How to Train and Breed Pokemon

This is a guide to breeding and training the best Pokemon. Read on to learn how to breed strong Pokemon, how to train Pokemon fast, and how to get ideal, online battle-ready Pokemon in Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP).

All Training and Breeding Guides

Training and Breeding Guides
How to Breed Pokemon and Hatch Eggs	Nature and IV Breeding Guide
How to Level Up Fast	How to EV Train Fast
How to Reroll for Best Nature and IVs	How to Increase IVs
Pokerus Effects	Shiny Hunting Guide
How to Learn Egg Moves	How to Change a Pokemon's Nature
How to Check EVs	How to Check Pokemon IVs
How to Hatch Eggs Faster	How to Get Hidden Abilities
How to Catch High IV Pokemon	How to Increase Friendship

How to Breed

Useful Recommendations for Breeding
Judge Function	Proper Parents	Everstone
Items for IV Breeding	Flame Body or Magma Armor	Oval Charm for More Eggs

Breeding Basics

One of the first steps to preparing battle-ready Pokemon is learning to breed. This gives you the chance to hatch a Pokemon with the most potential to become the best version of itself.

In a nutshell, you'll need two Pokemon, of opposite genders, and of compatible egg groups. Make sure you are familiar with the fundamentals before moving on!

How to Breed Pokemon and Hatch Eggs

Judge Function

When trying for a strong Pokemon, you'll want to know if they have amazing potential as soon as they are hatched or caught. The Judge function gives you an idea of what IVs your Pokemon has in each stat.

Head to the Fight Area, and into the Battle Tower. Inside, you can talk to the man beside the east wall of the room near the PC. After talking to him, the Judge Function will become available in your Pokemon Boxes.

How to Check IVs (Judge Function)

Proper Parents

Parents with Egg Moves

Parent Pokemon
Squirtle ♀	Wooper ♂ Knows Yawn
Child Pokemon
Squirtle Knows Yawn

Sometimes, you will want to raise a Pokemon that has a move that can only be learned as an egg move. You'll need to plan out the proper parents needed to pass down the egg move you need.

When breeding, you'll need to put a male (♂) and a female (♀) Pokemon together in the Pokemon Nursery in Solaceon Town. The 2 Pokemon have to be from the same Egg Group to breed an Egg together. The male has to have the Egg Move in its learnset.

The resulting child Pokemon will be the same species as the female, but will have the Egg Move of the male Pokemon. Alternatively, you may also transfer egg moves without the need for breeding.

How to Learn Egg Moves

Hidden Ability Parents

When breeding for a Pokemon with a Hidden Ability, one of the parents needs to have the Hidden Ability you are going for. The best way to go about this would be to use the Poke Radar to find a Pokemon with the Hidden Ability.

Ability Patch	When used on a Pokémon, its Ability will change to its species’ Hidden Ability, if it has one.

Ability Patches allow you to change your Pokemon's ability to its Hidden Ability. They are available for a whopping 200 BP at the Battle Tower. This can be useful for both Parent Pokemon during the breeding process, and the final offspring, but is incredibly expensive and will take time to save up for.
How to Get Hidden Abilities

High IV Ditto

Getting a Ditto with high Individual Values will make breeding strong Pokemon a lot simpler, since Ditto can breed with any Pokemon and any gender, with the exception of Legendaries. Getting a Ditto with high IVs saves you from searching for Pokemon with high IVs from each Pokemon line.

How to Get Ditto and Learnset

Other High IV Parents

Searching for a High IV Ditto can be painstakingly difficult and require tremendous luck. As long as you aren't breeding for a Genderless Pokemon, you can also opt to use alternative High IV parents from the appropriate egg group.

Easiest High IV Parents for Breeding

Everstone for Passing Natures

Everstone	When a Pokemon holds an Everstone while breeding, the Pokemon will pass on its Nature to its offspring.

You'd want to have complete control over what Nature the offspring will have. Once you have the desired nature on the Pokemon you want, have it hold an Everstone to make sure it passes down its nature to the offspring.

While Mints can be used to affect the Stat Growth of Pokemon, they do not change a Pokemon's innate nature. You cannot breed down mint-altered natures.
How to Change a Pokemon's Nature

Items for IV Breeding

Destiny Knot

Destiny Knot	When a Pokemon holding Destiny Knot lays an egg, 5 out of 12 of the parent Pokemon's IVs will be passed down to the child Pokemon.

If one parent holds the Destiny Knot, 5 of the 12 IVs of both parents will be passed down to their offspring. Without it, only 3 of the 12 IVs of the parents will be passed down. This greatly improves the chances of better IVs being passed down.

You can obtain the Destiny Knot on Route 224, accessed by the blocked area of Victory Road that opens up in the post game.

Nature and IV Breeding Guide

Flame Body or Magma Armor

To hatch a Pokemon egg, you'll need to walk a certain number of steps. Luckily, there are a few ways that we can cut the number of steps in half.

You can add a Pokemon to your party with the abilities Flame Body or Magma Armor. This makes it easier for you to hatch Pokemon eggs faster.

Pokemon That Can Have Flame Body Ability

Pokemon with Flame Body
Ponyta	Rapidash	Magby
Magmar	Magmortar	Moltres
Slugma	Magcargo	Heatran

Pokemon That Can Have Magma Armor Ability

Pokemon with Magma Armor
Slugma	Magcargo	Camerupt

Keep in mind that these effects do not stack. You only need one or the other, and you don't need to have both.

To maximize efficiency, keep 5 slots of your party reserved for eggs with 1 Pokemon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in the lead. This will let you hatch as many eggs as possible in the least amount of time.

How to Hatch Eggs Faster

Oval Charm for More Eggs

The Oval Charm is an item that increases the chances of having an egg in the Pokemon Nursery. By keeping it in your bag, you are more likely to get eggs quicker, and thus hatch eggs quicker.

