After taking a break from Pokémon: Legends Arceus, breeding is back in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! However, while hatching Eggs is mostly the same, there are a few key differences. Unlike Sword & Shield, hunting for wild Shiny Pokémon is much easier than hatching Eggs in terms of difficulty — so feel free to choose whichever method you like without worrying too much about odds.
Obtaining a Ditto
The toughest part of using the Masuda Method in Scarlet and Violet is obtaining a foreign Ditto. Sure, you can trade — but it might take a little while to get that set up. If for some reason you own two Nintendo Switch consoles from two different countries, you can obtain a Ditto by searching in the West Province areas. In this game, Ditto actually disguises itself as other wild Pokémon. Try to encounter as many as possible to reveal one of them is actually Ditto in disguise!
If your foreign Ditto’s IVs aren’t perfect, don’t worry! Scarlet and Violet makes changing a Pokémon’s nature and stats via Bottle Caps easier than ever before. In fact, all you need to do so is money — no more BP. This means you can safely use an “imperfect” foreign Ditto, and then patch up your Shiny Pokémon’s own imperfections later on with just a bit of grinding. That shouldn’t be too tough! Alternatively, you can look on certain auction sites for players selling foreign Ditto for cheap, but this might not be the most reliable method. If you do manage to obtain a foreign Ditto with good IVs, be sure to give it a Destiny Knot to hold.
Party Setup & Hatching
Unlike in previous games, there’s no Day-Care Center in Scarlet and Violet! In a way, you’re now your own Day-Care Center. To start receiving Eggs, place your Ditto and the Pokémon you want to breed as the only two members of your party. Then, set up Pokémon Picnic and start waiting! In this game, Eggs automatically appear in the basket. You don’t need to take steps! Continue to gather Eggs and they’ll automatically appear in your PC Boxes.
You might notice it takes a while for Eggs to start appearing. That’s because there’s no Oval Charm in this game! Instead, make a Great Peanut Butter Sandwich with bananas, peanut butter, and butter (one of each) to receive Egg Power Lv. 2. Egg Power Lv. 3 requires more expensive materials and isn’t that much better than Lv. 2, so making a Great Peanut Butter Sandwich is the best balance of resources and efficiency. It lasts for 30 minutes, so stand by the basket and wait for Eggs as soon as you finish making the sandwich.
It’s important to note that only ten Eggs can be in the basket at once. Wait for around 5 minutes with Egg Power active, and you’ll likely reach that number. We’d recommend watching TV or videos in the background while you wait, but don’t lose track of time! Each time you receive an Egg, it goes right to your PC regardless of your party size. Make sure you closed your PC Boxes while looking at the box you want your Eggs to be sent to.
Once you’ve put together a sizeable number of Eggs (we recommend gathering enough to fill about two boxes), you can fill up your party with them and start running around. As with previous generations, a Pokémon with the Flame Body Ability will help you hatch Eggs faster. Pokémon like Coalossal or Talonflame work great for this role! Continue running around hatching Eggs until you’ve gone through all of the Eggs in your PC Boxes. Then, you can put Ditto and its partner back in your party, set up another Pokémon Picnic, and repeat the process.
Customizing your Shiny Pokémon
Of course, it’s probably best to plan out the Shiny Pokémon you want to hatch before you rush right into things. When your Shiny Pokémon finally hatches, you’ll still be able to change its moves, nature, and IVs. One thing you can’t change, however, is the Poké Ball it’s caught in. You’ll want to catch your parent Pokémon in a Poké Ball that matches its Shiny form. For example, Shiny Lechonk is pink. A Heal Ball (or Dream Ball, if you’re feeling ambitious) would match this color scheme.
Standard Poké Balls, including ones like Dusk Balls and Repeat Balls, are available for sale as they’ve always been. Apricorn balls like Fast Balls and Heavy Balls are also available as Pokédex completion rewards. That being said, Apricorn balls are in short supply, so make sure you save before you try using them! Unlike Sword and Shield, we don’t have Yamper with its Ball Fetch Ability to pick up rare Poké Balls that fail to catch a Pokémon.
Egg moves are back this time, too, but they work a little differently. If you realize you’ve hatched a Shiny Pokémon that’s missing an Egg move you wanted, don’t worry! Find any other Pokémon with the desired move, give a Mirror Herb both to the Pokémon you want to learn the move, and then set up a picnic. If done correctly, your Shiny Pokémon will learn its proper Egg move. Remember, the Shiny Pokémon must have a move slot open. Make sure to delete one! If it has all four move slots occupied, this might not work.
Other Helpful Information
If you’re hatching Eggs via the Masuda Method without the Shiny Charm (awarded to players who complete their regional Pokédex), your odds are roughly 1 in 683. If you do have the Shiny Charm, your odds are boosted to 1 in 512. These odds are the same as they were in Sword and Shield. It’s probably okay to hatch for Shiny Pokémon even if you don’t have the Shiny Charm — the difference in odds is noticeable, but it’s not that bad.
As usual, it’s best not to focus solely on Shiny hunting. It gets rather boring, so as mentioned before we’d recommend watching TV or a YouTube video in the background. Don’t get too distracted, though, as Pokémon now appear Shiny in the overworld. You’ll have to keep a close eye out on Pokémon you pass to make sure you don’t accidentally gloss over a random Shiny! Deerling, in particular, is tough to spot — if it has a pink flower instead of a yellow one, it’s Shiny. That being said, the best place to hatch Eggs is a large town like Porto Marinada or Alfornada. That way, wild Pokémon won’t bother you.
From this point forward, your odds of hatching a Shiny Pokémon are all up to chance. If you’re using the Masuda Method and the Shiny Charm, you’ve maximized your odds. All you can do now is be patient and keep at it! Hatching Shiny Pokémon can be a lengthy process, depending on your luck. If you have any questions on how to efficiently hatch Shiny Pokémon, feel free to join our Discord server. Good luck!
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