How to Breed Pokemon and Hatch Eggs

Learn the basics of breeding Pokemon and hatching eggs to make the most out of the Pokemon Nursery! Read on to have a basic understanding of the breeding mechanics in Pokemon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl (BDSP).

Pokemon Breeding Guides
How to Breed Pokemon and Hatch Eggs	Nature and IV Breeding Guide	How to Hatch Eggs Faster

How to Breed and Hatch Pokemon

Leave Pokemon with the Nursery Lady

By depositing a pair of Male and Female Pokemon from the same egg group at the Nursery in Solaceon Town, they will have the chance to breed and produce eggs.

Get Eggs from the Nursery Man

After some time, you could eventually receive an egg from the Nursery Man. If you see him facing the road, this is an indicator that an Egg is available for you to claim.

The Egg Monitor Poketch App

After leaving two Pokemon at the Nursery, you can exit and re-enter the building to find a man sitting by the table. He will give you the Egg Monitor Poketch App that will let you check if an Egg is available at the Nursery even if you are far away.

All Poketch App Locations

Hatch Eggs by Walking With the Egg in Your Party

After collecting your egg, you'll want to hatch it! Make sure to have the Egg in your party and as you travel the Sinnoh Region, your Egg will hatch once you've taken enough steps!

Ride Up and Down Route 209, Solaceon Town, and Route 210

Conveniently placed just beside the Pokemon Nursery is a long road that stretches from Route 209 to Route 210.

You can use this to your advantage and ride your bike up and down this road (starting from beside the Hallowed Tower in Route 209 up to the Cafe Cabin in Route 210) to hatch Pokemon eggs faster. You won't encounter any wild Pokemon while doing this so it's really neat!

Ride in Circles

You may also choose to ride your bike in circles just in front of the Nursery Man.

Basic Breeding Mechanics

The Two Pokemon Have To Be From the Same Egg Groups

Every Pokemon is part of at least one Egg Group. Pokemon who belong in the same Egg Group are compatible for breeding.

Egg Group Compatibility
Chimchar (Field / Human-Like)	These two can breed. They both belong to the Human-Like Egg Group.	Machop ( Human-Like)
Chimchar (Field / Human-Like)	These two can breed. They both belong to the Field Egg Group.	Shinx (Field)
Shinx (Field)	These two cannot breed. They don't share a common Egg Group.	Machop ( Human-Like)

As an example, Chimchar belongs to the Field and Human-Like egg groups. This means that it can breed with Pokemon such as Shinx (who is also in the Field Egg Group) or Machop (who is also in the Human-Like Egg Group). However, Shinx and Machop cannot breed since they are from different egg groups.

List of All Egg Groups

The Two Pokemon Must Have Opposite Genders

Once you find two Pokemon who are part of the same egg group, you need to make sure they have opposite genders. Eggs produced by this pair will always produce offspring that matches the female's species.

Gender Compatibility
Chimchar (Male, Field / Human-Like)	These two can breed. They will produce Shinx Eggs.	Shinx ( Female, Field)
Shinx (Male, Field)	These two can breed. They will produce Chimchar Eggs	Chimchar (Female, Field / Human-Like)
Shinx (Female, Field)	These two cannot breed. They don't have opposite genders.	Chimchar ( Female, Human-Like)

As an example, a Male Chimchar and a Female Shinx will produce Shinx Eggs. While a Female Chimchar and a Male Shinx will produce Chimchar Eggs.

While the Female Parent's species affects the egg's species, any compatible Egg Moves that the Male Parent has can be passed down to the offspring.

How to Learn Egg Moves

Special Requirements

Some Baby Pokemon can only be hatched from eggs if their parents hold a specific item. Below is a list of the Baby Pokemon that require specific parents and items.

Female Parent	Held Item	Offspring
Roselia Roserade	Rose Incense (Found on Route 212)	Budew
Sudowoodo	Rock Incense (Found in Fuego Ironworks)	Bonsly
Mr. Mime	Odd Incense (Found in the Solaceon Ruins)	Mime Jr.
Snorlax	Full Incense (Found in Veilstone City)	Munchlax
Mantine	Wave Incense (Found in Route 210 North)	Mantyke
Wobbuffet	Lax Incense (Found in Route 225)	Wynaut
Chansey Blissey	Luck Incense (Found in the Ravaged Path)	Happiny
Marill Azumarill	Sea Incense (Found in Route 204 South)	Azurill
Chimecho	Pure Incense (Found in Route 221)	Chingling

Other Tips That Help With Breeding

You can also use a Ditto

Ditto

If you're having trouble keeping track of Egg Groups and Genders, you may instead choose to use a Ditto. Ditto's are incredibly useful for breeding, as you can reproduce most Pokemon if you pair them with a Ditto at the Nursery.

Ditto can breed with any Pokemon from any Egg Group except the Undiscovered Egg Group and other Dittos. They can breed with either gender as well, and can even breed with Pokemon without genders such as Rotom or Metagross.

How to Get Ditto

Get the Oval Charm to Receive Eggs more Frequently

Having an Oval Charm in your bag can also help you hatch eggs quickly. The Oval Charm is an item that you can acquire that increases the chances of having an egg in the Pokemon Nursery.

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

Have a Pokemon with the Flame Body or Magma Armor Ability to Hatch Eggs Faster

Pokemon with Flame Body or Magma Armor
Magby (Can have Flame Body)	Slugma (Can have either Flame Body or Magma Armor)	Camerupt (Can have Magma Armor)

Having a Pokemon with the Flame Body or Magma Armor abilities in your party greatly lessens the steps needed to hatch the Egg.

How to Hatch Eggs Faster

Learn about Advanced Breeding Techniques

While this guide covers the basics of breeding, you may want to learn how to breed and train your Pokemon to be the strongest they can be. Check out our guides on How to Breed and Hatch Strong Pokemon and How to Train and Breed Pokemon guides to go more in-depth.

How to Breed and Hatch Strong Pokemon

Pokemon BDSP Related Guides

Training and Breeding

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