Black & White breeding, EVs, IVs and nature guide

Unlock breeding at the Route 3 Day Care

The Route 3 Day Care is accessible early, but initially accepts only one Pokémon. In Nimbasa City, help the Day-Care Man against Team Plasma; afterward the Route 3 facility accepts two parents and can produce Eggs. Leave a compatible pair, walk or cycle, then speak to the man outside when an Egg is ready. Keep one party slot free to receive it.

The Day Care charges for withdrawing a Pokémon according to the levels it gained. It grants experience while you move but no EVs, and can replace old moves as it learns new level-up moves. Check a valuable father’s moves before and after a long stay. Pokémon do not evolve inside the Day Care.

Choose compatible parents and the species that hatches

A male and female must share an Egg Group; they need not be the same species. Usually the Egg hatches as the female’s lowest evolutionary stage. Ditto can breed with most breedable Pokémon, including many male-only or genderless species, and the offspring belongs to the other parent’s line. Ditto with Ditto produces no Egg. Pokémon in the Undiscovered Egg Group, including the Unova legendary and mythical Pokémon, do not breed.

Two starters of different species do not give you the missing starter: the mother determines the line. A female Archen or Tirtouga can therefore supply more fossil base forms with a compatible male; either can also pair with Ditto. The post-story Giant Chasm provides a practical Ditto source. Same-species parents with different original Trainers usually produce Eggs faster than less compatible pairs.

Hatch efficiently without changing the Egg’s contents

Egg hatching advances through steps, including cycling. Put one Pokémon with Flame Body or Magma Armor in the party to reduce the required hatching steps; additional copies of the ability do not stack. The Route 18 Larvesta gift Egg eventually provides a Flame Body helper. Leave space for several Eggs and ride a straight safe stretch near the Day Care.

Species, nature, IVs and shininess are already determined when an Egg is generated, not when its hatch animation appears. Repeatedly resetting immediately before hatching the same Egg cannot reroll those attributes. To get a new result, obtain a new Egg. A long hatching time for Axew or another high-cycle species is normal.

Pass moves down using Generation V rules

A baby begins with its normal starting moves. If both parents know a level-up move that the baby can learn, that move can be inherited. The father supplies compatible Egg Moves and compatible TM/HM moves under Generation V breeding rules. A move appearing in a later game’s Egg Move list does not prove it is inheritable in original Black and White.

Plan the father’s moves before depositing him. For example, use a male within the target mother’s Egg Group that actually knows the intended Egg Move. The mother cannot pass her Egg Moves under the later Generation VI rule. The Move Reminder in BW cannot restore a forgotten Egg Move merely because the Pokémon originally hatched with it, so keep an extra breeding parent when a move is important.

Nature and IV inheritance: the original BW differences

Every stat has an IV from 0 to 31, fixed for that Pokémon. A 31 IV is useful, but a compatible nature and move plan may matter more for a normal story team. The IV Judge at Nimbasa’s Gear Station gives a broad total assessment and comments on the best IV. A low-level visible stat includes base stats, level, nature and EVs, so it is not an exact IV measurement by itself.

Hidden Abilities need the correct female parent

In Generation V, a female with its Hidden Ability can pass that ability to offspring when paired with a compatible male; the chance is 60%. A male Hidden Ability parent cannot pass it, and pairing with Ditto prevents Hidden Ability inheritance under BW rules. A normal wild catch cannot acquire a Hidden Ability simply by evolving or levelling.

Many Hidden Ability sources historically came through the Dream World. Existing suitable females can still breed locally after the official service closure. Label the external source honestly when choosing a breeding project. Black and White contain no Hidden Grottos and no Ability Capsule or Ability Patch to turn an ordinary specimen into the desired Hidden Ability parent.

All 25 natures and their stat changes

The five neutral natures change no stat. No nature changes HP. Adamant suits many physical attackers, Modest many special attackers, and Jolly or Timid often suit Speed-focused roles, but there is no universal best nature. Brave, Quiet, Relaxed and Sassy lower Speed and can suit a deliberate Trick Room plan.

Nature is fixed; mints do not exist in BW. A Synchronize lead can help when seeking the same nature on applicable wild encounters, but breeding with an Everstone gives only the original games’ 50% nature inheritance, not the sequels’ guaranteed result.

EV caps, vitamins and the 252 / 252 / 4 allocation

Effort values are earned from defeating Pokémon and are separate from experience and IVs. Black and White allow 510 total EVs and up to 255 in an individual stat. At level 100, each complete group of four EVs contributes one stat point before nature. Use 252 in a maximized stat to avoid spending three EVs that supply no further level-100 point. A common simple allocation is 252 in each of two stats and 4 in a third, leaving 2 unused.

Vitamins add 10 to their stat until that stat reaches the vitamin ceiling of 100 EVs. Wings add 1 and can continue beyond 100. Level-100 Pokémon can still gain EVs in Generation V, and resulting stats can update without another level gain. A party member that has travelled through the story already has mixed EVs; count from a clean hatch or reduce the unwanted EVs before treating a precise plan as finished.

Power items, Macho Brace, Pokérus and Exp. Share

Pokérus doubles the EV gain after the Power-item addition. For a Pokémon worth 1 Speed EV, a Power Anklet gives 5 Speed EVs; Pokérus makes that 10. Macho Brace plus Pokérus makes a 1-EV yield become 4. The Speed penalty of a Power item or Macho Brace disappears when it is removed. An Exp. Share holder does not automatically receive the active battler’s Power-item bonus.

A cured Pokérus Pokémon retains its training multiplier, though it no longer spreads the infection. Keep manual counts for each stat and remove the training equipment when the planned total is reached. An accidental battle with a different species can add another stat’s EVs, including to the Exp. Share recipient.

Practical BW training targets

These are training targets, not a claim that every terrain in each location has the same encounter table. Audino is excellent for experience but has a different EV yield from a Speed target. Avoid mixing random encounters into a counted project. A 1-EV target gives 5 with its matching Power item or 10 with both the Power item and Pokérus, so finish with unboosted battles or Wings when the remaining total is small.

Language breeding and shiny odds

The ordinary Generation V shiny rate is 1 in 8,192. Breeding Pokémon originating from different language games activates the Masuda method, approximately 6 in 8,192, or about 1 in 1,366. Different countries alone do not matter if the Pokémon’s original language is the same. The Everstone still works with different-language parents in BW.

Original Black and White have no Shiny Charm or Oval Charm. Neither repeated hatches nor a long dry streak guarantees the next result. Decide first whether the goal is a useful battler, a move combination, a Hidden Ability family or a shiny; those goals require different parent choices and different expectations.