There is no Day Care or Nursery in Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. It is now in your Picnic Basket that you will discover Eggs to hatch, whenever you choose to spend some downtime with your favourite pocket monsters.
The breeding mechanics have been approached differently for your adventure in the Paldea region, but many would argue that it is a positive change. Rather than have to undertake a long journey to a Day Care or Nursery, you can simply open the in-game menu (X Button) to have a Picnic with the Pokémon in your party whenever you like.
To produce Eggs, you will need to have at least two compatible Pokémon of opposite genders in your party that are either the same species or share an Egg Group with each other. Many players choose to simplify this by having a Ditto in their party, as the Transform Pokémon can breed with any Pokémon regardless of what gender it is.
With your party chosen, all your need to do is start your Picnic and wait. There is a Picnic Basket placed on a cushion next to the table, and you will be able to peek inside to see if any Eggs have been left. Hatching Eggs is a popular activity, as players hope to find a Shiny Pokémon inside.
Boost Your Chances With Egg Power
Waiting for an Egg to appear in the Picnic Basket isn’t the most enjoyable way to spend your time in the Paldea region. While there is no guarantee that you will receive an Egg from every Picnic session, you can boost your chances with Meal Powers.
With your Picnic Set out, you can interact with the table and choose to Make a Sandwich. The ingredients that you need can be bought from bakeries and grocery stores in nearly every one of the region’s cities – zoom in on your map and their icons are brown with a water bottle and a berry on them.
The playful minigame challenges you to whip up a delicious sandwich by piling your favourite ingredients up on sliced bread, but we want to be more objective than that. The Meal Power boost that we are looking to get is Egg Power which makes it so that you are “more likely to find Pokémon Eggs.”
The Recipe Mode will readily choose the ingredients for you, but the Creative Mode lets you throw together whatever you like to create your own sandwich. If you know which ingredients you need to receive the biggest Egg Power boost possible, then it’s the Creative Mode that you will want to be using.
For us, the only Egg Power-related creation that Recipe Mode offered us at the time was a Jam Sandwich recipe which uses Jam and slices of Strawberry. This rewarded us with Egg Power Lv. 1 among other bonuses, which is a straightforward recipe to make and the boost that we’re looking for.
You can elevate the Meal Powers by making a Great Jam Sandwich (Strawberry, Jam and Yogurt), Ultra Jam Sandwich (Strawberry, Pineapple, Jam and Yogurt) or Master Jam Sandwich (Strawberry, Pineapple, Jam, Yogurt and Sweet Herba Mystica).
When constructing a sandwich in Creative Mode, you can select as many as six fillings and four condiments. You’re free to create a monstrosity – I don’t think I’ve ever had a sandwich with actual fruit inside it aside from jam – as long as the ingredients you choose are listed below. Your greatest challenge will be to cram them all inside a sandwich, which is where the timed minigame comes in.
Sandwich Fillings That Boost Egg Power
- Apple
- Banana
- Basil
- Jalapeno
- Kiwi
- Pineapple
- Strawberry
- Watercress
Sandwich Condiments That Boost Egg Power
- Cream Cheese
- Jam
- Marmalade
- Olive Oil
- Vinegar
- Whipped Cream
Your sandwich creation should reward you with an Egg Power boost, soon seeing Pokémon Eggs start to appear when you peek inside your Picnic Basket. With the Egg Power boost activated, I managed to receive three Eggs within five minutes. Remember that your Pokémon Eggs must be in your party for them to hatch, and make sure that you collect any that may remain inside your Picnic Basket before packing everything away.
Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet are now available at retail and digitally on the Nintendo eShop for Nintendo Switch worldwide.
