Breeding is one activity Pokémon Sword & Shield doesn’t really explain. There’s a lot new players won’t know about breeding, or about hatching eggs. I had a lot of questions when I first started. How long does it take to hatch an egg? Is there a way to speed up incubation? Which Pokémon can breed with other Pokémon?
Breeding is so random that the only way to get the best possible Pokémon is to breed lots and lots of them. If you’re looking for a Pokémon with the best possible head-start, you’ll need to make lots of eggs, and players have shared tons of tips to help speed up the breeding process. In Sword & Shield, there’s a few unique wrinkles to the process that makes egg breeding even easier (and faster!) than before.
More Pokémon Sword & Shield guides:
How To Evolve All The New Galar Region Pokémon | Evolution Guide | What’s Exclusive To Each Version? | How To Catch Shiny Pokémon | Pick This Starter Pokémon For An Early Advantage | How To Easily Evolve Farfetch’d Into Sirfetch’d | Brilliant Aura System | How To Catch Improved Pokemon | Combo & Ultimate Moves | Move Tutor Locations | How To Catch Pokemon Easier | False Swipe & Hypnosis Guide
#1: Breeding is easiest in the Wild Area. Find the Pokémon Breeder at the Pokémon Nursery in the Bridge Field area. From here, you can check out lots of other activities while waiting for your Pokémon to breed. Just drop off your faves and wait for eggs.
#2: Switch to Local instead of Online! Being online slows down travel, causing the game to chug as online players are loaded into the map. Turn off online by pressing [Y] to open the Y-Comm menu.
#3: Pokémon Breeding & Hatching are both based on steps. The more ‘steps’ you take, the faster you’ll breed / hatch. Talk to nearby Rotom Rally NPC and select to ride to the Meetup Spot and back to earn lots of Watts while you wait.
#4: Pokémon with the ability ‘Flame Body’ will cause eggs to hatch faster! Just have a Pokémon in your party with this ability. Litwick is one Pokémon with this ability.
#5: You can upgrade your bike with three speed boost levels. Look for NPCs — for 1,000 / 3,000 / 5,000 watts, you can speed up how fast you’ll earn bike boost. When your bike sparks, press [B] to boost!
#6: Look for the Pokémon Breeder NPC at the front door. If she has eggs ready for you, she’ll place a hand on her face / near her hat. That’s her signal for you to talk to her. No need to pester her until you see this animation.
#7: You can catch a Ditto at the Lake of Outrage location in the Wilds. Ditto is one of the best Pokémon for breeding — it can breed with any other Pokémon, so dropping one off at the Nursery can get you eggs easy. And you can easily trade a Ditto of your own for another region’s ditto.