You can get the Oval Charm at Route 213 by defeating Morimoto, the man swimming in a pool, after becoming the Champion.

Oval Charm Effect and How to Get

How to Train

Useful Recommendations for Training
Pokerus	Items for EV Training	Vs. Seeker
Lucky Egg	Mints	Bottle Caps

EV Training Basics

Once you've hatched your desired Pokemon or caught a Legendary you want to train, you'll now want to raise it to it's full potential! By knocking out certain Pokemon, you can affect the stat growth of your Pokemon through EV Training.

Acquaint yourself with the best EV training spots and other helpful methods to fully optimize the EV training experience.

How to EV Train Fast and Reset EVs

Pokerus for EV Training

A Pokemon with Pokerus has its EV growth rate doubled and can pass it onto the other 5 members of the party. You can get a Pokemon with Pokerus fast by finding a person who has a Pokemon with Pokerus to online trade with, such as at our Pokerus Trading Board.

Pokerus Effects and How to Infect

Items for EV Training

Poke Radar

Chaining together encounters using the Poke Radar can give you an easier time to make sure you're battling against the Pokemon you want EVs from!

How to Use the Poke Radar and List of Pokemon

Power Items

Power Items are held items that increase the amount of EVs you receive per Pokemon defeated in battle.

Power Item	EV Boost
Power Bracer	+8 Attack EVs
Power Belt	+8 Defense EVs
Power Lens	+8 Special Attack EVs
Power Band	+8 Special Defense EVs
Power Anklet	+8 Speed EVs
Power Weight	+8 HP EVs
Macho Brace	x2 EVs of the Pokemon defeated

All of the above items can be purchased at the Battle Park for 10 BP each, except for the Macho Brace. The Macho Brace can be obtained in Pastoria City, in the house north of the Poke Mart. Have all 3 forms of Burmy in your party and show it to the Bug Catcher inside the house.

How to EV Train Fast and Reset EVs

Raise EVs with Vitamins

Other than defeating Pokemon, you may also choose to give your Pokemon Vitamins. Each Vitamin immediately gives a Pokemon 10 EVs in a certain stat.. Vitamins are available for purchase in the Veilstone City Department Store, or at the Battle Tower. You can use these Vitamins to boost Pokemon EVs to their maximum value.

Vitamin	Stat Boosted
HP Up	HP
Protein	Attack
Iron	Defense
Calcium	Special Attack
Zinc	Special Defense
Carbos	Speed

Vitamins cost 1 BP per bottle at the Battle Tower, but ₽9,800 per bottle at the Veilstone City Department Store. It will take a total of 53 BP to fully EV train a Pokemon using Vitamins, and a bank-breaking ₽519,400 when paying in cash. Hopefully you'll have enough of either.

How to Get Money Fast: Pokedollars Farming Guide

Vs. Seeker for Gaining EXP

The Vs. Seeker allows you to rematch enemy trainers which can be useful when grinding for EXP. Select the Vs. Seeker from the Key Items pocket of your bag. It will send out a signal to all trainers currently on your screen. If a trainer wants to rebattle, 2 yellow exclamation points (!!) will appear above them.

How to Use Vs. Seeker

Lucky Egg for Gaining EXP

Lucky Eggs are one of the items that help level up Pokemon quickly. Pokemon that hold Lucky Eggs earn 1.5x more experience points from battles. This will dramatically help you reach higher levels in less time.

The easiest way to obtain the Lucky Egg is by going underground at Acuity Lakefront and heading to the top-leftmost room in the underground map. Enter the room to Icy Cave, and the item can be picked up in the middle of the area.

How to Level Up Fast: EXP Farming Guide

Mints for Changing Nature

In the occassion that you cannot breed for a Pokemon's Nature (such as with Legendaries or other Event Pokemon), you can still affect the stat growth by giving Mints to your Pokemon. Use the appropriate Mint to give a boost to an important stat, and a decrease to a stat you care less about.

List of Mints

Synchronize

Alternatively, there is a way to catch Legendaries with the nature you want right off the bat. When a Pokemon with the Synchronize Ability is the lead Pokemon of the party, wild Pokemon encounters will have the same Nature as the lead Pokemon with Synchronize.

Synchronize Effect and Pokemon With this Ability

Bottle Caps for Hyper Training

Likewise, in the occassion where you cannot (or do not want to) breed for a Pokemon's IVs, you can instead opt for Hyper Training with the use of Bottle Caps. A Pokemon must be Level 100 before they are eligible for Hyper Training, though.

Bottle Caps can be picked up by high-level Pokemon with the Pickup ability, or bought from the Battle Tower for 25 BP each. A single Bottle Cap may be used to Hyper Train a stat's IV to its maximum potential. You'll have to earn a lot of BP to Hyper Train a lot of Pokemon.

Battle Tower Guide

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl Wiki

Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl Guides
Pokedex	Story Walkthrough
Maps and Locations	Grand Underground
Moves	Items
Abilities	Beginner's Tips & Guides
Training and Breeding	Battle Tower
Tier List & Movesets	Message Boards
News and Game Info	Characters

All Training and Breeding Guides

Training and Breeding Guides
How to Breed Pokemon and Hatch Eggs	Nature and IV Breeding Guide
How to Level Up Fast	How to EV Train Fast
How to Reroll for Best Nature and IVs	How to Increase IVs
Pokerus Effects	Shiny Hunting Guide
How to Learn Egg Moves	How to Change a Pokemon's Nature
How to Check EVs	How to Check Pokemon IVs
How to Hatch Eggs Faster	How to Get Hidden Abilities
How to Catch High IV Pokemon	How to Increase Friendship