Breeding Mechanics

Getting Eggs

Breeding Pokémon has been a large part of Pokémon since Generation II and once again Pokémon Scarlet & Violet include it with some additions. First off, the breeding mechanics are the same as they were in prior games with the way moves, natures, abilities are passed onto the offspring (Click here for details), but this time, there are no Day care Centres or Nurseries to put your Pokémon in. Instead, when you go into a Picnic with two compatible Pokémon, you will have a chance to find an Egg in the Picnic Basket over time. Just walk around your picnic area, or even just wait, and eventually one will appear. The speed of this can be boosted with Egg Powers. You may also get items in this manner if a Hidden Item is nearby. If you have no Egg Power, it will check for items every time it checks before deciding on egg, but if you have an Egg Power it will do it every 6th check, with a 33.6% chance of finding an item each time

Species	OT	Egg Power	Seconds per Check	Base Egg Rate	Effective Egg Rate
Different	Same	None	60 Seconds	3%	1.99%
		Lv. 1	10 Seconds	15%	14.16%
		Lv. 2	10 Seconds	21%	19.82%
		Lv. 3	10 Seconds	30%	28.32%
Both either Identical or Different		None	60 Seconds	6%	3.99%
		Lv. 1	10 Seconds	30%	28.32%
		Lv. 2	10 Seconds	42%	39.64%
		Lv. 3	10 Seconds	60%	56.63%
Same	Different	None	60 Seconds	8%	5.31%
		Lv. 1	10 Seconds	40%	37.76%
		Lv. 2	10 Seconds	56%	52.86%
		Lv. 3	10 Seconds	80%	75.51%

If you have multiple Pokémon compatible, then you will get eggs from all the possible pairs during this so be sure to focus your team if you're trying to get specific Pokémon. There is a trick around this however. If you attach the Destiny Knot or Everstone to the Pokémon in your team that you want to breed, it will lock them in, so if you're trying to breed a Meowscarada with a Ditto, put a Destiny Knot on the Meowscarada and it'll be the only Pokémon on your team to breed with the Ditto. If you have multiple female and/or Ditto Pokémon on your team, Destiny Knot will also help lock them in. If you put a Destiny Knot on multiple eligible male Pokémon or female Pokémon, then you will receive no eggs

A small inclusion is that if you are in camp with other players and their Pokémon are in the camp, then their Pokémon may breed with yours as well.

Another change is that Pokémon that previously required Incense to hatch their Baby Pokémon offspring no longer require it, so breeding Marill will always result in an Azurill Egg.

Passing Egg Moves

Pokémon Sword & Shield initially added a mechanic where parents can pass Egg Moves between eachother. This meant that if your Pokémon has a spare move slot and is in with a Pokémon of the same species which knows one of its Egg Moves, then it too will gain that Egg Move.

Pokémon Scarlet & Violet takes this even further. Now, a Pokémon can in fact learn one of its Egg Moves from ANY other Pokémon it is in the Picnic with. To do this, the Pokémon wanting to get the Egg Move just needs to hold the Mirror Herb item. When it has it, it will learn the moves from any Pokémon, regardless of if it is the same gender, species or even in the same Egg Group.