat Ball afterwards (takes less time than a switch). If you´re sick of encountering level 35 Whismur, level up your Synchronizer to level 36-38, buy lot of Max Repels and use them. All Ditto are at level 38 to 45.
If you’re doing this in Emerald, after catching around 15 Ditto (or a full box), fly to the Battle Frontier IV guy (see the section ‘how to discover the IVs of your Pokémon in Part I) and let him check the Ditto you just caught. Release those that don’t have a perfect IV, change your Synchronizer to breed for another nature if you like, and repeat this process as necessary.
How many Ditto you need to catch
It actually turns out that the average amount of Ditto you need to catch in order to get six Dittos with one perfect IV, one Ditto for every stat, is 85. You might need less than this, or more, but 85 is the average number of Dittos you'll need to catch. This is slightly less than 3 full boxes of Ditto. To get these six Dittos, all with the nature you want, you’ll need to catch twice this number, or an average of 170 Dittos. You might think that 170 Dittos are a lot, but remember that you need to do this only once (it only takes a few hours) and then always use these Ditto whenever you need to breed.
4. Moveset Breeding
Not only IVs and natures can be passed down to the baby, but moves as well.
Because of this, it is very important that before actually starting to breed, the baby's moveset should be decided, since there are some moves that can´t be learned by certain Pokémon unless you breed with a particular parent. There are five types of moves that can be passed from the parents to the baby:
1) Level Up Moves: If both parents know the same Level Up move and the baby can learn the same move by level up, the baby will be born with that move. For example, if a male Slowbro is breeding with a female Slowking and both know the Level up move Zen Headbutt, the baby Slowpoke will be born knowing Zen Headbutt.
2) TM or HM moves: If the male parent knows a TM or HM move and the baby can learn that same TM or HM, the baby will be born with that move. Also, if a genderless parent knows a TM or HM move when it breeds with Ditto, the baby will be born with that TM or HM move as well. For example, if you want a Swampert that knows the move Ice Beam, and you don't have Ice Beam as a TM, you can breed your Swampert with a male Dewgong that knows Ice Beam.
3) Egg moves: If the male parent knows a move which the baby can only learn as an Egg move, the baby will be born with that move. You can find a list of Egg moves that each Pokémon learns on most Pokédex (for example SmogonDex). For example, if you want a Sceptile that knows the move Leech Seed, you can breed a Sceptile with a male Venusaur knowing Leech Seed.
4) Move Tutor moves: These moves can only be passed to the baby if they are also among the Egg moves of the baby. See point 3) above. For example, if you want a Medicham with the move Ice Punch, which is an egg move, you can breed it with a male Alakazam that learned Ice Punch from the Emerald move tutor.
5) Volt Tackle move: When breeding for Pichu in E, if any of the parents is a Pikachu or a Raichu holding the item Light Ball, then the baby Pichu will be born knowing the move Volt Tackle.
As you can see, Level up moves and TM or HM moves are relatively easy to breed. A slight complication can occur if you're breeding for an egg move. Sometimes, you'd need to breed for various Pokémon consecutively in order to get the egg move you need. This is called a breeding move chain.
For example, suppose you need to breed a Larvitar with the egg move Dragon Dance. Checking all the Pokémon that can breed with Larvitar and that can learn Dragon Dance, we find two possibilies: Charmander and (in DP) Totodile. The problem, though, is that Dragon Dance is an egg move also for both Charmander and Totodile. So you first need to breed for a male baby Charmander or Totodile to get Dragon Dance, which would then be bred with your Larvitar to give him Dragon Dance. Charmander can breed with either Gyarados, Altaria or Dragonite, all of which learn Dragon Dance by level up, and Totodile can breed with Kingdra, which also learns Dragon Dance by level up. So there are two breeding chains:
Male Gyarados/Swablu/Dratini with Dragon Dance -> Male Charmander with Dragon Dance -> Larvitar with Dragon Dance
or (for DP):
Male Horsea with Dragon Dance -> Male Totodile with Dragon Dance -> Larvitar with Dragon Dance
Let’s give a second example. Suppose you need to breed a Snorunt with the egg move Spikes. Checking all the Pokémon that can breed with Snorunt and that can learn Spikes, we find that only Roselia can learn Spikes and can breed with Snorunt. The problem, though, is that Spikes is an egg move also for Roselia. So you first need to breed for a male baby Roselia to get Spikes, which would then be bred with your Snorunt to give him Spikes. Roselia can breed with Cacturne, and Cacturne can learn Spikes by Level up. So the breeding move chain is:
Male Cacturne with Spikes -> Male Roselia with Spikes -> Snorunt with Spikes
5. Level 5 stats
As we have already said in Part I of this guide, it's easier to get rid of Pokémon that don´t have the IVs you want while you're breeding. For this to not be too time consuming, you can find out the Level 5 maximum stats of the baby you're going to breed before you start breeding (refer to Part I section about finding out your IVs) and write them down on a piece of paper. Now, everytime you check the IVs of a baby, you will be able to tell whether the baby is good enough for further IV checking or not by just looking at its stats and comparing them with the numbers on your paper. If the numbers do not correspond, you release that Pokémon. After a while, you´ll be able to do this without using the paper.
To save you even more time, here is a list of all the Pokémon babies, and their maximum stats at Level 5. All the following stats assume a neutral nature.
If the nature is boosting the stat, and the stat listed here is a two-digit number, add the first digit of that number to the number shown. If the nature is hindering the stat, first subtract one from the stat listed here, then, if the resulting number is a two-digit number, subtract further the first digit of that number from itself. To clarify:
If a stat is less than 10, it stays the same with a beneficial nature and is decreased by 1 with a hindering nature.
