Pokémon Gold and Silver - Breeding Guide

Pokémon eggs are a new feature in Pokémon Gold and Silver. The Day-Care Center in Route 34 is where eggs can be discovered. To start, give a male Pokémon to the Day-Care Man and a female Pokémon to the Day-Care Lady (or vice-versa). If the conditions are right, the player will receive an egg eventually.

Egg Waiting Time

X depends on the species and trainer ID of the Pokémon (The Pokémon's OT names are not considered):

• Same species, different ID: X=254 ("It appears to care for [name].")
• Same species, same ID: X=177 ("It's friendly with [name].")
• Different species, different ID: X=128 ("It's friendly with [name].")
• Different species, same ID: X=51 ("It shows interest in [name].")

X will be 0 if the Pokémon are incompatible ("It has no interest in [name]"), that is, if one or both of the Pokémon are genderless, both have the same gender, or both species don't share the same "egg group". However, one of the Pokémon can be a Ditto (but not both) and the couple will remain compatible. X will also be 0 if either or both Pokémon belong in the "no eggs" egg group ("It has no interest in [name]"), or if both Pokémon have the same Defense DV and both Pokémon's Special DVs are the same or are 8 apart from each other ("It's brimming with energy"). (This includes cases where both Pokémon are shiny Pokémon.) A Ditto won't make the couple compatible in these cases.

After two compatible Pokémon are placed in the Day-Care, with every step the player takes there is an X/131072 chance that an egg will be ready.

The baby will be calculated as soon as an egg is taken or rejected from the Day-Care Man, or when two compatible Pokémon are placed in the Day-Care.

After an egg is received, an "egg counter" for that egg is set to the "steps to hatch egg" divided by 256. Every 256 steps the player walks**, the game reduces the "egg counter" of each egg in the player's party by 1. If an egg's "egg counter" reaches 0 or less, it hatches, and the "egg counters" of eggs that follow it in order in the player's party are not reduced. When an egg hatches, its trainer ID and OT name change to those of the player, and the player will be allowed to nickname the newly hatched Pokémon.

• Egg counter is 41 or greater: "This EGG needs a lot more time to hatch." 10,241 through 65,280 Steps
• Egg counter is 11-40: "Wonder what's inside? It needs more time, though." 2,561 through 10,240 Steps
• Egg counter is 6-10: "It moves around inside sometimes. It must be close to hatching." 1,281 through 2,560 Steps
• Egg counter is 5 or less: "It's making sounds inside. It's going to hatch soon!" 0 through 1,280 Steps

**Internally checks 128 steps before and after each 512-step happiness check.

Species

Moves

The baby begins at level 5 and initially has all moves it would have at level 5. The baby can inherit other moves from its parents, in the order in which the father's moves are listed:

• The baby will inherit a move if the father* knows it and it's an egg move for the baby's species; if the father* knows the move and it can be taught to the baby's species through a TM or HM, or, in Pokémon Crystal, through the Move Tutor; or if both parents know the move and the baby's species could learn it by leveling up.

If the baby would have more than four moves this way, moves from the top of the list are deleted and all duplicates except the last are removed until four moves remain.

*In these two cases, if one of the parents is a Ditto, moves can be inherited even if the other parent is genderless, but not if the other parent is female.

DVs

The baby inherits its DVs from Ditto, if one exists, otherwise from the mother if the baby is male, or the father if the baby is female. DVs are inherited as follows:

• Baby's Attack DV: random, from 0 through 15
• Baby's Defense DV: Parent's Defense DV
• Baby's Speed DV: random, from 0 through 15
• Baby's Special DV: (Either 0 or 8, random) + (Remainder of the Parent's Special DV divided by 8)