Light those scented candles, play some soul music and get some sweet lovin' started.
It's the breeding thread! many times requested. Talk about your breeding projects, ask for requests, offer pokemon. ect ect.
If there are any guides or info you want me to compile here, just say so and i'll add them to the first post so that you can find them easily.
Breeding Guide:
Breeding is only possible between a Male and Female Pokemon of the same Egg Group. All 721 pokemon are in at least 1 Egg Group, some are in 2. When breeding 2 pokemon of different species, the resulting Egg will contain the same species as the mother. When breeding with Ditto, the pokemon's gender does not matter.
There are 15 Egg Groups in total:
Egg Groups
To find out a Pokemon's Egg Group, you can check either Bulbapedia through the search bar or check the Serebii XY Pokedex.
Using Egg Groups, you can chain breed IV's and natures onto a Pokemon. An example I did personally was to breed IV's from a Joltik (Bug Egg Group) onto a Surskit (Bug and Water 1 Egg Groups), I then bred the IV's from the Surskit to my Lotad (Grass and Water 1) and then finally onto various other pokemon in the Grass Egg Group, which in turn connects to various other egg groups, including Field, Human-like, Monster, ect ect.
IV's
IV's (or Individual Values) are what make every pokemon different. Each pokemon has an Individual Value for each of the 6 stats (HP, Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense and Speed). IV's range from 0 to 31. 2 Pokemon of the exact same species, nature and level would have different stats depending on their IV's. For competitive play, people often strive for 31 IV's in all stats, which can be a difficult feat.
Beginning in Generation 6, the hold item Destiny Knot, obtained from a woman near one of the alleys in Lumiose after defeating her in a battle, will guarantee 5 IV's are passed from one of the 2 pokemon. 5 Guaranteed IV's out of a pool of 12 (6 for one parent, 6 for another) means that breeding pokemon with high IV's is easier than ever.
Pokemon caught in Friend Safari have at least 2 guaranteed 31 IV's. Pokeradar chaining also allows you to get pokemon with good IV's. every 20 chains with the Pokeradar guarantees 1 IV will be 31, up to a maximum of 3 perfect IV's.
IV's can be checked accurately with an IV calculator. You can also get a vague overview from a the Psychic in the Pokecenter in Kiloude City. If he says a pokemon has incredible potential that can't go any further, it's a perfect 31 IV's.
Natures
Natures are also important, giving a 10% Boost to one stat, while giving a 10% lowering of another stat. This extra 10% stat increase can mean a big difference in competitive play.
For more information on Natures, look here.
Eggs born from a parent holding an Everstone will always have the same Nature as the parent holding it.
Hidden Abilities
Hidden Abilities can be passed on through breeding. In Pokemon X and Y, Pokemon with hidden abilites can be rarely found in Horde Battles, or in Friend Safari, providing that friend has been online at the same time as you at least once since you added them.
Breeding Rate and Hatching Rate
Not all Pokemon will breed like rabbits straight away, it depends on numerous factors. 2 different species, caught in the same game, would breed very slowly. If one of the parents was traded from another person, they would breed slightly faster. 2 pokemon of the same species will also breed faster than 2 pokemon of differing species.
Ideally, 2 pokemon of the same species, one being obtained from a trade, is the fastest way to breed.
The Oval Charm key item, obtained by capturing all Pokemon in the Kalos Pokedex, increases breeding rate too.
Oval Charm
To Hatch an egg, you need to walk a lot. Eggs require a certain amount of steps to hatch, and the amount can differ depending on the species of pokemon. The amount of steps required can be halved by having a Pokemon with the abilities Flame Body or Magma Armor in your party. The amount of steps required can be reduced by half again by using the Hatching Power O-Power. This O-Power is obtained from Mr. Bonding in Introspection Cafe in Southern Lumiose City. For him to appear there, you have to have found all the other O-Powers and have maximum Style in Lumiose City. Style can be increased in various ways, but who gives a crap when you can just cheat by buying Premier Balls from the Pokeball Boutique one at a time until you get max Style.
Egg Moves
Pokemon can only get certain moves through breeding, through this, a pokemon can get a move it does not typically learn by inheriting it from another species. An example would be Lotad, which does not get Giga Drain or Leech Seed, but can hatch with them both if the parent breeds with a Maractus with those 2 moves. To see what pokemon learn which egg moves, check out their individual pages on Bulbapedia or Serebii.
Shiny Pokemon, Masuda Method
Hatching a shiny pokemon is the same rare chance of finding one in the wild (1/8192), however, the Masuda Method brings the chance of finding a shiny pokemon way up, to 1/1365. This can still take a long time to find a shiny, but it is much more reasonable.
The Masuda Method works by breeding 2 pokemon with different languages. In Pokemon X and Y, pokemon from a different language have a mark on their status screen which shows they are foreign (for example, having SPA for a Spanish pokemon, or JPN for a Japanese one). Different language pokemon can be easily obtained through Wonder Trade or the GTS.
Useful Links
IV Calculator
How to breed competitive Pokemon from scratch (But you don't need this now, right? after all my hard work?) :(
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