If a stat is 10, it is increased by 1 with a beneficial nature and is decreased by 1 with a hindering nature.
If a stat is between 11 and 19, it is increased by 1 with a beneficial nature, and is decreased by 2 with a hindering nature.
For example, if Bulbasaur is Adamant, then the maximum Attack stat is 12 (11 + the first digit of 11), and the maximum Special Attack stat is 11 (13 - 1 = 12, and since 12 is a two-digit number, 12 - 1, the first digit of 12, = 11).
Code:
[COLOR=black]Sinnoh# Pokémon HP Attack Defense Sp. Attack Sp. Defense Speed[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]---------------------------------------------------------------------------------[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]001 Bulbasaur 21 11 11 13 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]004 Charmander 20 11 10 12 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]007 Squirtle 20 11 13 11 12 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]010 Caterpie 21 9 10 8 8 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]013 Weedle 20 10 9 8 8 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]016 Pidgey 20 11 10 10 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]019 Rattata 19 12 10 9 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]021 Spearow 20 12 9 9 9 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]023 Ekans 20 12 10 10 11 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]027 Sandshrew 21 14 15 8 9 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]029 Nidoran♀ 22 11 11 10 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]032 Nidoran♂ 21 12 10 10 10 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]037 Vulpix 20 10 10 11 13 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]041 Zubat 20 11 10 9 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]043 Oddish 21 11 12 14 13 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]046 Paras 20 13 12 11 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]048 Venonat 22 12 11 10 12 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]050 Diglett 17 12 9 10 11 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]052 Meowth 20 11 10 10 10 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]054 Psyduck 21 11 11 13 11 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]056 Mankey 20 14 10 10 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]058 Growlithe 22 13 11 13 11 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]060 Poliwag 20 11 10 10 10 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]063 Abra 19 8 8 17 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]066 Machop 23 14 11 10 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]069 Bellsprout 21 14 10 13 9 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]072 Tentacool 20 10 10 11 16 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]074 Geodude 20 14 16 9 9 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]077 Ponyta 21 15 12 13 13 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]079 Slowpoke 25 13 13 10 10 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]081 Magnemite 19 10 13 16 12 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]083 Farfetch'd 21 13 12 12 12 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]084 Doduo 20 15 11 10 10 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]086 Seel 23 11 12 11 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]088 Grimer 24 14 11 10 11 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]090 Shellder 19 13 16 11 9 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]092 Gastly 19 10 9 16 10 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]095 Onix 20 11 22 9 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]096 Drowzee 22 11 11 10 15 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]098 Krabby 19 17 15 9 9 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]100 Voltorb 20 9 11 12 12 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]102 Exeggcute 22 10 14 12 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]104 Cubone 21 11 16 10 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]108 Lickitung 25 12 14 12 14 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]109 Koffing 20 13 16 12 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]111 Rhyhorn 24 15 16 9 9 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]113 Chansey 41 7 7 10 17 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]114 Tangela 23 12 18 16 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]115 Kangaskhan 27 16 14 10 14 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]116 Horsea 19 10 13 13 9 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]118 Goldeen 21 13 12 10 11 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]120 Staryu 19 11 12 13 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]122 Mr. Mime 20 11 13 16 18 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]123 Scyther 23 17 14 12 14 17[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]127 Pinsir 23 19 16 12 13 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]128 Tauros 24 16 16 10 13 17[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]129 Magikarp 18 7 12 8 8 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]131 Lapras 29 15 14 15 16 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]133 Eevee 22 12 11 11 13 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]137 Porygon 23 12 13 15 14 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]138 Omanyte 20 10 16 15 12 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]140 Kabuto 19 14 15 12 11 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]142 Aerodactyl 24 17 13 12 14 19[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]143 Snorlax 32 17 13 13 17 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]147 Dratini 20 12 11 11 11 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]152 Chikorita 21 11 13 11 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]155 Cyndaquil 20 11 10 12 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]158 Totodile 21 13 12 10 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]161 Sentret 20 11 9 10 11 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]163 Hoothoot 22 9 9 10 12 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]165 Ledyba 20 8 9 10 14 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]167 Spinarak 20 12 10 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]170 Chinchou 24 10 10 12 12 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]172 Pichu 18 10 8 10 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]173 Cleffa 21 9 9 11 12 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]174 Igglybuff 25 9 8 10 8 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]175 Togepi 20 8 13 10 13 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]177 Natu 20 11 11 13 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]179 Mareep 22 10 10 13 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]183 Marill 23 8 11 8 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]185 Sudowoodo 23 16 18 9 13 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]187 Hoppip 20 10 10 10 12 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]190 Aipom 22 13 12 10 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]191 Sunkern 19 9 9 9 9 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]193 Yanma 23 13 11 14 11 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]194 Wooper 22 11 11 9 9 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]198 Murkrow 22 15 10 15 10 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]200 Misdreavus 22 12 12 15 15 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]202 Wobbuffet 35 9 12 9 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]203 Girafarig 23 14 13 15 13 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]204 Pineco 21 13 15 10 10 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]206 Dunsparce 26 13 13 13 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]207 Gligar 23 14 17 10 13 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]209 Snubbull 22 14 11 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]211 Qwilfish 23 16 14 12 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]213 Shuckle 18 7 29 7 29 7[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]214 Heracross 24 19 14 10 16 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]215 Sneasel 22 16 12 10 14 18[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]216 Teddiursa 22 14 11 11 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]218 Slugma 20 10 10 13 10 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]220 Swinub 21 11 10 9 9 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]222 Corsola 22 12 15 13 15 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]223 Remoraid 20 13 10 13 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]225 Delibird 21 12 11 13 11 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]226 Mantine 23 10 13 14 20 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]227 Skarmory 23 14 20 10 13 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]228 