IV Breeding - Chapter 2. Section 3B.

Continued from Section 3A.

Hatching methods=============================================================

Soft Reset Method---------------------------------------------------------

This method is based on the fact that in Emerald, Diamond and Pearl, gender, nature (personality) and ability (trait) are already set (locked) as soon as the egg is created, before you take it. That means that if you save exactly before taking the egg and then soft reset, the Pokémon inside the egg will have the same gender, nature and ability if you load again.

1. Save in front of the Day Care man.
2. Take the egg.
3. Bike on the breeding route.
4. Ignore the next egg proposed to you by the Day Care man.
5. Hatch the egg.
6. Check the newly hatched Pokémon to see whether it does have the desired gender, nature and ability and
* If it doesn't have the desired gender/nature/ability, save in front of the Day Care man again (there should be another egg waiting for you, which was produced while you hatched the first one) and repeat the process until you get a suitable baby.
* If it does have the desired gender/nature/ability, but it doesn't have the desired IVs, soft reset the game (START+SELECT+A+B) and take the egg again (gender/nature/ability won't change, only the IVs), hatch and check the IVs, repeat the process until you get the IVs you want.

Pros:

* The gender, nature and ability you want are set in stone.

* This method is useful to get a female Pokémon with the right nature and a few perfect IVs.

* It is also useful if the parents don't like each other much.

Cons:

* Not many babies are bred and checked using this method, which means that it can get hard to get the right IVs when there isn't a high probability.

* This method does not suit persons who care about game time more than anything else.

It is recommended that this method is used in the beginning, when the probabilities to get the IVs you want are still relatively high (like when getting 1 or 2 flawless IVs). Alternatively, you can use this method when you're trying to get a female parent with the right nature. If you want to breed for 3 flawless IVs or more, where the probability of getting the desired IVs is less than 1 in 50, the running method is recommended.

Running Method-----------------------------------------------------------------

Using this method, Pokémon are hatched and checked regularly while having five eggs in your team.

The following is the exact process for Pokémon having egg counter 40 in Emerald:

1. Take the first egg.
2. Bike:
-A. 66 steps to the left, to Vendanturf Town
-B. 134 steps to the right, to the stone at Route 118
-C. 134 steps to the left
-D. 134 steps to the right
-E. 134 steps to the left
-F. 134 steps to the right
-G. 134 steps to the left
-H. 134 steps to the right
-I. 134 steps to the left
-J. 134 steps to the right
3. Take another egg.
4. Repeat this process until you have five eggs.

As you start, some of the eggs will hatch before you have five eggs, but after a while, the first egg will then always hatch after you hit (10), exactly two steps before the boy standing on route 118 (seven steps away form the right end of the Breeding route). This is exactly 1279 steps after taking the fifth egg.

Now, go to the Pokemon center at Mauville City, choose the option "Deposit" in Lanette's PC and check the baby (use you level 5 max stats paper) and either release it or, if it looks promising, save in front of the PC and Rare Candy it to get a better view of the IVs.

If the baby has better IVs than one of its parents, deposit the four eggs, get the fifth, switch the baby with the appropriate parent, go to the PC in the Day Care, release the old parent, get the other 4 eggs and continue.

The following is the full process for Pokémon having egg counter 20 in Emerald:

1. Take the first egg.
2. Bike:
-A. 66 steps to the left, to Vendanturf Town
-B. 134 steps to the right, to the stone at Route 118
-C. 134 steps to the left
-D. 134 steps to the right
-E. 134 steps to the left
-F. 134 steps to the right
3. Take another egg.
4. Repeat this process until you have five eggs.

After a while, the first egg will always hatch 31 steps away from the right end of the breeding route, which is a few steps before the Pokémon Center in Mauville City.

This is the full process for Pokémon having egg counter 10 in Emerald:

1. Take the first egg.
2. Bike:
-A. 66 steps to the left, to Vendanturf Town
-B. 134 steps to the right, to the stone at Route 118
-C. 134 steps to the left
-D. 134 steps to the right
3. Take another egg.
4. Repeat this process until you have five eggs.

