Pokemon Sword and Shield: How to Breed

Pokemon Sword and Shield retains much of the core formula that has stuck with the series since the beginning, and breeding is no exception.

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Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield have been out for just shy of a week now, and while there is plenty of new elements to uncover and explore throughout the Galar region it’s safe to say that the core formula of the series is still intact. For better or worse, a lot of the staple elements of the gameplay loop that Pokemon fans are familiar with are still present throughout Generation 8.

One of those staples of the Pokemon franchise that makes its return in Pokemon Sword and Shield is breeding. Breeding was introduced into the series all the way back in Generation 2 and has stuck around ever since. While the in-game lore doesn’t go too in-depth on the sciences of Pokemon giving birth, players can nonetheless get baby Pokemon in Sword and Shield. It’s just going to take a bit of effort.

The Basics of Breeding

On the surface, breeding in Pokemon has always been fairly simple, and it’s the same in Galar. Players take two Pokemon of the same egg group, leave them at the nursery on Route 5 or in the Bridge Field section of the Wild Area, and after enough in-game steps, players will receive an egg. However, breeding can also get intensely deep, with things like passing down egg moves, abilities, and individual values – also called IVs. For now, let’s just stick to the basics here.

As stated above, players will need to breed two Pokemon of the same egg group. The easiest way for players to check a Pokemon’s egg group using online resources like Bulbapedia or Seribii. To make things simpler though, there is one specific Pokemon that can breed with any other Pokemon, provided they are not a Mythical or Legendary Pokemon: Ditto.

Finding Ditto and Helpful Accessories

Finding Ditto is imperative to making breeding as seamless as possible. Thankfully, Ditto can be found in Galar. Unfortunately, players will probably have to have collected all eight of the gym badges in the game to actually find and catch Ditto. Ditto can be found in the portion of the Wild Area called the Lake of Outrage during any weather condition, usually being around level 55 or so.

Now that players have Ditto, there are some helpful items to get the most out of the nitty-gritty of breeding. First is the Oval Charm, which can be found during the post-game by defeating the NPC based on Game Freak designer Shigeki Morimoto inside Hotel Ionia in Circhester. To pass down Nature’s have the Pokemon of choice hold an Everstone, which can be found in a sparkling spot near Turrfield Stadium.

Although breeding can be time-consuming, it has its own sense of charm and payoff to it. Especially if players fully explore the depth that the breeding system has to offer. Though not every single Pokemon is present in Galar despite some creative fan efforts, there are still plenty of Pokemon to keep things interesting all throughout Generation 8.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are out now, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.

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