Houndour 21 12 9 14 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]231 Phanpy 25 12 12 10 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]234 Stantler 23 16 12 15 13 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]235 Smeargle 22 8 10 8 11 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]236 Tyrogue 20 10 10 10 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]238 Smoochum 21 9 8 15 13 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]239 Elekid 21 12 10 13 12 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]240 Magby 21 14 10 13 12 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]241 Miltank 26 14 17 10 13 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]246 Larvitar 21 12 11 11 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]252 Treecko 20 11 10 13 12 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]255 Torchic 21 12 10 13 11 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]258 Mudkip 21 13 11 11 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]261 Poochyena 20 12 10 9 9 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]263 Zigzagoon 20 9 10 9 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]265 Wurmple 21 11 10 8 9 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]270 Lotad 20 9 9 10 11 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]273 Seedot 20 10 11 9 9 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]276 Taillow 20 12 9 9 9 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]278 Wingull 20 9 9 12 9 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]280 Ralts 19 9 9 11 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]283 Surskit 20 9 9 11 11 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]285 Shroomish 22 10 12 10 12 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]287 Slakoth 22 12 12 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]290 Nincada 19 11 15 9 9 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]293 Whismur 22 11 8 11 8 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]296 Makuhita 23 12 9 8 9 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]298 Azurill 21 8 10 8 10 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]299 Nosepass 19 11 20 11 15 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]300 Skitty 21 11 11 10 10 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]302 Sableye 21 14 14 13 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]304 Aron 21 13 16 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]307 Meditite 19 10 12 10 12 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]309 Electrike 20 11 10 13 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]311 Plusle 22 11 10 15 14 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]312 Minun 22 10 11 14 15 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]313 Volbeat 23 13 12 11 14 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]314 Illumise 23 11 12 13 14 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]315 Roselia 21 12 11 16 14 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]316 Gulpin 23 10 11 10 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]318 Carvanha 21 15 8 13 8 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]320 Wailmer 29 13 10 13 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]322 Numel 22 12 10 13 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]324 Torkoal 23 15 20 15 13 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]325 Spoink 22 9 10 13 14 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]327 Spinda 22 12 12 12 12 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]328 Trapinch 21 16 11 11 11 7[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]331 Cacnea 21 15 10 15 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]333 Swablu 21 10 12 10 14 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]335 Zangoose 23 18 12 12 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]336 Seviper 23 16 12 16 12 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]337 Lunatone 23 12 13 16 15 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]338 Solrock 23 16 15 12 13 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]339 Barboach 21 11 10 11 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]341 Corphish 20 14 13 11 10 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]343 Baltoy 20 10 12 10 13 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]345 Lileep 23 10 14 12 15 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]347 Anorith 21 16 11 10 11 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]349 Feebas 18 8 8 7 12 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]351 Castform 23 13 13 13 13 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]352 Kecleon 22 15 13 12 18 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]353 Shuppet 20 14 10 12 9 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]355 Duskull 18 10 15 9 15 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]357 Tropius 26 13 14 13 15 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]358 Chimecho 23 11 13 16 14 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]359 Absol 23 19 12 14 12 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]360 Wynaut 26 8 11 8 11 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]361 Snorunt 21 11 11 11 11 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]363 Spheal 23 10 11 12 11 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]366 Clamperl 20 12 15 13 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]369 Relicanth 26 15 19 11 13 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]370 Luvdisc 20 9 12 10 13 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]371 Bagon 21 14 12 10 9 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]374 Beldum 20 12 14 10 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]387 Turtwig 22 13 12 11 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]390 Chimchar 20 12 10 12 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]393 Piplup 21 11 11 12 12 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]396 Starly 20 12 9 9 9 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]399 Bidoof 22 11 10 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]401 Kricketot 20 9 10 9 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]403 Shinx 21 13 9 10 9 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]406 Budew 20 9 10 11 13 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]408 Cranidos 23 19 10 9 9 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]410 Shieldon 19 10 18 10 15 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]412 Burmy 20 9 11 9 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]415 Combee 19 9 10 9 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]417 Pachirisu 22 11 13 11 15 16[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]418 Buizel 22 13 10 12 9 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]420 Cherubi 21 10 11 12 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]422 Shellos 24 11 11 12 12 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]425 Drifloon 25 11 9 12 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]427 Buneary 22 13 10 10 12 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]431 Glameow 21 12 10 10 10 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]433 Chingling 21 9 11 13 11 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]434 Stunky 22 12 11 10 10 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]436 Bronzor 22 8 15 8 15 8[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]438 Bonsly 21 14 16 7 11 7[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]439 Mime Jr. 18 9 11 13 15 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]440 Happiny 26 7 7 8 13 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]441 Chatot 24 13 11 15 10 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]442 Spiritomb 21 15 17 15 17 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]443 Gible 22 13 11 10 11 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]446 Munchlax 30 15 10 10 15 7[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]447 Riolu 20 13 10 10 10 12[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]449 Hippopotas 23 13 14 10 10 9[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]451 Skorupi 20 11 15 9 12 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]453 Croagunk 21 12 10 12 10 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]455 Carnivine 23 16 13 15 13 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]456 Finneon 21 11 12 11 12 13[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]458 Mantyke 21 8 11 12 18 11[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]459 Snover 22 12 11 12 12 10[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]479 Rotom 21 11 14 16 14 15[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]489 Phione 24 14 14 14 14 14[/COLOR]
[COLOR=black]490 Manaphy 26 16 16 16 16 16[/COLOR]SECTION TWO
Breeding
If you put two compatible Pokémon in the Day Care, after you walk/ride a while, the Day Care man will offer you an egg.