Take the next egg. The first few eggs will hatch before you have five in your team, but you have to ride those four lengths (1), (2), (3) and (4) nonetheless. After a while, the first egg will always hatch at the same place. When you're done with the four lengths, go straight to the Pokemon center at Mauville City. The egg will hatch two steps away from the PC.

Using this method, you breed:

* Around 25 to 26 eggs an hour for egg counter 40 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 137 to 140 seconds (2 minutes 20 seconds) to hatch.

* Around 34 to 35 eggs an hour for egg counter 20 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 102 to 105 seconds (1 minute 45 seconds) to hatch.

* Around 42 to 43 eggs an hour for egg counter 10 Pokémon. One egg takes approximately 82 to 85 seconds (1 minute 25 seconds) to hatch.

Pros:

* A large number of eggs is bred.
* A newly hatched baby can be used as one of the new parents immediately.

Cons:

* Sometimes, the eggs are not created when you're ready to take another egg. The result is that the next few eggs will hatch earlier than you want. This means you have to oversee the number of lengths you ride, like at the beginning.

* There is no fix number of lengths for egg counter 5, 15, 25 and 35 Pokémon, so you may find it a bit more difficult to breed those Pokémon using this method.

Don't use this method when the parents don't like each other much, as you won't get eggs at regular intervals. This method is best suited for the final stages of breeding, when you breed for 3 or more perfect IVs using at least parents with 2 flawless IVs (one overlaps), when you don't need to get a particular nature/ability combination. Most of the time it's worth even then, as you can get parents with awesome IVs who can then pass IVs to other Pokémon.

Mass Hatch Method-----------------------------------------------------------------

This method consists of three separate stages. First you get a large number of eggs, then you hatch all of them and check them at the end.

Get a number of eggs------------
You take an egg as soon as it is created. When you have five eggs in your team and the next one is created, deposit all five in a box. Repeat this process until you have at least 25 eggs in a box. Take the parents from the daycare and leave the Pokémon you want to level up there instead.

Hatch all eggs-------------------
Withdraw five eggs having approximately the same number of steps walked before deposit and ride the bike unless all of them hatch. Then deposit the Pokémon, withdraw another five eggs having around the same number of steps walked and hatch them. Repeat the process until all eggs hatch.

Checking all eggs----------------
If you want, first save in front of the PC. This helps if you release the wrong Pokémon by mistake. In the PC, choose the "Move Pokémon" option and go through all of the babies quickly to check if there are any shinies. Get your level 5 max neutral stats paper and check the babies. If you see one that you're aiming for, mark that baby (for flawless IVs I use ring = HP, square = Attack/Defense, triangle = Special Attack/Special Defense, heart = Speed). After you're done, release all the unmarked babies. Now withdraw five of the marked babies, and save in front of the PC. Rare Candy all five to Level 10 and check their IVs. Continue to Rare Candy the ones that look promising. When you're done, soft reset, release the ones that didn't pass the check, and deposit the rest. Repeat the process until you check all of the marked babies.

--Pros:

* A large number of eggs (about the same amount as for the running method) are bred.

* Other Pokémon can level up during this process.

* You are able to do other things while riding your bike (like watching TV or surfing the web)

* You don't lose as much time as with the running method while going to your PC and back - around 30 seconds. For 25 eggs, this means there will be five deposits and five withdrawals. For the running method, you would make 25 deposits. On the other hand, the mass hatch method wastes time while waiting for egg creation and because of some of the eggs being left in the PC.

--Cons:

* The time it takes to complete this method relies a lot on how often an egg is created. That's why it's only suited for when the parents get along very well, or get along. Sometimes, it takes around three minutes to get five eggs, sometimes even more than five.

* Switching parents during this process is impossible. You'll have to wait until you have hatched and checked all the babies before doing so.

This method is suited for the final stages of breeding, where you go for 3 or 4 flawless IV babies while you have both parents with at least 2 flawless IVs. You can also level up two other Pokémon while you ride the bike.