Pokemon breeding has long been a staple of the franchise. While Game Freak may have made things easier on casual players through the addition of mints, bottle caps, and ability capsules, there’s still a deep system ready for breeding fans. This Pokemon Sword and Shield Breeding guide will walk you through the most effective way to breed Pokemon. Though you can casually make new ‘Mons, this guide is for those of you chasing IVs and looking for the best Pokemon possible.
As a forewarning, make sure you already have the IV checker before you start breeding. Otherwise you’re just taking stabs in the dark.
Step 1: Acquire Some Ditto
Ditto can breed with any non-legendary Pokemon, making Ditto an absolute must-have for competitive breeding. Generally a Ditto caught in the wild will only yield a 20 to 40% chance of an egg, which sucks, right? Thankfully there’s a workaround: Pokemon from other Trainers increase the breed chance significantly!
That’s not all, however. Your Ditto must have “perfect” (31) IVs, preferably in at least 4 stats, before you continue. Otherwise you’re just wasting time tossing bad Pokemon into the Surprise Trade. Furthermore, while not strictly necessary, it is much easier in the long run to have a Ditto with the Nature you want. Most popular choices tend to be Timid, Jolly, Adamant, Modest, Bold and Calm.
So, to recap, for a “perfect” Ditto, you need another Trainer to trade you a Ditto with 4+ perfect IVs, and preferably the Nature you want on your final Pokemon.
Now, you could grind catching Ditto at the Lake of Outrage in the Wild Area (requires Rotom Bike Surf Upgrade) and offer them up on the numerous trading Discords and websites. There is a (slightly, kind of, not really) easier way though. Connect to the Internet, load the most recent Stamps (Press X), and select the “Search Stamps” option in the Y-Menu. Sort by “Max Raid Invites” and look for a silhouette of Ditto. Ditto Raids, preferably of the 4-Star variety or greater, guarantee at least 3 IVs will be “Best” (31). If you see none on the tracker, you will sadly have to wait until a refresh to check again.
Step 2: Acquire The Pokemon You Want
Perhaps a bit obvious, but in order to breed towards the good Pokemon you want, you need at least one of them already. Ideally, again, you would want already good IVs and Nature you’re aiming for. You can also add Egg Moves into the mix, as well as Hidden Abilities, but these are quite advanced. Just know that if you desire a certain Hidden Ability, you’ll need to catch that Pokemon from a Max Raid first and try to get it passed down.
Step 3: Acquire Everstone and Destiny Knot
Find the Everstone just outside the Turffield Gym (on the right side), and the Destiny Knot can be bought for 10 BP at Hammerlocke’s Pokemon Center. You can obtain BP from the Battle Tower, so if you have the IV Checker already, you can purchase this no problem.
Give the Everstone to the Pokemon that has the Nature you desire, and the Destiny Knot to the other Pokemon.
Step 4: Get Cracking
Leave Ditto and your other Pokemon at either of the Pokemon Nurseries (One is located at the Wild Area near the bridges, and the other is located at Route 5; both can be flown to directly from the Town Map.)
Grab the Litwick you caught at the Fire Gym and stick it in your party. Litwick has the Flame Body ability, which has a hidden trait: it cuts the time spent hatching Eggs by 50%.
Hop on your Rotom Bike and ride around in circles; when you see the outside Pokemon Attendant take a “thinking” pose, that means your Pokemon created an Egg. Grab it, and continue to ride around in circles; this not only gets you more Eggs, but also starts the steps required to hatch the Eggs in your party.
Once the Eggs hatch, check the IVs of your baby Pokemon; if the IVs are better than the one you left at the Daycare, swap them and Surprise Trade the now-obsolete Pokemon like the eugenics freak you are. Continue this process until you get a Pokemon with IVs you are happy with!