The locations of the Day Care breeding centre for each game are the following:
RSE: Route 117
FRLG: Four Island (after beating the Elite Four)
D/P: Solaceon Town
1. The Species of the Baby
The Pokémon that will hatch from the egg will be at Level 5 (Level 1 in DP) and of the first evolution step of the mother's species, unless one of the following occurs:
1) If one of the parents is Ditto, then the offspring's species is the other parent's first evolution step.
2) If the mother is Nidoran♀, then the offspring will either be Nidoran♀ or Nidoran♂, since they are treated as the same species.
3) If the mother is Illumise, then the offspring wll either be Volbeat or Illumise, since they are treated as the same species.
4) A Marill or Azumarill's offspring will be Marill unless one of the parents is holding the item Sea Incense, in which case the baby will be Azurill.
5) A Wobbuffet's offspring will be Wobbuffet unless one of the parents is holding the item Lax Incense, in which case the baby will be Wynaut.
6) A Roselia or Roserade's offspring will be Roselia unless one of the parents is holding the item Rose Incense, in which case the baby will be Budew.
7) A Chimecho's offspring will be Chimecho unless one of the parents is holding the item Pure Incense, in which case the baby will be Chingling.
8 ) A Sudowoodo's offspring will be Sudowoodo unless one of the parents is holding the item Rock Incense, in which case the baby will be Bonsly.
9) A Mr.Mime's offspring will be Mr.Mime unless one of the parents is holding the item Odd Incense, in which case the baby will be Mime Jr..
10) A Chansey or Blissey's offspring will be Chansey unless one of the parents is holding the item Luck Incense, in which case the baby will be Happiny.
11) A Mantine's offspring will be Mantine unless one of the parents is holding the item Wave Incense, in which case the baby will be Mantyke.
12) A Snorlax's offspring will be Snorlax unless one of the parents is holding the item Full Incense, in which case the baby will be Munchlax.
13) A Manaphy's offspring will be Phione, but Phione is itself a final evolution stage Pokémon.
2. Breedability
All Pokémon except these can produce eggs (breed):
-> Pichu, Cleffa, Igglybuff, Togepi, Elekid, Magby, Smoochum, Tyrogue, Wynaut, Azurill, Happiny, Mime Jr., Munchlax, Bonsly, Mantyke, Chingling, Budew, Riolu.
-> Nidorina, Nidoqueen
-> Unown
-> Articuno, Moltres, Zapdos, Mewtwo, Mew
-> Raikou, Entei, Suicune, Lugia, Ho-oh, Celebi
-> Regirock, Registeel, Regice, Latias, Latios, Kyogre, Groudon, Rayquaza, Jirachi, Deoxys
-> Uxie, Mesprit, Azelf, Dialga, Palkia, Heatran, Regigigas, Giratina, Cresselia, Darkrai, Shaymin, Arceus
-> Ditto (breeding a Ditto with another Ditto won´t produce a Ditto egg.)
3. Egg Groups
Only Pokémon from the same group can breed. The final forms of the Pokémon are listed in alphabetical order, since all evolved Pokémon forms can breed except Nidorina and Nidoqueen.
Monster:
Abomasnow, Aggron, Ampharos, Bastiodon, Blastoise, Charizard, Exploud, Feraligatr, Garchomp, Kangaskhan, Lapras, Lickylicky, Marowak, Meganium, Nidoking, Nidoran♀, Rampardos, Rhyperior, Sceptile, Slowbro, Slowking, Snorlax, Swampert, Torterra, Tropius, Tyranitar, Venusaur
Dragon:
Altaria, Arbok, Charizard, Dragonite, Garchomp, Gyarados, Kingdra, Milotic, Salamence, Sceptile, Seviper
Ground:
Absol, Ambipom, Ampharos, Arbok, Arcanine, Bibarel, Blaziken, Buizel, Camerupt, Delcatty, Delibird, Dewgong, Donphan, Dugtrio, Dunsparce, Empoleon, Espeon, Exploud, Farfetch'd, Flareon, Furret, Girafarig, Glaceon, Golduck, Granbull, Grumpig, Hippowdon, Houndoom, Infernape, Jolteon, Kecleon, Leafeon, Linoone, Lopunny, Lucario, Luxray, Mamoswine, Manectric, Mawile, Mightyena, Miltank, Nidoking, Nidoran♀, Ninetales, Pachirisu, Persian, Primeape, Purugly, Quagsire, Raichu, Rapidash, Raticate, Rhyperior, Sandslash, Seviper, Shiftry, Skuntank, Slaking, Smeargle, Spinda, Stantler, Tauros, Torkoal, Typhlosion, Umbreon, Ursaring, Vaporeon, Wailord, Walrein, Weavile, Zangoose
Water 1:
Azumarill, Bibarel, Blastoise, Buizel, Corsola, Crawdaunt, Delibird, Dewgong, Dragonite, Empoleon, Feraligatr, Gastrodon, Golduck, Gorebyss, Huntail, Kabutops, Kingdra, Lapras, Ludicolo, Mantine, Masquerain, Milotic, Octillery, Omastar, Pelipper, Politoed, Poliwrath, Quagsire, Relicanth, Slowbro, Slowking, Swampert, Walrein
Water 2:
Gyarados, Lanturn, Lumineon, Luvdisc, Octillery, Qwilfish, Relicanth, Seaking, Sharpedo, Wailord, Whiscash
Water 3:
Armaldo, Cloyster, Corsola, Cradily, Crawdaunt, Drapion, Kabutops, Kingler, Omastar, Tentacruel
Flying:
Aerodactyl, Altaria, Chatot, Crobat, Dodrio, Farfetch'd, Fearow, Honchkrow, Noctowl, Pelipper, Pidgeot, Skarmory, Staraptor, Swellow, Togekiss, Xatu
Bug:
Ariados, Beautifly, Beedrill, Butterfree, Drapion, Dustox, Flygon, Forretress, Gliscor, Heracross, Illumise, Kricketune, Ledian, Masquerain, Mothim, Ninjask, Parasect, Pinsir, Scizor, Scyther, Shuckle, Venomoth, Vespiquen, Volbeat, Wormadam, Yanmega
