Could you become the master of Pokemon breeding? Our test quizzes you on the ins and outs of Pokemon mating and breeding, like necessary items, compatible Pokemon, vital stats, and much more. Are you ready to catch them all?

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What is Pokemon breeding?

You need to produce and hatch an Egg to get a new Pokemon. Two Pokemon parents can make an Egg if given some private time in Pokemon Daycare (or Pokemon Nursery in Generations VII and VIII).

How to know if two Pokemon can breed?

Before you drop Mom and Dad off for a (hopefully productive) date, you should check if they’re compatible. They should be of opposing genders. They should also share at least one Egg Group. If the Pokemon belong to the same Egg Group, it doesn’t matter if they’re the same species – they can breed anyway. You should know, though, that if the couple represents two different species, their baby will always be the same species as the Mom.

Ditto, the player

You could call Ditto a “universal donor” of sorts. This shape-shifting icon can breed with almost any Pokemon, no matter their species and Egg Group, including those with unknown gender.

This Pokemon essentially has only two limitations: it can’t breed with another Ditto, and it can’t breed with Pokemon in the No Eggs Discovered Egg Group. Besides, if you use Ditto to produce an Egg, you will always get a non-Ditto offspring.

How to obtain an egg

To start a process, leave a compatible pair of Pokemon in the Daycare. Chat with the Staff after doing so to figure out the chance of successful breeding. The Old Man might say that the two get along very well, which means a high chance of getting an egg (around 70%). The phrase “the two seem to get along” predicts a 50% possibility of breeding. If you hear that your Pokemon don’t seem to like each other much or prefer to play with others, you have a low or nonexistent chance of an egg.

Things work differently in Generation II: you have to speak to the Pokemon directly. You can hope for an egg when they “care for each other” (high chance!) or are “friendly.” “Shows interest” means low probability, and any other quote means the two won’t mate.

What can you do about an unenthusiastic response? It’s a bummer, but don’t give up. First, try to learn and understand the breeding rates. Having two Pokemon of the same species increases the likelihood of their producing an egg. When they have different Original Trainers, the chance is even higher.

An item called Oval Charm can help you increase the probability of creating an egg. For example, if you try to breed the same species and different OTs Pokemon with Oval Charm, the chance rises from 70% to 88%!

Waiting for an egg

When you finally have two compatible Pokemon in the Daycare, it’s time to go for a walk. You have an opportunity to get a randomly generated egg after every 256 steps, so get moving. If you don’t get it, stay patient and try walking again. You could jump on your bike. It will help to score the steps much faster.

There it is!

The Staff in the Daycare will let you know if your Pokemon conceived an egg. They do so by changing their behavior (for example, standing in the front yard), so check up on them during your walk.

When you have your egg, you have to wait for it to hatch. It’s best to go and busy yourself with something else because your Poke-baby will need a lot of steps to come out. Once you clock in enough steps, your egg will hatch. Do you want a tip? When you carry a Pokemon that has the Flame Body skill, your eggs will hatch faster.

Things to know

Some Pokemon might need to hold a specific insense to produce their baby versions. For example, Snorlax must have Full Insense to make Munchlax, and Mr. Mime needs to carry Odd Insense to make a Mime Jr.

If both parents know a move that could be leveled up, their baby will automatically learn that move. A baby Pokemon will also inherit a father’s TM (an item that teaches a Pokemon a move).

You can offer an Everstone to one of the parents if you want one of the parent Pokémon’s natures to be passed down. This ensures that the young Pokémon will have the same nature – as long as the Pokémon is the same species.

Which Pokemon are you? Find out!

There’s plenty more to know about Pokemon breeding, but we covered the basics of the basics. Are you ready for the challenge? It’s finally time. Take the quiz and test yourself to see how much you know about breeding a Pokemon! Can you produce a mighty little Poke-baby?