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, team members in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet (SV).

All Training and Breeding Guides

How to Breed

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.

Since Generation 3, a Stats Judge can be found in the post game of every mainline Pokemon Game. They allow you to check IVs of your Pokemon via something called the Judge Function. The Judge Function can only be unlocked when you've finished all three stories and the final story, The Way Home, and the credits roll.

If you haven't unlocked the Judge Function yet, try our IV Checker and Calculator to confirm the IVs of Pokemon you have caught to see how they stack up before adding them to your team.
How to Check IVs (Judge Function)

Proper Parents

Parents with Egg Moves

Parent Pokemon
Eiscue (Ice Face) ♀ (Water 1 and Field Egg Group)	Zangoose ♂ (Field Egg Group) Knows Belly Drum
Child Pokemon
Eiscue (Ice Face) Knows Belly Drum

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 female (♀) Pokemon and a male (♂) Pokemon of the same Egg Group or a Ditto together in your party, then you must initiate a Picnic in order to generate Eggs. The male has to have the Egg Move in its moveset if there is any you want to pass on.

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 using a Mirror Herb.

How to Learn and Transfer 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.

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. 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 and Breed for Hidden Abilities

High IV Ditto

Getting a 5IV Ditto or a 6IV Ditto will make breeding strong Pokemon a lot simpler, since Ditto can breed with any Pokemon and any gender, with the exception of Pokemon from the Undiscovered Egg Group. Getting a Ditto with high IVs saves you from searching for Pokemon with high IVs from each Pokemon line.

Don't Know What IVs Are? Click to Learn More

Items for Nature and IV Breeding

Certain items can affect which Nature and IVs get passed down to the Pokemon you are trying to breed for. Namely, they're the Everstone and the Destiny Knot respectively.

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

Destiny Knot to Pass Down IVs

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.

Nature and IV Breeding Guide

Flame Body, Magma Armor, or Steam Engine

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 either Flame Body, Magma Armor, or Steam Engine. This makes it easier for you to hatch Pokemon eggs faster.

Pokemon with Flame Body
Carkol	Coalossal	Fletchinder	Talonflame
Pokemon with Steam Engine
Rolycoly	Carkol	Coalossal	-

Keep in mind that these effects do not stack. You only need one Pokemon with any of the three abilities. Having one is enough! To maximize efficiency, keep 5 slots of your party reserved for eggs with 1 Pokemon with the Hatching Ability in the lead. This will let you hatch as many eggs as possible in the least amount of time.

How to Hatch Eggs Faster

Make Sandwiches with Egg Power to Obtain Eggs more Frequently

Having the effects of the Egg Power Meal Power will help you obtain more eggs. The Jam Sandwich recipe, one of the first recipes you get, has this meal power. So while it technically doesn't help you hatch eggs faster, it helps you get Eggs faster.

How to Train

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.

Items for EV Training

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

How to EV Train Fast

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 and can be used 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

List of Vitamins

Earn EXP Faster

Relying on wild-encounters to gain EXP makes grinding for levels extra difficult. We recommend doing rematches against strong trainers, or farming EXP Candies from Tera Raid Battles.

Here's a Guide on Tera Raid Battles

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.
How to Get a Lucky Egg

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

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 welcome change is that a Pokemon only needs to be Level 50 before they are eligible for Hyper Training (previously requiring Lv. 100).

Bottle Caps can be purchased from Delibird Presents after the 6th Gym is cleared. A single Bottle Cap may be used to Hyper Train a stat's IV to its maximum potential. You'll have to collect a lot of Bottle Caps to Hyper Train a lot of Pokemon.

You may also get Gold Bottle Caps which maximizes all of a Pokemon's IVs at once!
How to Get Bottle Caps

Best EV Training Locations

Every Pokemon you defeat can give you EVs, but you can efficiently raise your Pokemon's EVs if you train at a certain location while only aiming to defeat specific Pokemon.

Best EV Training Locations
HP EVs	Attack EVs
Defense EVs	Special Attack EVs
Special Defense EVs	Speed EVs

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Related Guides

Game8 Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Wiki Front

All Categories
Pokedex	Story Walkthrough
Train and Breed	Tera Raids
Tier List	Movesets & Best Builds
Competitive Battle	Rental Teams
Maps and Locations	Tips and Tricks
Moves	Abilities
Items	Sandwiches and Recipes
Clothes and Accessories	Game Mechanics
Characters	News and Game Info
The Teal Mask DLC	The Indigo Disk DLC
Ditto Trading Board (30208)