Plant:
Abomasnow, Bellossom, Breloom, Cacturne, Carnivine, Cherrim, Exeggutor, Jumpluff, Ludicolo, Meganium, Parasect, Roserade, Shiftry, Sunflora, Tangrowth, Torterra, Tropius, Venusaur, Victreebel, Vileplume
Fairy:
Azumarill, Blissey, Breloom, Castform, Cherrim, Clefable, Delcatty, Froslass, Glalie, Granbull, Jumpluff, Mawile, Minun, Pachirisu, Plusle, Raichu, Roserade, Togekiss, Wigglytuff
Humanshape:
Alakazam, Cacturne, Electivire, Hariyama, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Hitmontop, Hypno, Illumise, Infernape, Jynx, Lopunny, Lucario, Machamp, Magmortar, Medicham, Mr. Mime, Sableye, Spinda, Toxicroak, Volbeat
Indeterminate:
Banette, Castform, Chimecho, Drifblim, Dusknoir, Gallade, Gardevoir, Gastrodon, Gengar, Magcargo, Mismagius, Muk, Spiritomb, Swalot, Weezing, Wobbuffet
Mineral:
Froslass, Glalie, Golem, Probopass, Steelix, Sudowoodo
Genderless (can only breed with Ditto):
Bronzong, Claydol, Electrode, Lunatone, Magnezone, Manaphy, Metagross, Porygon-Z, Rotom, Shedinja, Solrock, Starmie
Also, Ditto can breed with any Pokémon from any egg group.
4. Compatibility
After you deposit two Pokémon in the Day Care, the Day Care man will tell you their breeding compatibility.
“Ah, it´s you! Your [Parent A] and [Parent B] are doing fine.”
The man then tells you one of the following four phrases:
1. “The two prefer to play with other Pokémon than each other.”
This means one of the following four cases:
a) One or both parents cannot breed (is one of the Pokémon listed in Section 2).
b) They are from different egg groups.
c) You are breeding a genderless Pokémon with a Pokémon that is not Ditto.
d) You a breeding a male Pokémon with another male Pokémon, or a female Pokémon with another female Pokémon.
In this case, the two Pokémon will never breed.
2. “They don´t seem to like each other much.”
This means that the Pokémon being bred are different but have the same trainer IDs. They have a low chance of breeding, but they will eventually breed, so don’t give up.
3. “The two seem to get along.”
This means either that the Pokémon being bred are the same Pokémon and have the same trainer IDs, or that they are different Pokémon having different trainer IDs. They have a moderate chance of breeding.
4. “The two seem to get along very well.”
This means that the Pokémon being bred are the same Pokémon having different trainer IDs. They have a high chance of breeding.
Note: By “same Pokémon” is meant two Pokémon of the same species and the same evolution form, for example Bagon + Bagon, Chimchar + Chimchar, etc. By “different Pokémon” is meant two different species of Pokémon or two Pokémon of different evolution forms, for example Kingdra + Bagon or Bagon + Salamence.
5. Breeding Routes
This is where you´ll spend most of your time while you breed and hatch.
In Emerald, it is 134 steps long, ranges from the Battle Tent Sign in Verdanturf Town to the boulder on the shore of Route 118.
The distance from the Day Care man standing in front of his fence to the left hand side of the end of the route is 66 steps. The distance between him and the right end of the route is 70 steps.
In Diamond and Pearl, there is a nice road connecting Route 210 (north of SolaceonTown) and Route 209 (south of SolaceonTown) where you can bike through it back and forth while you're breeding. This road is 123 steps long. The distance from the Day Care man standing in front of the day care to the top of Route 210 is 64 steps. The distance between him and the bottom of Route 209 is 71 steps.
6. IV Chains
An IV chain is a chain of parents with which you get your Pokémon with the IVs you want.
For example, an IV chain to get a Duskull with a perfect HP IV, a perfect Defense IV and a perfect Special Defense IV could be the following:
First, breed a Duskull with any IVs with a Ditto with a perfect 31 IV in HP, until you get a Duskull with a 31 HP IV.
Next, breed this Duskull with a Ditto with a perfect 31 Defense IV, until you get a Duskull with a 31 IV in HP and in Defense.
Finally, breed this Duskull with a Ditto with a perfect 31 Special Defense IV, until you get a Duskull with a 31 IV in HP, Defense and Special Defense.
This can be represented as follows:
Duskull x/x/x/x/x/x + Ditto 31/x/x/x/x/x = Duskull 31/x/x/x/x/x
Duskull 31/x/x/x/x/x + Ditto x/x/31/x/x/x = Duskull 31/x/31/x/x/x
Duskull 31/x/31/x/x/x + Ditto x/x/x/x/31/x = Duskull 31/x/31/x/31/x
Some IV chains provide a bigger probability of getting the IVs you want than others, which means that you get the Pokémon you want quicker if you use them. If you want to breed for your perfect IV Pokémon, then, you’ll need a chart to see all the probabilities at a glance. This is what Part III of this guide provides. You might also want to use an IV chain in order to breed for your perfect Hidden Power type and base power, in which case, Part IV of this guide provides the details to do just that.
