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How to breed Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

How to breed Pokémon in Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl

A key tool in creating the perfect Pokémon, breeding returns in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Here's everything you need to know.

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Whether you want to complete your Pokédex or breed the perfect competitive Pokémon, breeding is a key feature in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl.

Here's what you need to know.

Breeding Pokémon: The Basics

In order to breed Pokémon, you need to leave two Pokémon in the Nursery in Solaceon Town. This will set you back 500 Pokédollars 

After some time, the Pokémon will produce an Egg. However, the following must be observed for this to work:

  • Typically, you must leave a male and a female Pokémon
  • The Pokémon must be of the same Egg Group

For example, a Pikachu and a Clefairy can mate, because they both belong to the Fairy Egg Group. However, a Pikachu and a Gastly cannot mate, as the Gastly is from the Amorphous Egg Group.

The Egg produced will always take the form of the female. So, if you left a male Clefairy to mate with a female Pikachu, you'd get a Pikachu Egg.

Inside the Nursery in Solaceon Town

Ditto: The Secret Weapon

This little purple blob can assume the form of almost any Pokémon in the game, and that can be used to your advantage when it comes to breeding.

While Ditto cannot breed with Pokémon in the Undiscovered Egg Group, nor another Ditto, it can replace any breedable Pokémon.

Ditto can also bypass the gender rule, breeding with Pokémon that are neither male or female. This group includes the likes of Rotom and Metagross.

As such, some Pokémon can only be bred using a Ditto.

Check out our guide on obtaining Ditto.

Ditto, the most useful Pokémon for breeding

Egg Groups

Barring a few exceptions, Pokémon must be of the same group to breed. Otherwise, they'll just stay in the Nursery gaining levels, with no Eggs ever produced.

Check out our guide below for a full list of Egg Groups and Pokémon.

As mentioned in the Egg Group guide, the Undiscovered Egg Group contains mostly Legendary or Mythic Pokémon, as well as Baby Pokémon.

The difference between this group and the others is that the Undiscovered Egg Group cannot breed.

Putting these into the Nursery will result in nothing, apart from level growth.

Manaphy is a rare exception to breeding rules

Pokémon Breeding Exceptions

There are some cases in which the normal rules apply.

The first of these is with Volbeat and Illumise, in which Eggs produced can contain either of the Pokémon. So, you could leave a female Illumise, but still end up with a Volbeat Egg, and vice versa.

The Mythical Pokémon Manaphy can breed, using a Ditto, but you'll obtain a Phione Egg as a result and not a Manaphy Egg.  

Breeding Baby Pokémon Eggs

Finally, while the Baby Pokémon are part of the Undiscovered Egg group and cannot breed themselves, you can create Baby Pokémon Eggs by using specific parents holding a certain item.

For example, to create an Azurill Egg, you'll need to have Azumarill or Marill hold a Sea Incense before you put it into the Nursery.

The easiest way to do this is to use Ditto with the target Pokémon. 

Azurill

Normal / Fairy

Have Marill or Azumarill hold a Sea Incense.

Budew

Poison / Grass

Have Roselia or Roserade hold a Rose Incense.

Chingling

Psychic

Have Chimecho hold a Pure Incense.

Munchlax

Normal

Have Snorlax hold a Full Incense.

Wynaut

Psychic

Have Wobbuffet hold a Lax Incense.

Happiny

Normal

Have Chansey or Blissey hold a Luck Incense.

Mantyke

Water / Flying

Have Mantine hold a Wave Incense.

Bonsly

Rock

Have Sudowoodo hold a Rock Incense.

Mime Jr.

Psychic / Fairy

Have Mr. Mime hold an Odd Incense.

How to hatch an Egg in Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl

After some time has passed, return to Solaceon Town and speak to the old man outside the Nursery. If ready, he'll give you an Egg.

An easier way to check if an Egg is available is using the Egg Monitor app for your Pokétch. 

To get it, leave two Pokémon in the Nursery, leave, then head back inside. There'll be a man sitting on a chair - he'll give you the app.

Get your Egg from the old man outside the Nursery.
Get the Egg Monitor app from this man inside the Nursery.

Now all you need to do is walk around. After an indeterminable number of steps, you'll be interrupted and the Egg will hatch.

There are two ways you can speed up obtaining Eggs and hatching them.

Get the Oval Charm

This is available once you've become Champion. Head to Route 213, and find the Hotel Grand Lake. 

Here, a man named Morimoto will challenge you to a battle. Win, and you'll get the Oval Charm. His team is as follows:

  • Spiritomb (Ghost/Dark), Level 63
  • Ambipom (Normal), Level 64
  • Hippowdon (Ground), Level 64
  • Vaporeon (Water), Level 65
  • Jolteon (Electric), Level 65
  • Flareon (Fire), Level 65

Having this item in your inventory will increase your chances of your Pokémon producing an Egg.

Obtain Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor Abilities

It's a known fact that eggs in the natural world need heat in order to hatch, and there's two Pokémon abilities that can greatly speed up the process.

Flame Body (an ability that burns enemy Pokémon on contact) and Magma Armor (an ability that prevents a Pokémon from freezing) both reduce the number of steps needed for an Egg to hatch. 

Look for the following Pokémon:

Magby

Found in the Grand Underground

- Sandsear Cave
- Typhlo Cavern
- Volcanic Cave

Slugma

Found in Tall Grass or Cave

- Stark Mountain Entrance
- Stark Mountain Interior

Found in the Grand Underground

- Sandsear Cave
- Typhlo Cavern
- Volcanic Cave

Camerupt

Evolve from Numel at Level 33

Found in Tall Grass or Cave

- Route 227
- Stark Mountain
- Stark Mountain Entrance
- Stark Mountain Interior

Found in the Grand Underground

- Big Bluff Cavern
- Rocky Cave
- Sandsear Cave
- Typhlo Cavern
- Volcanic Cave

Stay tuned for our guide to advanced breeding, for those who want Pokémon with perfect IVs! 

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David Duffy
David W. Duffy

Editor in Chief, MGG EN | Repatriated Geordie, former teacher, grammarian. Editor of many things for a decade and a half, most of which you've probably never heard of.

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