Let's give an example of a small IV chain here. Suppose you want to breed for a Jolly Garchomp, having a perfect IV in Attack and Speed. You first breed a Gible with a 31 Attack IV Ditto, until you get a Gible with 31 Attack IV. (According to the applet and/or Part III of the guide, this should happen among the first 4 eggs.) Then you breed this Gible with a 31 Speed IV Jolly Ditto holding Everstone, until you get a Gible with 31 IV in both Speed and Attack. (This happens in one in 17 eggs according to the applet and Part III. So, to get a Jolly Gible, you’ll need 17x2 = 34 eggs on average.) So, after breeding an average of only 38 eggs, you have the Gible you want.
This is illustrated by the following IV chain:
x/x/x/x/x/x Gible + x/31/x/x/x/x Ditto = x/31/x/x/x/x Gible (4 eggs average)
x/31/x/x/x/x Gible + x/x/x/x/x/31 Jolly Ditto with Everstone = x/31/x/x/x/31 Jolly Gible (34 eggs average)
Note that if you do it in reverse (first getting the 31 Speed IV and then getting the 31 Attack IV and the Jolly nature), you need to breed the same number of eggs on average in this case.
SECTION THREE
Hatching
Number of steps to hatch
Each Pokémon requires that you walk a certain number of steps in order to be able to hatch its egg. This number, unlike what many people think, depends on many factors, which will be explained in detail here.
First of all, there is an internal number for every hatchable Pokémon on which the number of steps for the egg to hatch is dependent. We will call this number the egg counter. For now, just remember that the smaller the egg counter is, the quicker that Pokémon will hatch. Here is a list of all hatchable Pokémon, and their corresponding egg counter starting number:
Egg counter starts from 5: Magikarp.
Egg counter starts from 10: Azurill, Cleffa, Croagunk, Igglybuff, Manaphy, Marill, Pachirisu, Pichu, Togepi.
Egg counter starts from 15: Bidoof, Burmy, Caterpie, Combee, Corphish, Geodude, Hoothoot, Illumise, Kricketot, Ledyba, Lotad, Nincada, Pidgey, Poochyena, Rattata, Seedot, Sentret, Shroomish, Skitty, Slakoth, Spearow, Spinarak, Spinda, Starly, Surskit, Taillow, Volbeat, Weedle, Wurmple, Zigzagoon, Zubat.
Egg counter starts from 20: Any hatchable Pokémon not mentioned.
Egg counter starts from 25: Absol, Carnivine, Castform, Chimecho, Chingling, Duskull, Elekid, Heracross, Lunatone, Magby, Mantine, Mantyke, Mime Jr., Misdreavus, Mr. Mime, Onix, Pinsir, Riolu, Sableye, Sandshrew, Scyther, Shuppet, Skarmory, Smoochum, Solrock, Tropius, Tyrogue, Venonat.
Egg counter starts from 30: Anorith, Cranidos, Drifloon, Hippopotas, Kabuto, Lileep, Omanyte, Shieldon, Spiritomb.
Egg counter starts from 35: Aerodactyl, Aron, Eevee.
Egg counter starts from 40: Bagon, Beldum, Chansey, Dratini, Gible, Happiny, Lapras, Larvitar, Munchlax, Phione, Relicanth, Snorlax, Wailmer.
Internally, in the game, there is also a step counter. This step counter literally counts the number of steps that you walked during the game. It starts from zero and increases by 1 for every step you take. If it exceeds 255, (i.e. becomes 256) it is reset to zero. (In DP, it is reset to zero when it becomes 255, not 256. Why this happens is unclear.) This step counter is also reset to zero whenever the player collects an egg from the Day Care.
Whenever the step counter reaches 255, the game checks if you have any eggs in your team. If you do, then it checks if its egg counter is zero or less. If it is not zero, this egg counter is decreased by 1, or by 2 if you have a Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in your team. This is the reason why Flame Body and Magma Armor roughly half your number of steps needed in order to hatch an egg. If the egg counter is zero or less, that egg hatches.
If you are carrying more than one egg, and the step counter reaches 255, then all the egg counters, starting from the topmost one, are checked to see if they hatch or not. If that egg's egg counter is not zero, it is decreased accordingly (by 2 if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, or by 1 otherwise), and the next egg is checked. If it is zero, then that egg hatches, and the other eggs’ counters are not checked or decreased. This means that you cannot hatch two or more eggs simultaneously, but you need to wait at least 256 steps (255 in DP) between a hatching egg and another.
Here is a step-by-step account of the above explanation.
Whenever the player walks/rides a step, the game does the following:
Step 1: Increase the step counter by 1.
Step 2: (For RSFRLGE) If the step counter is 256, reset the step counter to zero.
Step 3: If the step counter is not 255, skip all the following steps.
Step 4: (For DP) Reset the step counter to zero.
Step 5: Make an internal list of all the eggs that the player has in the team, starting from the topmost egg in the team and finishing with the bottom egg.
Step 6: If this list is empty, skip all the following steps.
Step 7: If the egg counter for the first egg in the list is zero or less, hatch that egg and skip all the following steps.
Step 8: If the egg counter for the first egg in the list is greater than zero, decrease it by 2 if the player has a Pokémon with the ability Magma Armor or Flame Body in the team, or by 1 otherwise.
Step 9: Remove the first egg from the list and go to Step 6.
Remember also that the step counter resets to zero whenever you take an egg from the Day Care. Every time you do so, the number of steps you need to walk in order to hatch your eggs will be increased by at most 254, depending on how much was the step counter before being reset.
Assuming you do NOT reset the internal step counter by taking another egg from the Day Care and you have only one egg in your team, these are the amount of steps you need to walk in order for your egg to hatch:
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 5:
For RSFRLGE, 1023 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 1535 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 1020 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 1530 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 10:
For RSFRLGE, 1535 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 2815 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 1530 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 2805 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 15:
For RSFRLGE, 2303 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 4095 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 2298 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 4080 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 20:
For RSFRLGE, 2815 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 5375 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 2805 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 5355 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 25:
For RSFRLGE, 3583 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 6655 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 3570 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 6630 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 30:
For RSFRLGE, 4095 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 7935 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 4080 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 7905 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 35:
For RSFRLGE, 4863 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 9215 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 4845 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 9180 steps if you don’t.
For Pokémon with egg counter starting from 40:
For RSFRLGE, 5375 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 10495 steps if you don’t.
For DP, 5355 steps if you have a Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, 10455 steps if you don’t.
If you have more than one egg in your team, and/or you get another egg from the Day Care while already having an egg in your party, the number of steps you need to walk for the eggs to hatch isn’t so clear-cut. An example would explain what will happen more than just words.
Suppose we’re breeding Magikarp in Emerald with a Magcargo with Flame Body in our team. A Magikarp egg is taken from the Day Care, and thus, the step counter resets to zero. The egg counter for Magikarp starts from 5:
Step Counter: 0. Egg1 Counter: 5.
After walking 255 steps, the step counter reaches 255. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: 3.
Suppose that now we walk 50 more steps, and another Magikarp egg is created. We go and fetch it. The step counter is reset to 0.
Step Counter: 0. Egg1 Counter: 3. Egg2 Counter: 5.
After walking 255 steps, the step counter reaches 255. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2. Egg2 Counter is also greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2 as well.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: 1. Egg2 Counter: 3.
We walk 256 more steps (one to reset the counter to zero, and 255 more to reach 255), and the step counter reaches 255 again. The game checks if Egg1 Counter is zero or less. It isn’t, so it is decreased by 2. Egg2 Counter is also greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2 as well.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Counter: -1. Egg2 Counter: 1.
We walk 256 more steps, and the step counter reaches 255 again. This time, Egg1 Counter is less than zero, so the first egg hatches. Since an egg hatched, the game doesn’t check nor decrease Egg2 Counter at this point.
Step Counter: 255. Egg1 Hatches. Egg2 Counter: 1.
We walk 256 more steps, and the step counter reaches 255 again. Egg2 Counter is still greater than zero, so it is decreased by 2.
Step Counter: 255. Egg2 Counter: -1.
Finally, after walking yet another 256 steps, the second egg hatches.
Step Counter: 255. Egg2 Hatches.
Let’s see how many steps we had to walk for the eggs to hatch.
For the first egg, we walked 255 + 50 + 255 + 256 + 256 = 1072 steps.
For the second egg, we walked 255 + 256 + 256 + 256 + 256 = 1279 steps.
The above example should have shown why calculating the number of steps required to hatch an egg is more complicated than most people think. It showed, however, that having more than one egg in your team increases the number of steps required in order to hatch them. In the example above, the first egg required 49 steps more than the minimum 1023 steps in order to hatch, while the second one required a whopping 256 more steps.
As most people know, you can also look at the egg to check its state. The message that is displayed is directly related to its egg counter. There are three different messages that can be displayed:
1) What will hatch from this? It will take some time. In this case, the egg counter is 11 or more.
2) It moves occasionally. It should hatch soon. In this case, the egg counter is between 6 and 10.
3) It´s making sounds. It´s about to hatch! In this case, the egg counter is 5 or less.
2. Hatching methods
A) Soft reset method
This method is based on the fact that in Emerald, Diamond and Pearl, gender, nature (personality) and ability (trait) are already set (locked) as soon as the egg is created, before you take it. That means that if you save exactly before taking the egg and then soft reset, the Pokémon inside the egg will have the same gender, nature and ability if you load again.
1. Save in front of the Day Care grandpa.
2. Take the egg.
3. Bike on the breeding route.
4. Ignore the next egg proposed to you by the Day Care grandpa.
5. Hatch the egg.
6. Check the newly hatched Pokémn to see whether it does have the desired gender, nature and ability and
a) If it doesn´t have the desired gender/nature/ability, save in front of the Day Care grandpa again (there should be another egg waiting for you, which was produced while you hatched the first one) and repeat the process until you get a suitable baby.
b) If it does have the desired gender/nature/ability, but it doesn´t have the desired IVs, soft reset the game (START+SELECT+A+B) and take the egg again (gender/nature/ability won´t change, only the IVs), hatch and check the IVs, repeat the process until you get the IVs you want.
Pros:
1. The gender, nature and ability you want are set in stone.
2. This method is useful to get a female Pokémon with the right nature and a few perfect IVs.
3. It is also useful if the parents don´t like each other much.
Cons:
1. Not many babies are bred and checked using this method, which means that it can get hard to get the right IVs when there isn´t a high probability.
2. This method does not suit persons who care about game time more than anything else.
I recommend using this method at the beginning, when the probabilities to get the IVs you want are still relatively high (like when getting 1 or 2 flawless IVs). Alternatively, you can use this method when you're trying to get a female parent with the right nature. If you want to breed for 3 flawless IVs or more, where the probability of getting the desired IVs is less than 1 in 50, the running method is recommended.
B) Running method (E)
Using this method, Pokémon are hatched and checked regularly while having five eggs in your team.
The exact process for Pokémon having egg counter 40 (see the previous section):
1. Take the first egg
2. Bike 66 steps to the left, to Verdanturf town (1)
134 steps to the right, to the stone at Route 118 (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
134 steps to the left (5)
134 steps to the right (6)
134 steps to the left (7)
134 steps to the right (8 )
134 steps to the left (9)
134 steps to the right (10)
3. Take another egg, now repeat the process until you have five eggs.
As you start, some of the eggs will hatch before you have five eggs, but after a while, the first egg will then always hatch after you hit (10), exactly two steps before the boy standing on route 118 (seven steps away form the right end of the Breeding route). This is exactly 1279 steps after taking the fifth egg.
Now, go to the MauvilleCityPokémonCenter, choose the option "Deposit" in Lanette´s PC and check the baby (use you level 5 max stats paper) and either release it or, if it looks promising, save in front of the PC and Rare Candy it to get a better view of the IVs.
If the baby has better IVs than one of its parents, deposit the four eggs, get the fifth, switch the baby with the appropriate parent, go to the PC in the Day Care, release the old parent, get the other 4 eggs and continue.
The process for Pokémon having egg counter 20:
Bike 66 steps to the left (1)
134 steps to the right (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
134 steps to the left (5)
134 steps to the right (6)
After a while, the first egg will always hatch 31 steps away from the right end of the Breeding route, which is a few steps before the Pokémon Center in Mauville City.
The process for Pokémon having egg counter 10:
Bike 66 steps to the left (1)
134 steps to the right (2)
134 steps to the left (3)
134 steps to the right (4)
Take the next egg. The first few eggs will hatch before you have five in your team, but you have to ride those four lengths (1), (2), (3) and (4) nonetheless. After a while, the first egg will always hatch at the same place. When you´re done with the four lengths, go straight to the MauvilleCityPokémonCenter. The egg will hatch two steps away from the PC.
Using this method, you breed:
-> Around 25 to 26 eggs an hour for egg counter 40 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 137-140 seconds (2 minutes 20 seconds) to hatch.
-> Around 34 to 35 eggs an hour for egg counter 20 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 102-105 seconds (1 minute 45 seconds) to hatch.
-> Around 42 to 43 eggs an hour for egg counter 10 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 82-85 seconds (1 minute 25 seconds) to hatch.
Pros:
1. A large number of eggs is bred.
2. A newly hatched baby can be used as one of the new parents immediately.
Cons:
1. Sometimes, the eggs are not created when you're ready to take another egg. The result is that the next few eggs will hatch earlier than you want. This means you have to oversee the number of lengths you ride, like at the beginning.
2. There is no fix number of lengths for egg counter 5, 15, 25 and 35 Pokémon, so you may find it a bit more difficult to breed those Pokémon using this method.
Don´t use this method when the parents don´t like each other much, as you won´t get eggs at regular intervals. This method is best suited for the final stages of breeding, when you breed for 3 or more perfect IVs using at least parents with 2 flawless IVs (one overlaps), when you don´t need to get a particular nature/ability combination. Most of the time it´s worth even then, as you can get parents with awesome IVs who can then pass IVs to other Pokémon.
C) Mass hatch method
This method consists of three separate stages. First you get a large number of eggs, then you hatch all of them and check them at the end.
Stage One: Getting a number of eggs
You take an egg as soon as it is created. When you have five eggs in your team and the next one is created, deposit all five in a box. Repeat this process until you have at least 25 eggs in a box. Take the parents from the daycare and leave the Pokémon you want to level up there instead.
Stage Two: Hatching all eggs
Withdraw five eggs having approximately the same number of steps walked before deposit (for example #5, #10, #15, #20 and #25) and ride the bike unless all of them hatch. Then deposit the Pokémon, withdraw another five eggs (#4, #9, #14, #19, #24) and hatch them. Repeat the process until all eggs hatch.
Stage Three: Checking all eggs
If you want, first save in front of the PC. This helps if you release the wrong Pokémon by mistake. In the PC, choose the "Move Pokémon" option and go through all of the babies quickly to check if there are any shinies. Get your level 5 max neutral stats paper and check the babies. If you see one that you're aiming for, mark that baby (for flawless IVs I use ring = HP, square = Attack/Defense, triangle = Special Attack/Special Defense, heart = Speed). After you´re done, release all the unmarked babies. Now withdraw five of the marked babies, and save in front of the PC. Rare Candy all five to Level 10 and check their IVs. Continue to Rare Candy the ones that look promising. When you´re done, soft reset, release the ones that didn´t pass the check, and deposit the rest. Repeat the process until you check all of the marked babies.
Pros:
1. A large number of eggs (about the same amount as for the running method) are bred.
2. Other Pokémon can level up during this process.
3. You are able to do other things while riding your bike (like watching TV or surfing the Smogon boards).
4. You don´t lose as much time as with the running method while going to your PC and back - around 30 seconds. For 25 eggs, this means there will be five deposits and five withdrawals. For the running method, you would make 25 deposits. On the other hand, the mass hatch method wastes time while waiting for egg creation and because of some of the eggs being left in the PC.
Cons:
1. The time it takes to complete this method relies a lot on how often an egg is created. That´s why it´s only suited for when the parents get along very well, or get along. Sometimes, it takes around three minutes to get five eggs, sometimes even more than five.
2. Switching parents during this process is impossible. You´ll have to wait until you have hatched and checked all the babies before doing so.
This method is suited for the final stages of breeding, where you go for 3 or 4 flawless IV babies while you have both parents with at least 2 flawless IVs. You can also level up two other Pokémon while you ride the bike.
Credits
We wish to thank the following people:
- loadingNOW for looking at the Emerald ROM to discover a lot of things related to the number of steps required in order for an egg to hatch.
- Eszett for contributing the method of finding Synchonize Natu from the Safari Zone.
- Paperfairy for contributing the locations of Magma Armor/Flame Body Pokémon, Everstone and Ditto.
